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Pumpkin Danishes with Cream Cheese Icing

Buttery and flaky puff pastry with a pumpkin spice filling, drizzled with cream cheese icing!
Servings 18 Danishes
Author Olivia

Ingredients

For the Pastry

  • 2 sheets Puff Pastry (thawed)
  • 1 cup Pumpkin Puree
  • 1 Large Egg
  • 3 tbsp Brown Sugar
  • 1 tsp Vanila Extract
  • 2 tbsp All Purpose Flour
  • 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp Ground Ginger
  • 1/4 tsp Ground Cloves
  • 1/8 tsp Ground Nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
  • 1/2 Large Egg
  • 1 tbsp Water
  • 2 tbsp Demerara Sugar

For the Cream Cheese Icing

  • 2 oz Cream Cheese (room temperature)
  • 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter (room temperature)
  • 1 cup Confectioner's or Powdered Sugar
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1/2 tbsp Milk

Instructions

For the Danishes

  • Preheat the oven to 400˚F and line 2 sheet trays with parchment paper. Set aside.
  • In a bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, egg, brown sugar, vanilla extract, flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. Mix with a whisk until everything is incorporated.
  • Unfold the puff pastry and roll a rolling pin over it to flatten the seams. Cut the puff pastry into 9 squares.
  • Take one square place it in front of you so that it looks like a diamond. Fold and align the bottom corner up to the top corner. You should now have a triangle. Use a paring knife to cut a slit 1/4 inch away from the border on the right and left sides. Make sure that the left and right slits do not meet at the top, leaving a space of the pastry between them. Unfold the pastry so that it looks like a diamond again. Fold the outer edge that is now cut over to the left side so that the corner meets the inner left corner. Then fold the outer edge on the left side so that the corner meets the right corner. Please use the photos in the blog post as a reference for clarification.
  • Place the folded pastries onto a sheet tray, lined with parchment paper, spacing them 2 inches apart. If you notice your pastry has gotten soft and sticky, place them into the freezer for about 5-8 minutes. Spoon about 1 1/2 tbsp of the pumpkin mixture into the center of the pastries.
  • In a small bowl whisk together the 1/2 egg and 1 tbsp of water to form an egg wash. Use a pastry brush to brush the egg wash onto the borders of the puff pastry. Sprinkle the borders with the demerara sugar.
  • Bake the pastries for 12-15 minutes. The pastries should have puffed and turned golden brown. Transfer them from the tray onto a wire rack to cool.

For the Cream Cheese Drizzle

  • Combine the butter and cream cheese with a rubber spatula or with the paddle attachment in a stand mixer.
  • Add in the confectioners sugar and mix until combined. Then mix in the vanilla extract and milk. Use a fork or spoon to drizzle the icing onto the cooled danishes. Alternatively, you can transfer the icing into a ziploc or piping bag and cut a small hole in the corner to drizzle the icing on top. Enjoy!

Notes

*These pastries are best eaten the day you make them. Because the pumpkin puree holds a lot of moisture, it can soften the puff pastry quickly, and it will not be as crisp! 
*You can freeze the danishes and reheat them in the oven or toaster oven. If you do this, I suggest leaving the danishes you plan to freeze un-iced!