Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Traditional Cheese Danish

gluten free / dairy free / soy free / kid friendly / nut free 

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Are you in a breakfast or tea time rut? We were. I was also in this place where for the past couple of years I was craving the Cheese Danish of my child hood.

Except one without all the gluten, dairy, preservatives and other things I didn't know was baked inside that fluffy, scrumptious, cheesy pastry.

Recreating one that would be just as cravable felt like a herculean task, and while it wasn't a "quick and easy" meal, the labor of love and sourced ingredients that went into these made them worth it.  

I made a big batch, just in case they came out good, and so glad I did! They freeze amazingly well, my kids LOVE them and we've been going back for them time and time again. 

The recipe is below and I do want to give one tip: If you are able to have dairy (and are just here because you're gluten free) I would highly recommend using REAL cream cheese to those that can tolerate it. While the dairy-free brand I used worked just fine, I feel like having that TRUE cream cheese flavor would have made these a 12/10! 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 bag pre-made crescent roll dough (I bought and prepared this one) 
• 8 oz. cream cheese (if tolerated) or vegan cream cheese (I used this one) 
• 1/2 C. organic white sugar (you can use a low-glycemic option, but I didn't want it to effect the coloring of my danish)
• 1 tsp. vanilla 

For the icing: 

• 1 C. organic powdered sugar
• 2 TBSP. milk of your choice (I used almond) 

DIRECTIONS: 

• Prepare dough per package instructions. (This step took a couple of hours because of the yeast needing to proof.)
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Roll out the dough and form 8 "baskets" and shape into  circles. Gently place onto a baking sheet.
• Mix together cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Spoon filling into the circles and spread to the edges.
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until edges of Danishes have turned a nice golden color. Allow to cool.
• To make the icing, whisk together the powdered sugar and the milk until it's well blended and there are no lumps. Fork drizzle over the cooled Danishes.