Name: Apple–Cinnamon Danish (Reduced Sugar)
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Ingredients: 2 apples (6 ounces each), cored, halved, and sliced thin; 1 tablespoon unsalted butter , melted and cooled; 2 teaspoons lemon juice; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; ½ teaspoon ground ginger; ¼ teaspoon salt; 2 tablespoons coconut sugar; 1 (9½ by 9-inch) sheet puff pastry , thawed; 2 tablespoons apricot preserves

Why This Recipe Works

Apple Danish are often no-holds-barred confections, with sticky-sweet fillings that barely resemble fruit. They're also a production to make; the flaky dough alone can take hours, not to mention the time required to make the filling. Luckily, store-bought puff pastry proved to be a perfect base for our Danish: It's easy to work with, takes no time to prep, and contains very little sugar. But that was only half the battle. We also wanted a simple, fruit-forward filling that wasn't laden with sugar but still tasted pleasantly sweet. We decided to brush a small amount of apricot jelly onto the puff pastry to give the Danish a sweet-tart base. A sprinkle of cinnamon sugar gave us the sweetness we craved without going overboard; tasters preferred coconut sugar over Sucanat, since its neutral sweetness allowed the fruit flavor to shine through. Sliced apples, tossed with ginger, lemon juice, and a bit more cinnamon, made a perfect filling. Rolling the puff pastry around the apple slices created rose-like Danishes that were as pretty as they were delicious. Parbaking the apple slices ensured that they were pliable enough to roll without breaking.

Before You Begin

To thaw frozen puff pastry, let it sit either in the refrigerator for 24 hours or on the counter for 30 minutes to 1 hour. For an especially pretty presentation, sprinkle with confectioners' sugar before serving.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Toss apples with melted butter, lemon juice, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ginger, and salt in bowl. Spread apples in single layer on parchment paper–lined baking sheet and bake until softened, about 10 minutes. Set aside until cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes.

Line clean baking sheet with parchment and spray with vegetable oil spray. Combine coconut sugar with remaining ½ teaspoon cinnamon in bowl.

On floured counter, roll pastry into 12 by 10-inch rectangle, with long side parallel to counter edge. Brush preserves evenly over top and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Using sharp knife or pizza wheel, cut pastry lengthwise into six 10 by 2-inch strips.

Working with 1 strip of dough at a time, shingle 12 apple slices, peel side out, down length of dough, leaving 1-inch border of dough along bottom. Fold bottom inch of dough over bottom of apple slices, leaving top of apple slices exposed. Roll up dough and apples into tight pinwheel and place, apple side up, on prepared sheet.

Bake until golden brown and crisp, 22 to 26 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Let Danish cool on sheet for 15 minutes before serving.