This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
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! 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 Safekeeping❤
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 🙂
⬇Print Braided Apple Danish Recipe Here ⬇
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 400˚F 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 house smell amazing. Enjoy this wonderful wintery treat 🙂
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
hey, Natasha, I have a question for you, can I use a different kind’s of apples.
Any sweet/tart and crisp apple will do.
Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Jonagold, Honeycrisp, Braeburn all work well.
I have made this twice, and will be doing so again tomorrow. As suggested, doubling the recipe.
Natasha, when I am googling for recipes, and your site comes up, I am confident ignoring anything else. Your recipes are the best! I’ve made at least 20 of them.
The more I make, the more I bake. Requests for repeats are a constant.
Thank you!!!
Hi Shannon! That is amazing! Thank you for trying so many of my recipes. I’m so glad you love them.
Hi! I’m actually making this now and had a tough time with “coarse sugar”. But after reading through the comments it’s looks as though that should be coarse salt. Is this correct? Love your recipes
Hi Brandy, this recipe calls for coarse sugar. Coarse sugar has a larger crystal size than regular sugar and works perfectly to top danishes and other baked goods.
Hi Natasha,
I made 2 of the Apple Danish for my husband’s office potluck and he got so many compliments how delicious they are compared to store bought and also I made the chocolate crinkle cookies to my colleagues at work, they were so delicious they couldn’t stop eating them. Thank you for your wonderful recipes you are keeping me busy in the kitchen this holidays.
Merry Christmas
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Christine! Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
Hi Natasha,
Absolutely love this recipe! Thank you! I’ve already made it a few times and it always turns out great. I was wondering if I can make this ahead of time, like a day before, cover and refrigerate raw, and then bake the day of our gathering. Do you think it’ll work?
Thank you for your advise.
Hi Alisha! Thank you, I’m glad you love it.
I have not tested refrigerating and then baking it the next day. I don’t know how the pastry would hold up with everything but I think it could work. You may check out the FAQs on the puff pastry website HERE to see recommendations. Let us know how it turns out if you try.
I’m looking through your apple recipes and they all look wonderful! I’d like to make your pie, turnovers, and this danish braid. Will Gravenstein apples work in the recipe’s? I have an abundance of them.
Thanks
I haven’t tested that to advise. If you do it as an experiment, please update us on how it goes!
Bravo Natasha, I’ve been trying several of your recipes for about year now and every single recipe I’ve tried comes out perfect, so delicious! You are so good at this, I am so glad I found your videos!!!! Thank you so much. <3
Yay that’s awesome, Faye! I’m really happy to know that you’ve been enjoying my recipes.
Thank you for this recipe! I already made it many times, so so good. Everyone loves it❤️
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Olesea!
Hi Natasha,
I was wondering if I can make this recipe ahead of time? Like a day before, cover and refrigerate raw, and then bake the day of our gathering. Do you think it’ll work?
Thank you for your advise.
Hi Olesea! I have not tested refrigerating and then baking it the next day. I don’t know how the pastry would hold up with everything but I think it could work. You may check out the FAQs on the puff pastry website HERE to see recommendations. Let us know how it turns out if you try.
Hey Natasha……what are your thoughts on using this apple/ cranberry mixture to make a round pie with the puff pastry?
thx
Hi Roman, I haven’t tested this recipe with a pie crust, with a few changes and adjusted bake time it may work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
The apple danish braid looks easy delicious and easy to make. If I make two braids, can I freeze one of them. I have used many of your recipe and each one turned out great
Hi Kenneth, I haven’t tested that to see, but I imagine it would work well. You probably wouldn’t want to add the drizzle until before serving, though. I don’t think that would hold up after thawing if you tried to reheat it in the oven.
Your recipes are excellent 👌👌👍.
Thank you
Thank you for that wonderful compliment, Linda!
I’ve made this several times. So good! I use a pizza cutter rather than the scissors. What is coarse sugar? Does it go by another name? Suggested substitutes?
Hi Terri, Coarse sugar has a larger crystal size than regular sugar. I hope that helps!
Natasha, I realized that I have made this recipe so many times and I’ve shared with friends but I have not told you how much I love this recipe. It is so fun to make and is such a great gift. Thanks so much!
I’m so happy you enjoeyd that, Deb! That’s so great!
Natasha…absolutely love your videos and recipes!
Can I prepare the apple braid the night before, refrigerate, and bake the next day?
Hi Patti, you can make it the day before and keep it at room temp overnight, then serve at room temp or warm it up a little to serve.
Hi! Can I use dried cranberries instead? If yes, how much should I use?
Hi Evelyn, You can try that, 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
I stumbled on this recipe while trying to figure out what to do with my leftover thanksgiving fresh cranberries and it was delicious! And easy to make. Thanks so much for the step-by-step pictures of the braid. It was much easier than I expected and it not only tasted great but looked good too! 🙂
You are most welcome, Christina. Thank you for sharing your good comments with us, we appreciate it.
You’re so welcome, Christina. I’m glad you were still able to enjoy your leftover cranberries!
We don’t have cranberries. Any substitute?
Others shared that they used frozen raspberries and love it too!
Oh my goodness! This was AMAZING! Thank you for such an easy and absolutely delicious recipe. Will have to make it again tomorrow.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Hi, what other fruit can you use instead of cranberries
Hi Angela, I have not tested this with another fruit but some of our readers have posted great ideas using other berries, raspberries being one of them.
I would think that raisins would be nice. I would boil them for a few minutes to rehydrate them a little bit, but you can’t go wrong with raisins and apple together.
To freeze, which is better: freeze it raw or bake it first?
Hi Hilary, I haven’t tested that to advise, but I imagine it would work well baked. You probably wouldn’t want to add the drizzle until before serving though. I don’t think that would hold up after thawing if you wanted to reheat it in the oven.