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This apple danish braid is loaded with juicy caramelized apples and cranberries inside a flaky pastry shell drizzled with glaze. The danish itself is lightly sweet and the cranberries are a welcome zingy pop of flavor with each bite. I’m a sucker for a good great pastry!
We have a long history of pastry love in my kitchen – from the cheesecake danishes to the almond peach, easy apple slab, and braided peach! This braided apple danish is well loved by kids and adults – and it looks like something out of a pastry shop, but it’s so simple to put together. We used a store-bought puff pastry and it just doesn’t get any easier!Β Go ahead and double the recipe right away. This apple danish disappears quickly and you’ll wish you had more!
Watch How to Make an Apple Danish Braid:
I hope you’re inspired to make your own braided Apple Danish! Here’s a quick visual tutorial that you can reference and PIN for Safekeepingβ€
Wishing I had leftovers… which by the way taste just as good! You can safely store this at room temperature overnight and enjoy it the following day π
β¬Print Braided Apple Danish Recipe Here β¬
Apple Danish Braid
Ingredients
Ingredients for Apple Danish Braid:
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 lb 2 large Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored and sliced into 1/2" thick slices
- 1/2 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen
- 1 sheet store-bought puff pastry (1/2 lb), thawed by package instructions
- 1 egg + 1 Tbsp water for egg wash, beaten together with a fork
- 1/2 Tbsp coarse sugar
Ingredients for the Pastry Glaze:
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 Tbsp milk
Instructions
- Place a large pot or deep skillet over high heat. Melt 3 Tbsp butter and stir in 1/4 cup sugar. Add sliced apples and stir until evenly coated. Add cranberries and let the mixture sit 3 min to caramelize before stirring. Cook apples and cranberries a total of 6-7 min, stirring 3 times or until apples are lightly caramelized. Transfer apples to a plate and let cool until just warm (not hot).
- Unfold thawed pastry over a lightly floured work surface and roll it in one direction to make it a total of 2 inches longer. The natural folds in the pastry will guide your process.
- Place the cranberry apple filling down the center of the pastry, keeping it in the middle third and leaving 1" of space at the top and bottom of the pastry.
- Cut away the top corners from the left and right thirds of the. Cut 8 equal 1" strips along each side, leaving 1/2" of space from the apples. Cut away excess dough at the bottom corners.
- Fold down top flap of dough and pinch the corners down to seal. Fold in the side strips, alternating from left to right. Fold up the bottom flap, pinching the corners to seal then finish folding in the last 2 side strips, pinching the corners to seal. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with silicone or parchment, brush with egg wash, sprinkle with coarse sugar, and bake at 400ΛF for 18-22 minutes (mine was perfect at 20 min) or until top is golden brown.
- To make the glaze, stir together 1/3 cup powdered sugar with 1/2 Tbsp milk. Once the braided apple danish is at room temperature or just warm, drizzle with glaze, slice, and enjoy!
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
This apple danish is irresistibly yummy. Anything baked with apples and cranberries will warm your belly and make your houseΒ smell amazing. Enjoy this wonderful wintery treat π
I added a layer of shredded coconut on top of the apple mixture before I closed the braid. It added a great flavor! Also – I used brown sugar instead of regular sugar. It was yummy & I’m making it again for a brunch tomorrow!
Marilyn, thank you so much for sharing such a great ideas! I’m itching to make one with shredded coconut right now π.
A little almond extract or flavoring also added a nice touch to the one I made yesterday for my brunch. Just another idea. π
Thank you for sharing your tip!! π
Natasha, i just made this and it came out delicious. Only thing is some parts of the dough was not baked through, it was still doughy. How can I make sure the dough cooks all the way through?
Hi Zoryana, if you had parts of your pastry that were undercooked, it could be due to not all ovens being created equal. You could bake a few minutes longer, just keep an eye on it so the top and sides don’t turn too brown.
Hi Natasha!
Can I substitute cranberries for something else?
Hi Mary, even if you leave them out, the recipe will still work great π
My family loves sweets, so I always look for new desserts recepies/ideas. This look delicious! Thank you!
Thank you Irena, you must give them a try π.
Can this be made and frozen?
Hi Dean, I haven’t tested that to see, but I imagine it would work well.
This looks beautiful!
Btw you don’t hve anything about the egg wash in the print out instructions..
Oh dear, I can’t believe I missed that! Thank you so much for pointing that out! π
The step to sprinkle the coarse sugar is missing too. ( : I plan on making this, looks delish! Thanks for helping my uncreative self make such creative and yummy dishes.
Oh my goodness, I wonder if I accidentally deleted that whole step. ay ya yay!! Thank you!! π
A delight!
May I suggest instead of 1/2 Tsp of milk (in the glaze) use orange juice – the taste is somewhat fresher π
Thank you again, Natasha!
Oh thank you for sharing!! π
I made this the other day using my gluten-free pie crust recipe. It was a little tricky as my dough isn’t as forgiving as store-bought puff pastry, but I was really pleased with the way it turned out, I’ll come back and post a picture as soon as I can. I am wondering if I can post this recipe on our Grandpa’s Kitchen website and direct our visitors to your site for the directions, they were very helpful to me as I was trying to figure out how to fold the dough. Please let me know if that would be OK. I love your site and am always visiting for recipes I can make gluten free. Thanks for all of your hard work!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I would love to see your gluten free version! Yes that would be fine. Here is my policy for sharing π
Thanks for this recipe!!! Looks so delicious!!!!! God bless you!!!
Thank you so much Dana!! π
Hi Natasha,
I sincerely love this.
I write reviews for kitchen appliances and home improvement tools.
Can I republish this content on my blog with credits to you, of course?
Hi Shelby, thank you :). I have the answer to your question on my FAQ page here.
Hey Natasha! Love your site, I cant find fresh cranberries in my local stores. Can I use dried? Or what would you recomend? Thanks!
You can but you might want to soak them temporarily in hot water to puff them up and add them into the apple mixture at the end. You can also omit them and it will still work well π
Okay, thankyou. I will have to soak some because my mom brought fresh ones but there arent enough. Where did you get your cranberries? Thx
I purchased them at Fred Meyer. Most grocery stores should carry them this time of year since Thanksgiving is approaching, but you can also use frozen cranberries.
I got an email from your blog and it says you are having a give away. I really want to enter into the give away but when I click the Giveaway button it takes me to your shop site.
Hi Veronica, first, thank you so much for subscribing!! If you received that email, that means you are already entered. It is for email subscribers only and you don’t have to do anything to enter. If you are a subscriber, you’re automatically entered! π I hope you have an amazing week!
Oh okay, thankyou! I really enjoy makeing maccarons and I really would like that prize. I made your raspberry ones, absolutely delish and full of flavor!
Hi Natasha,
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I made a double portion of it today. It was so easy to make and turned out so delicious that we finished a full log of danish. I didn’t have cranberries so replaced it with frozen raspberries. I don’t think it hurt the end result π
Continue the good work!
Best Wishes,
Toosie
Hi Toosie π A double portion of apple raspberry Danish sounds amazing!! Thank you for sharing your awesome review!
I really like the small amount of added sugar….will make this ASAP…thank you for your wonderful recipes. I’m a 71 yr. old Hungarian who loves to cook & enjoy your take on Central Euro recipes.
We also appreciate sweets that aren’t overly sugary :). I hope you love this recipe!
Looks soooo yummy! I will definitely try it! Love your recepies, thank you!
Thank you Natalia! π
Hi Natasha I love your recipe you explaig things so good I love it. May God Bless you and your family
You’re so sweet! Thank you Bernice and God bless you as well! π
This is gorgeous!
Thank you so much Sara! π
Hi Natasha, this looks good! I have tried the easy slab apple,and I might even try this one thank you for all your recipes!π
Oh if you liked that one, you will LOVE this one! π The addition of cranberries is so good!
Looks great.
Thank you Vera! π
Looks delish! I love thanksgiving, cause of all the food! My family trusts your recipies because they never go wrong and are always delish! Keep up the good work! God bless your family.
Thank you so much for that sweet compliment. It really is so encouraging! π
Sometimes I wish I was you.;)