Super Simple Cherry Cheese Danish Braid

Are you getting sick of my Pillsbury products recipes yet? I hope not, because I have one more to share with you. Yesterday morning, I made this super simple and incredibly delicious Cherry Cheese Danish Braid, and let me tell you - you have got to try it!

This recipe is so easy, I'm almost embarrassed to give it to you. But, it just isn't fair for me to keep it to myself. To make it, I used Pillsbury's Crescent Recipe Creations. You may recall that last week I made a killer Creamy Gorgonzola, Fennel & Pear Tart with this product. This time, I wanted to make something sweet. I put on my thinking cap and came up with this pastry. The whole process took about forty-five minutes from refrigerator to table, and oh, was it good!

The next time you want to impress your family on a Saturday morning with fresh, hot, cheesy, fruity pastry, try this. They'll think you went to a lot of time and trouble, but we'll know better!

Cherry Cheese Danish Braid (Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup cherry pie filling

1 tube Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations

3 tablespoons turbinado sugar

Method:

Heat oven to 375°F. Spray a baking sheet with a little non-stick cooking spray.

In small bowl, beat cream cheese and granulated sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla extract and set aside.

Unroll dough onto baking sheet and press into 13x7-inch rectangle.

Spoon cream cheese mixture lengthwise down center third of the dough. Then, carefully spoon pie filling on top of the cream cheese.

On each long side of dough rectangle, make cuts about 1 inch apart from the outer edge up to the edge of the filling. Fold opposite strips of dough over filling and cross in center to form a braided appearance. Seal the ends so that the filling doesn't leak out. Sprinkle turbinado sugar over the top.

Bake 22-24 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool for about 15-20 minutes and dive in!