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PUMPKIN SPICE…and all things nice!!
Ok, plus sweet and buttery and flaky!
Let the holiday baking begin, right? Yes, yes, YES. Or at least that’s how I’m feeling. I just finished shipping off a box full of cookies to my cookbook editor, spent all day Sunday baking things for upcoming holiday posts and have plans to do MORE baking and photographing today. Yes, the holidays are officially upon us, and if I haven’t already said this (pretty sure I have), I could not be more excited! And these fun and easy twisted pumpkin spice danish are only the beginning…a sweet beginning for sure though.
Think flaky puff pasty, cream cheese and sweet pumpkin filling, butter and pumpkin spice. Basically a dream combo, plus all things holiday, delicious, easy and fun. And did I mention easy? Because these are honestly the easiest. Easy enough to whip up on a Tuesday, yet delicious enough to serve up for holiday parties, or even that big Thanksgiving feast. <–do both!
I’m going to honest, when I set out to make these, I wasn’t sure if they would make the cut for the blog. As you guys know, I am pretty picky about the recipes I share with you, and by that I mean, they have to be beyond amazing. If a recipe is just OK it either needs to either be reworked or just thrown out.
When I first made these twists last week, I wasn’t sure about how exciting they would feel, BUT when I began mixing the pumpkin spice, vanilla, and pumpkin puree together, and the smells of cinnamon, ginger and sweet things hit my nose, I started to get excited. When I broke out the puff pastry and spread it with a heavy layer of cream cheese I knew I would be sharing these. They may seem simple, but trust me these are nothing short of amazing…especially warm, right out of the oven with a light sprinkle of fancy coarse sugar.
Like OH MY GOSH – so good!
Maybe even pair them with a warm mug of hot chocolate? Wait, who am I kidding, definitely pair them with a warm mug of hot chocolate. Then you’ll have the perfect, well-rounded sweet treat for literally any time of day.
In fact, I may need to make a fresh batch as a little reward for myself for finishing up the cookbook manuscript, and then getting off a box full of cookies to my editor for the book launch meeting today (the cookie recipes will be in the book!). Ahh, can you say nervous, scared…excited?!? Because those are my feelings at the moment. Still cannot believe this book thing is coming to life and that a year from now you will all be able to hold it in your hands and cook all the recipes!! Yeah!
In the meantime, though we should all be making these easy twisted pumpkin spice danish. Like I said, these would be great served at a Thanksgiving brunch, or maybe even better served as a sweet appetizer to have out for guests to snack on before the big meal. After the holidays, these would make a nice little quick treat, seeing that they can be made in just about thirty minutes, with ingredients you may already have on hand. I don’t know about you guys, but at any given point of the year, I always have canned pumpkin, spices, and vanilla in the pantry, puff pasty in the freezer, and cream cheese and butter in the fridge…always.
What? I like to have a well stocked kitchen, especially during this time of year, when people stop in for visits almost daily!
Random Question: are these more breakfast, brunch or dessert to you? Seeing as there is no chocolate involved, I feel like these twists are fair game for breakfast. But I mean…we all know that adding a little chocolate would never stop me from having something for breakfast. Examples 1, 2, 3.
Easy Twisted Pumpkin Spice Danish.
Servings: 12 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 447 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 sheets frozen puff pastry thawed
- 6 ounces cream cheese softened
- 4 tablespoons butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degree F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- To make the pumpkin spice sugar. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.
- In a separate small bowl, stir together the pumpkin puree, vanilla and 2 tablespoons of the sugar mix.
- Lay the puff pastry flat, on a clean work surface and evenly spread the cream cheese over each sheet. Now evenly spread the pumpkin mix over the cream cheese. Cut each sheet lengthwise into 6 (1/2-inch-wide) strips. Take each strip, fold in half lengthwise to enclose the filling. Gently twist each strip several times and place on the prepared baking sheet - don't worry if some of the filling squeezes out. To make swirls, roll the twisted pastry into a coil, or simply leave as twists. Generously brush each twist with butter and sprinkle evenly with the remaining pumpkin spice sugar mix.
- Bake the twists for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly golden. Serve warm with a light dusting or sprinkle of coarse sugar, if desired.
I’ll have a danish…or two. 🙂
PS. Happy election day! Hope everyone has either already voted or is finding a way to get out and vote! Then come home to make these easy pumpkin twists, pair them with a steaming mug of hot chocolate (or tea or coffee, but I mean, hot chocolates is really the bestest). Cause you know, voting can be stressful and we need something sweet to calm our nerves. YOU ARE WELCOME.
Absolute mess. Was terrible to try to twist together or roll up, either way suggested resulted in a huge mess. The filling oozed out when I was attempting to twist it or wrap it and by the time it was finished kind of baking it was nothing but dough that was slightly flavored. Did not work out for me. Was a little embarrassed to serve these to our guests.
This recipe is garbage. My smoke alarms are going off because 375 is way too high and the pastrys are all burned after a few minutes.
Hi Jennifer! I am really sorry about that! Usually 375 is not too high for me, is there anything I can help with? xTieghan
Hi! My friend requested pastries for his birthday and This looks amazing. Could I sub in a summer fruit purée instead? Thank you!
Hey Marie,
This sounds like a great idea! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Hello! I was curious if I could assemble these the night before and bake off the next morning? Hoping to make for brunch next weekend—they look amazing!
HI Katelyn!! Yes you can assemble and bake off the next morning. That works great! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan
I made these a few weeks ago, and while not nearly as pretty as yours, still amazingly tasty. Devoured within 24 hours. Thank you!
Thank you! I am so glad you liked these!
There’s nothing wrong with being picky! I am incredibly uptight about making all of my blog posts the absolute BEST that they can possibly be before pressing the publish button. It’s what helps us grow and improve our content! That aside, these danishes look so tasty! Pumpkin spice is fantastic in EVERYTHING!
Their recipes are simply fantastic and this could not be different. I’ll ask my wife to do it as soon as possible. Congratulations
Thanks !! Hope you to love it!
I think we are soul sisters…your recipes, photos and your write like spunky daughter. I am just drawn to your site. So thank you so much from my little world in Meadow Lakes, Alaska
Teri
I am so happy you like it so much! Thank you Teri!!
Can you make these the night before, refrigerate them and then bake in the morning?
A neighbor’s daughter wants to surprise her family Thanksgiving morning and I told her I could help her make them Wednesday evening.
I made the recipe a week ago and the results were devoured.
Pumpkin spice has never looked better, I love this danish!
Thank you!!
This look amazing 🙂
Thank you Jeanette!
These couldn’t have come at a better time, my mother just texted me saying she needs a killer pumpkin or sweet potato recipe for her work potluck. 🙂 Like yourself, I’m the go-to chef for my family. Do you think they’d work with sweet potato instead of pumpkin? Or should I make something savory of yours for her co-workers? (Making something of yours is basically non-negotiable. ;)) Also, CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN on the cookbook progress! Cannot wait to hold it in my hands a year from now!
Hi Christine!! Haha, too funny! I think sweet potato would be delish! I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure, but I think it will probably be great! Just use an equal amount for the pumpkin. Let me know if you have any questions at all. Thank you and I hope these are a hit! 🙂
Yummy!
Thanks Nancy!! Always the best from you!! (:
can’t wait to make this!
Hope you love them!! Thanks!
Would love to have some of these with a mug of hot chocolate! As for your random question – I would probably eat them for breakfast or as an afternoon treat with my tea :).
Ah!! That sounds delish!! both perfect times!! Thanks Julia!!