Making Copycat Starbucks Danish Is So Easy You'll Never Buy Them Again

Much as French and Russian dressings aren't really from France or Russia, nor Mongolian barbecue from Mongolia (Inner or Outer), Danish pastry really isn't from Denmark. But it's not as if anyone goes to Starbucks expecting any kind of traditional dining experience. The chain does sell a pretty tasty cream cheese Danish, though, even if these breakfast pastries do tend to be on the pricey side. Spendy they may be, but complex they aren't, which makes them the kind of thing you can easily whip up yourself even if your culinary skills are more Swedish Chef from "The Muppet Show" than Julia Child.

Recipe developer Christina Musgrave keeps copycat Starbucks cream cheese Danish simple by using frozen puff pastry plus just a few other items. As she tells us, "I love that these danishes are super easy to make with just a few ingredients." In her opinion, the result of this recipe "tastes just like the Starbucks version," although she points out that her DIY Danishes cost just "a fraction of the price" that the coffee chain charges.

As making these copycat danishes is a relatively quick process, you could potentially have one of them in your hand in less time than it would take you to drive to Starbucks, place an order, and wait for the bag with your creatively spelled name. For starters, you'll just round up the ingredients, which are all pretty basic: In addition to frozen puff pastry, you'll need cream cheese (well, duh) plus sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice. Beat everything but the puff pastry together and voila! You have your filling or, more accurately, topping since it won't actually be encased in the pastry. Cut the pastry up into rectangles, plop a heap o'filling on top of each one, then bake these shortcut danishes until the pastry part puffs up and turns brown and the cheesy topping goes all gooey.

You'll probably want to let the danishes cool for a few minutes so you won't burn your mouth on the hot cheese, but this will give you time to fire up your coffee maker and brew your own venti-sized mug for a fraction of whatever you'd need to pay at Big Bucks. If you want something fancier than a standard cup o'joe, Musgrave advises these danishes "would go great with coffee drinks — cappuccino, latte, or iced coffee would be great." She also feels that "jam or jelly ... would be delicious" if you want to fancy up these plain danishes.