This Starbucks copycat cheese danish will quickly become your new favorite breakfast! It is super easy to make at home and is a fraction of the cost. Let me show you how to make this Starbucks cheese danish. It’s one of my favorite coffeehouse copycat recipe.

Hey yall.  I have a little bit of a secret to share.  I love Starbucks.  That’s no secret really.  The big secret is that I am obsessed with their cheese danishes.  I’d say about 80 percent of time I run by for a cup of coffee, I’ll grab a cheese danish.  Gah.  They are my favorite.  So flaky and warm.  And full of cream cheese goodness. It’s hard for me to NOT order one when I go.

As much as I love them I always feel a little bad for buying one because they seem so easy to make.  So this past weekend I decided to try my hand at making them at home. And I am so glad I did!

What is a cheese danish?

This pastry is a treat that originated in Denmark and has since become popular all around the world. A danish is a flaky pastry filled cream cheese and sometimes fruit. (Like my blueberry danishes!) They are the perfect portable breakfast.

What is a cheese danish made of?

I was so excited when I nailed the recipe at home.  It was perfectly flaky and full of cream cheese goodness.  Just like the Starbucks version!  But at home!  Which means I can make them anytime and even in my pajamas!

You only need a few ingredients to make this copycat cheese danish at home, all of which can be found at your local grocery store. You will need:

• frozen puff pastry sheets
• cream cheese
• sugar
• vanilla extract
• lemon juice and zest

The puff pastry sheets are in the frozen section at most grocery stores. It is normally next to the whipped cream and ice cream area. Ya know, all the good stuff. If you want to make it homemade, try this puff pastry recipe.

You can use any type of cream cheese for this recipe. Regular, low fat, or even the flavored variety. I bet something like the strawberry cream cheese would be a great addition to this copycat Starbucks cheese danish.

Sugar, or your sweetener or choice, and vanilla round out the ingredients needed. Plain white sugar, brown sugar, coconut sugar or even Stevia would work for this recipe.

The lemon juice and zest give these Starbucks copycat cheese danishes a great pop of flavor.

Starbucks cheese danish recipe

This recipe can be broken down into three basic steps.

• Unrolling/cutting the puff pastry
• Mixing and adding the cream cheese
• Baking (twice)

Step 1: Thaw the puff pastry

You want to make sure that you are starting with thawed puff pastry. It comes frozen so it needs to sit out for a bit to thaw. This cuts the cooking time down and makes sure that the cheese danish comes out super flaky. You can also preheat the oven at this point.

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Step 2: Roll out the puff pastry and cut

Roll out the puff pastry and slice it into rectangles. The puff pastry itself comes in a large rectangle. It should be easy to cut down to size using a pizza cutter.

Feel free to make your rectangles bigger or smaller, depending on how many cheese danishes you want to make. I cut mine into 12 rectangles but have also made them bigger and only ended up with 6.

Step 3: Prebake the pastry

Place your pastry on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes until slightly golden brown.

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Step 4: Make the filling

While the puffy pastry is baking for the first time, mix together the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract and lemon. You can do this with a hand mixer of if the cream cheese is soft enough you can just use a fork or spoon.

Step 5: Add the filling

Remove the pastry from the oven and allow to cool slightly, just so they are not super hot to the touch. Spoon in a about a tablespoon of cream cheese onto the puff pastry; making an oval shape in the center if possible.

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Step 6: Bake again

Place it back in the oven for 10 more minutes. Remove, allow to cool and enjoy!

Do you secretly love these cheese danishes from Starbucks as well?  The good news is that it doesn’t have to be a secret anymore. Join the Starbucks cheese danish lovers club!

Pair it with

Now that you have a fresh cream cheese danish, you are going to want to pair it with an easy coffee recipe. Some of my favorites are:

• Starbucks double chocolate chip frappuccino
• Iced vanilla latte
• Homemade caramel macchiato
• Iced white chocolate mocha

The even better news is that it is SO easy to make these Starbucks copycat cheese danishes at home. (In your pajamas if you prefer.) Just be sure to let the cream cheese cool before biting into one of these bad boys! (I say from experience.)

How to store leftovers

Have leftover danishes? Place them in an airtight container, such as a Tupperware of Ziplock bag, and keep them in the fridge. They will stay fresh for 3 days.

Can I freeze cream cheese danishes?

You can! Allow them to cool completely on the cookie sheet and then flash freeze them by placing them in the freezer. Once they have frozen, about an hour, place them in a Ziplock bag and remove the air. Seal the bag and place back in the freezer. They will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer. To reheat, thaw in the fridge and warm in the microwave for 30 seconds.

Other breakfast treats to try

Looking for even more breakfast treats? I suggest trying:

• Blueberry danishes
• Starbucks copycat pumpkin scones
• Starbucks pumpkin bread
• Starbucks lemon loaf

Like this recipe?  Be sure to check out:

Chestnut praline latte

Starbucks chocolate chunk cookies

Cranberry bliss bars

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