Apple Cheese Danish

1. Place the cottage cheese in a strainer lined with cheesecloth or heavy-duty paper towels. Pat dry with paper towels and set aside for 5 to 10 minutes.

2. Place apples in a bowl, and sprinkle with lemon juice to prevent browning.

3. Combine the cream cheese, drained cottage cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, egg, and vanilla extract in the bowl of an electric mixer, and mix 1 to 2 minutes on high speed, until almost smooth.

4. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

5. Cut each of the puff pastry sheets into 9 pieces; you should have 18 total. Roll the pieces out, one at a time, to make 5 x 5-inch squares. To ensure the pastries puff up, avoid using too much pressure or rolling over the edges of the dough.

6. Place a square in front of you so that it looks like a diamond. Spoon a generous amount of cheese filling down the middle of each square, leaving 1/4 inch of room at the top and bottom edges. Fan out 4-5 slices of apple down the center of each cheese-filled square. Bring the left and right corners together to meet in the center and pinch to seal.

7. Transfer the Danish to a baking sheet and repeat with the remaining pastries. Sprinkle sugar over each bundle and bake in the preheated oven until the pastry is golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Editor's Note

The pastries can be assembled the night before and refrigerated, lightly covered, overnight. Omit the sugar garnish; mist plastic wrap with cooking spray to prevent sticking. The next morning, sprinkle the pastries with the sugar and place the pans directly in the hot oven to bake.