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Don’t head to the coffee shop — make this sugar plum cheese danish at home! It’s easy with frozen puff pastry.
I know I’m not the only one who gets excited when the new season of Starbucks treats and drinks roll out.
Yes, I adore my local coffee shop, but grabbing a treat to enjoy after running errands is one of life’s simple pleasures.
Except, as it turns out, those treats really add up in the budget.
Fortunately, with some frozen puff pastry on hand, it’s easy to make the Starbucks sugar plum cheese danish at home.
Plus, you can make it any time you like! You don’t have to wait for the magic date when it shows up at the coffee shop — if it does at all.
Give this easy recipe a try!
What is a sugar plum?
When the holidays roll around we hear a lot about sugar plums, but it’s not actually a varietal of plum.
Sugar plums are candies, usually seeds or dried fruits and nuts, coated in hard sugar. Their roundish shape resembles a plum, and oftentimes are tinted purple with candy leaves to mimic them even more.
While the candy is not very popular anymore, the phrase has stuck with us, and the sugar plum cheese danish is a riff on that name.
Ingredients for sugar plum cheese danish
You’ll need:
Puff pastry – This recipe is a cinch with premade puff pastry.
Cream cheese – Let the cream cheese come to room temperature before using. You will only need 4 ounces, or half a standard size block.
If you like, you can swap in low-fat cream cheese (sometimes labeled as neufchâtel cheese).
Powdered sugar – Also labeled as confectioner’s sugar. This is used to sweeten the cream cheese.
You can use granulated sugar in its place, but I like how easily the powdered sugar blends into the cream cheese.
Plum jam – Any plum jam or even plum jelly will work.
Spices – To add some warm seasonal flavor, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves are mixed into the plum jam. You can omit the spices if you prefer!
What if I don’t have plum jam?
Plum jam has become a bit harder to find in stores these days, thanks to the wide variety of other jam flavors.
You can make your own plum jam if you have the extra time. Marisa’s spiced plum jam is perfect for this pastry because it has the spices already mixed in.
Other jams can be swapped in as well! I use this base recipe for my red berry cheese danish, and it would also be great with cherry or blueberry preserves.
Want to skip the jam? Try my cream cheese danish recipe!
What kind of puff pastry should I buy?
For this recipe I use sheets of puff pastry, which are more readily available.
There are a few different brands, but you’ll usually find Pepperidge Farm puff pastry in the freezer aisle, near the frozen pies.
Make sure you do not purchase frozen phyllo dough! While it is great for other recipes, you want puff pastry.
Puff pastry is also sold as shells you can fill. I have not tried them for this recipe, but they would likely work well, especially if you enjoy lots of filling.
How to make this recipe
Thaw the puff pastry according to package directions. Some brands of pastry can be used directly from the refrigerator.
Make sure your cream cheese is softened too, or it won’t be easy to mix with the sugar and spread into the pastry.
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Roll out the puff pastry into an even sheet just to soften slightly.
Use a paring knife or pizza cutter to cut the pastry into 9 equal squares.
Press each square into the well of a standard muffin tin. Leave the corners hanging out.
In a mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy.
Divide mixture between pastry squares, spreading evenly into the bottoms.
In another bowl, mix together plum jam, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Dollop the jam on top of the cream cheese (you might not use it all; save it for your toast!).
Place the muffin tin in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, until the pastry is puffed and golden brown.
Let cool slightly, then remove from the pan and serve.
Storage tips
These danishes are best straight from the oven. I keep any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 2 days to ensure the cream cheese is fresh, and rewarm in the oven or toaster oven to crisp up the pastry.
They can also be frozen before or after baking for longer storage.
To freeze before baking, assemble as directed, then place the pan in the freezer. Chill for about 2 hours, until frozen, then pop out of the pan and store in an airtight bag in the freezer until ready to bake.
They can be baked from frozen; simply place back in a muffin tin and add more time to ensure they are fully baked.
To freeze after baking, remove from the pan and let cool completely. Place on a lined baking sheet and freeze for 2 hours, then transfer to an airtight bag.
Rebake in the oven until heated through.
The frozen danishes are best eaten within 3 months.
I love how quick and easy it is to make these sugar plum cheese danishes. Weekend or weekday, they’re a festive breakfast treat.
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star review below!
It means so much when you enjoy my recipes, so let me know how it goes and leave a comment if you have any questions.
Copycat Starbucks Sugar Plum Cheese Danish
Ingredients
- 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
- Flour, for rolling
- 4 ounces cream cheese or neufchâtel, softened
- 1 to 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup plum jam
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Dust countertop and rolling pin lightly with flour and roll out puff pastry gently just so it is slightly extended. You can skip this step if you prefer.
- Cut pastry dough into equal squares — one sheet should make 9. Transfer squares to a muffin tin and press gently into wells, leaving the corners out.
- Mix together cream cheese and powdered sugar. Divide evenly among puff pastry squares, spreading slightly with a spoon.
- Mix together jam, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, and top each pastry square with a dollop. (You may have extra remaining.)
- Bake for about 20 minutes, until puffed and golden. Serve immediately.
- Leftovers can be stored for up to 2 days and reheated in a toaster oven or microwave.
Notes
Recommended Products
Nutrition
Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate based on online calculators. Any nutritional information found on Stetted should be used as a general guideline only.
About Megan
I learned how to cook by exploring seasonal ingredients, and you can too! Meal time shouldn’t be stressful or complicated, and with fresh ingredients and easy methods, I’m here to help you enjoy the time spent in the kitchen. Read more…
I just had one of these today, and immediately started looking for a copycat recipe. I’m so excited to try this! I did notice there was course sugar sprinkled on the pastry, giving it a really delightful extra bit of crunch. If I wanted that on mine, would I sprinkle it on before baking, or immediately after? Any tips?
Hi Jenny! Interesting – when I had them before they didn’t have the sugar; I’ll have to try them. You should be able to use coarse/sparkling sugar before baking and it won’t melt. If you put it on after there is a chance it will just fall off the pastry. Let me know how it goes!
Idk if you’ll see this but I make them at work and yes sprinkle sugar before the bake trust
So I made this today exactly as instructed, except for one thing that was my own fault. I thought I could use crescent roll sheets as my puff pastry dough. Unfortunately at 400 degrees, they were already over browned at 12 minutes. That was my fault. The spices however were just too overpowering and I love these spices. I will still make this recipe again, but with the correct puff pastry dough and maybe half the amount of spices.
Just made these. They taste great! Should they be stored for up to two days at room temperature or in the fridge? Unsure because of the cream cheese.
Hi Dylan! I would put these in the fridge. The pastry won’t be as crisp for the leftovers but they’re just as tasty!
These sugar plum Danish sound so delish. My mouth watered in just reading recipe. Going to store to buy some ingredients to make tonight.
Could you use the puff pastry shells for this?
Hi Alyssa! I haven’t tried it but I imagine you could. You might need to add more filling.
Hello! Super excited to try this recipe. Can these be frozen?
Hi Alexandra! They definitely can be frozen, I usually freeze half the batch. You can freeze them already baked or assembled but not baked. If you freeze them unbaked, you can bake them from frozen, just add more time. If you freeze them after baking, make sure they are completely cooled first, then wrap in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag. I don’t freeze them longer than 3 months as they just don’t taste as good after that. I hope you enjoy!
This recipe is GREAT. I did everything precisely as it said in the recipe and OH. M’GOD. The only thing that would make it better is if my stomach wasn’t such a little bi**h and could handle more of them! Thanks Megan!
I can’t find plum jam out by me anywhere- what’s a good sub? Thank you! Excited to try these!:)
Hi Ashley! Plum jam is definitely getting hard to find for some reason. I have a recipe for homemade plum jam, but if you don’t want to make jam, you can swap in any favorite jam! Apricot, peach, or cherry would be the closest to plum. I hope you enjoy!
Thank you so much!:)
Why would you give her three stars and lessen her ratings if the issue was YOUR fault. That’s a huge mistake on your behalf that completely alters the recipe.
Super easy to make and pretty close to the real deal!!
I made these twice already and they are a hit with my niece and her family too. I just made some using Mango puree, delicious!
Oh, mango sounds so good! Enjoy, Sandra!
the directions say 12 well muffin tin…..picture shows 6 well muffin tin…………. which one is best please…….
Hi Sue, I usually get 9 danishes out of 1 sheet of puff pastry, so I recommend using a 12-well tin or 2 6-well tins. Hope that helps!