Home ยป Recipes ยป Breakfast

Crescent Roll Cream Cheese Danish

Flaky crescent roll dough bakes with a sweet cream cheese dollop and a sprinkling of cinnamon to make these super easy danishes.

Freshly baked crescent roll cream cheese danishes on a non-stick liner on a baking sheet on a red and white plaid napkin.

Cream Cheese Danish Crescent Rolls Recipe

Also known as Cheese Danish, our Crescent Roll Cream Cheese Danish recipe creates a super easy homemade pastry that is fun to serve.

More of a sweet breakfast treat than our super rich and buttery than our Churro Cheesecake Bars this recipe can be made into bars or slice the crescent dough to make round cream cheese danishes. 

The simplicity of ingredients is what makes this recipe so special.

These are great for a holiday meal, finger food snack or brunch. Similar to our German Crumb Cake Bars and Cinnamon Crescent Rolls that work well in several situations these cream treats are easy to make ahead of time and refrigerate.

Save this Recipe
Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Enter your email and I’ll send this recipe right to your inbox! Plus, I’ll send you new recipes every week!

Close up flaky, golden brown crescent roll dough covered in cream cheese to make a cream cheese danish crescent roll on a white tray.

Cream cheese also compliments bread so well in this Strawberry Toast recipe.

Squares Compared To Disks

We tested this cream cheese danish recipe multiple times. We split the same combination of ingredients in half. One half was baked in a square dish and cut into small squares, where the other was make in round disk shapes.

The round danishes make the cream cheese mixture visible on top. Squares sandwich the cream cheese mixture between layers of crescent dough with cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top of the flaky crust.

Serving tray with square pieces of cream cheese filled danish crescent rolls on a red and white napkin.

The squares are more similar to our Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars in look and a little faster to make as no cutting is necessary.

There is a slight difference in taste is where the cream cheese or top layer of crescent dough hits the roof of your mouth first. Each time we served at a potluck or New Year’s Even party the vote was split down the middle.

Cinnamon sugar mixture sprinkled on top of cream cheese danish made with crescent rolls on a white plate.

Eye appeal is the biggest difference in my opinion.

Ingredients Needed:

  • Tubes or cans of refrigerated crescent roll dough – Pillsbury or store brand both work fine, price and availability of brands are the only differences.
  • Cream cheese – we typically use store brand.
  • Granulated sugar
  • Egg
  • Pure vanilla extract
  • Lemon juice – freshly squeezed is our preference.
  • Cinnamon
Ingredients needed to make crescent roll cream cheese danish are cream cheese, crescent rolls, vanilla, egg, cinnamon, lemon and sugar on a wooden counter top.

A similar recipe with meat that works great for meals and tailgates is our Cream Cheese Chicken Crescent Rolls.

How to Make Crescent Roll Cream Cheese Danish

Keep the crescent dough cold until you are ready to open and use.

Warm dough gets sticky and unnecessarily difficult to handle.

Keep dough rolled up in tubes and slice into 10 equally sized round slices.

Lay flat on a lined baking sheet and press flat. Using clean, wet finger will help prevent the dough from sticking.

In a mixing bowl beat together cream cheese, granulated sugar, egg, vanilla and freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Two squares of cream cheese in a mixing bowl with sugar, vanilla, egg and lemon juice.

Mix well and spoon into the center of each disk of dough.

Sweetened cream cheese mixture dropped on top of flattened crescent rolls on a baking sheet.

We tested sprinkling the remaining cinnamon and sugar mixture over top of the dough and over top of the cream cheese before and after baking.

Sprinkling on top of the cream cheese BEFORE baking yields the best results.

Baked in an oven preheated to 350℉ for 25 to 30 minutes until the crescent roll cream cheese danishes are golden brown on the outside and the dough is baked through in the center.

Overhead view of round slices of golden crescent dough filled with cream cheese and coated with a cinnamon sugar mixture on a lined baking sheet.

Wait at least ten minutes before serving. These Danish Crescent Rolls taste great at any temperature!

Storage and Freezing Instructions

Due to the perishable nature of cream cheese store tightly covered in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.

We do not recommend freezing this recipe as the crescent rolls may become a bit soggy in the defrosting process.

More Easy Brunch Recipes

Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls take inspiration from Tiktok to become a new favorite in our family. The fresh fruit adds a special touch.

Pancake Tacos are easy to vary the toppings to make a unique brunch treat for camping or kid sleepover parties.

Hash Brown Egg Cups are a great make ahead recipe that reheats very well.

Sweet Potato Honey Bun Cake uses a box of cake mix to create a modern spin on a classic recipe.

Cream cheese generously coating a flaky round crescent roll topped with cinnamon sugar to create a Danish crescent roll with cream cheese.

Crescent Roll Cream Cheese Danish

Servings 20 danishes
Author: Jennifer
Flaky crescent roll dough bakes with a sweet cream cheese dollop and a sprinkling of cinnamon to make these super easy danishes.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients
  

Danish

  • 16 ounces crescent roll dough 2 tubes
  • 8 ounces cream cheese softened
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Topping

  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons granulated sugar

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350℉.
  • Start with cold crescent roll dough, keep each roll in the shape of a tube. Cut the tube in half and then cut each half into 5 disks creating 20 total slices.
    16 ounces crescent roll dough
  • Place disks on baking sheet and use a teaspoon to create a divot in each disk.
  • Mix cream cheese, egg, lemon juice, sugar and vanilla and place evenly sized dollops on top of crescent roll disks.
    8 ounces cream cheese, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the cream cheese mixture.
    1 teaspoon cinnamon, 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
  • Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Serve warm, room temperature or chilled for best results.

Nutrition

Serving: 16gCalories: 144kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 2gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.001gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 217mgPotassium: 19mgFiber: 0.1gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 164IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 13mgIron: 0.3mg

Nutritional Disclaimer

“Plowing Through Life” is not a dietitian or nutrition professional. Any nutritional information shared is an estimate and can vary greatly depending on specific products are used. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator of your choice.

Tried this recipe?Mention @PlowingThroughLife or tag #PlowingThroughLife!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating