the yummiest {and easiest} cheese danish ever

My Mom always tells me I'm the Queen of easy recipes that look good and taste great, but are so, so easy. Be prepared to be amazed at how effortless this little bit of yumminess really is. I give all credit to Woman's Day magazine, where I found the recipe years ago.

This is what you'll be rewarded with. Well, that and a lot of ooh's and aah's from the family!

LET'S BEGIN

Allow your puff pastry sheet to come to room temperature.  I use Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry, it can be found in the frozen foods section, near the rolls and pie crusts. Heat oven to 400 Fahrenheit.

Place your puff pastry lengthwise onto center of your Silpat or Parchment Paper and unroll. With a rolling pin, roll out to a 12" long rectangle. Place Silpat onto your cookie sheet.

Mix one 8 ounce package softened cream cheese, 1 large egg yolk {reserve egg white for later} and 1/4 cup granulated sugar on high speed until combined.

Spread the cream cheese mixture in wide strip down center of puff pastry sheet, which you've cut into 1" strips on each side. I'm using a Silpat, but Gordon actually prefers using Parchment Paper {found at grocery stores near the waxed paper} because it can be thrown away rather than having to be washed each time. 

You'll now begin folding your strips at an angle across filling, overlapping and alternating from side to side. Trust me, you can do this, it's not hard to do at all and looks really fancy schmancy when you're finished.

Told ya it was easy!

Whip the reserved egg white until frothy and brush the top of your Cheese Danish. Now sprinkle with 1 teaspoon, or less, of granulated white sugar. Bake 25 minutes until puffed and golden.

Be sure to check on it toward the end of the time as each oven cooks differently. I cook in a convection gas oven and it doesn't take the whole 25 minutes when I bake the Danish and actually I may have let this one get just a touch too brown. Cool slightly.

I often make two Cheese Danish because they don't last long around here, especially if we send a few slices up the driveway to Nana and Papa. That kind of keeps my status as #1 Daughter-in-Law intact. Well, actually, I'm the only Daughter-in-Law but it doesn't hurt to share the yumminess, I always think. 

And if you're lucky, perhaps your very own Mr. wRight will clean up your mess for you like mine does for me, most of the time. He's pretty awesome like that. But back off ladies, he's all mine!

styrofoam cup has tadpoles in it from Papa so the girls can watch them grow

NOTE: The original recipe used flavored cream cheese for the filling, which didn't appeal to me, but if you're that kind of girl...give it a try.