Apple Danish

Some apple Danish are made with a puffy, flaky pastry curled into a braid and filled with apples. This apple Danish is more like a giant apple toaster strudel, with two layers of buttery pastry encasing a sweet, spiced apple filling. Swizzled with a powdered-sugar glaze, they’re cut into handheld apple pie squares proportioned to serve a group. Adjust the spices or use a combination of apples to customize the filling to your liking.

Apple Danish squares are a lovely autumnal dessert or breakfast to make once apple orchard season kicks off, but you can make them with supermarket fruit any time of the year.

Apple Danish Ingredients

• All-purpose flour: Versatile all-purpose flour is the base of the pastry for this apple Danish recipe. We also add a little to help thicken the apple filling as the pastry bakes. You can substitute a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend.
• Shortening: Using neutral vegetable shortening gives the pastry for this apple Danish a richness and a fine, crumbly texture. It’s these attributes that make shortening a favorite ingredient for pie crust recipes.
• Egg: We call for glazing the finished pastry in an egg wash—egg white mixed with water—to give the baked apple Danish a warm, burnished look once it’s out of the oven. So the yolk doesn’t go to waste, we add it to the pastry mixture, where it adds rich flavor.
• Milk: Just a little bit of milk helps to tenderize the pastry and makes it easier to roll out. We call for 2%, but you can use any dairy milk, including buttermilk, or any plant-based milk you like.
• Apples: Six cups of peeled and sliced apples cook into a soft filling encased by two layers of pastry. Some Taste Recipes readers have found that they can add even more fruit to this recipe, up to 8 cups.
• Sugar: Adding a good amount of sugar helps the apple filling go gooey in the oven. You can reduce the amount somewhat, if you like.
• Butter: Just a little melted butter adds rich flavor to the apple filling.
• Cinnamon: Ground cinnamon adds wonderful warmth to the apples, contrasting with the more neutral flavor of the pastry.
• Confectioners’ sugar: A drizzle of confectioners’ sugar glaze on top of the apple Danish is all the adornment it needs. As it dries, the glaze hardens into a pleasant, crackly texture.

Directions

Step 1: Start the pastry

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In a bowl, combine the flour and salt, then cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Step 2: Add the egg yolk and milk

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Combine the egg yolk and milk, then add this egg mixture to the flour mixture. Stir just until the dough clings together.

Step 3: Roll out the pastry

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Divide the dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll half the dough into a 15×10-inch rectangle, then transfer it to a greased 15x10x1-inch baking pan and set it aside.

Step 4: Make the apple filling

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In a bowl, toss together the apples, sugar, melted butter, flour and cinnamon. Spoon this over the pastry in the pan.

Step 5: Add the second layer of pastry

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Preheat the oven to 375°F. Roll out the remaining dough into another 15×10-inch rectangle. Place that dough over the filling, then brush the top with the egg white.

Step 6: Bake the Danish

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Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown. Let the Danish cool in the pan on a wire rack.

Step 7: Make the glaze

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While the Danish bakes, combine the confectioners’ sugar and enough water to achieve a drizzling consistency. Drizzle the glaze over the warm pastry, then cut the pastry into squares.

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Apple Danish Variations

• Swap the spices: Trade the ground cinnamon for ground ginger, pumpkin pie spice or ground cardamom to tweak the flavor of the apple filling.
• Add dried fruit: Add a handful of raisins or dried cherries to the filling for a pleasant chew.
• Use a different fat: Though shortening makes a pastry that is easy to work with, it’s tough to beat butter for flavor. Considering swapping in butter for the shortening in the pastry portion of this recipe.
• Change out the sugar: Replace the granulated sugar in the apple filling with brown sugar for more of a caramelized flavor.
• Add some berries: The filling for this apple Danish slab pie is quite adaptable. Trade some volume of the apples for blackberries, cherries, raspberries or chopped rhubarb for a lovely combination of fruit flavors.

How to Store Apple Danish

Store leftover apple Danish at room temperature in an airtight container for up to three days, or in the fridge for up to five days. Allow it to come to room temperature before enjoying it again.

Can you freeze apple Danish squares?

You can. Freeze cooled apple Danish squares, individually wrapped or between layers of parchment or waxed paper,  in freezer containers for up to two months. When you’re ready to eat them, thaw them at room temperature.

Apple Danish Tips

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What types of apples should you use for apple Danish?

You can use any type of apples you like! Some apples (especially Rome, McIntosh and other sauce varieties) break down more quickly as they cook, and others (particularly Pink Lady and Granny Smith) hold their shape better. You can use all of one kind, or try a mix of varieties for a dynamic flavor and texture. Check out our full guide to the best apples for baking, cooking and eating.

Can you bake apple Danishes in another kind of pan?

We call for a 15x10x1-inch baking dish, also known as a jelly roll pan, for this recipe. You can substitute a half sheet pan, if you like, or form the pastry freehand on a cookie sheet by creating a rolled or crimped edge around the apple filling. In a pinch, you could also make this in a 13×9-inch baking pan, but because it’s a smaller size, you might have more pastry than feels easy to work with, or some apple filling left over.

What’s the easiest way to roll out pastry for apple Danishes?

It’s true, there’s no way around the rolling pin when you’re making this apple Danish pastry recipe. Because you need to roll out not one but two large rectangles of pastry, it’s easiest to do so on a silicone baking mat or a sheet of parchment paper. That way, you can move and manipulate the pastry without having to dust it too often with flour. Check out some of our favorite tools for working with tender pastry doughs like this one.