Berry & Cheese Danish Mummies! These easy puff pastry Danish are filled with a sweet, cream cheese filling and fresh berries & are frightfully easy to make!
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Note: This recipe was originally posted on October 17, 2017 and updated on October 6, 2021.
While most Halloween recipes revolve around desserts and party foods for evening festivities, I've come up with something fruity and fun that you can enjoy first thing in the morning! (Not that I'm judging if you wash down your green smoothie with a side of fun size candy bars on Halloween. You do you.)
These Berry & Cheese Danish Mummies came to me in a flash of pure genius! Ok, fine... maybe it was more like a growl of pure hunger, but either way, I imagined them into existence, and now you have an idea you can bring to the breakfast table on All Hallows' Eve.
Puff pastry Danish braids are given a ghoulish twist in this simple Halloween breakfast recipe! Filled sweetened cream cheese and fresh berries, they bake up into the most adorable mummies.
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Ingredients
Store bought puff pastry easily becomes the "gauzy" wrapping for big, juicy berries and sweetened cream cheese filling in these charmingly chilling mummified breakfast bites! Here are some of the things you'll need:
- Store bought puff pastry. I always have some on hand in the freezer for last minute recipes. Puff Pastry "Danish" is obviously not how it's traditionally made, but it's a great shortcut that results in a delicious treat!
- Cream cheese, sugar, egg yolk & vanilla extract. This makes the classic, creamy filling that is often found in cheese danish.
- Fresh berries. I used raspberries and blackberries, but feel free to use your favorites.
- Candy Eyes. Find these in the craft store or in the baking aisles around Halloween. They're so much fun to add to all kinds of foods for a fun, festive stare... I mean, flair!
- Powdered sugar & milk. This simple glaze puts the perfect finishing touch and adds an extra hint of sweetness to the pastry.
Directions
These puff pastry Danish mummies may look complicated, but they're really quite easy to make! Some creative cutting allows for easy assembly and the final result is way more silly than sinister, making it a great Halloween morning surprise for even the most easily-spooked little ghouls & goblins! Here's how I do it:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and prepare a baking pan by lining it with parchment paper for easy cleanup. Set aside.
Next, make the filling: In a medium bowl, beat together cream cheese, sugar, egg yolk and vanilla extract until smooth. Set aside.
Unroll the puff pastry while it's still slightly chilled. Cut the puff pastry into 6 equal rectangular pieces (most frozen puff pastry comes folded, so you'll have the lines as a guide). Place each piece on the prepared baking pan with the short sides of the rectangles facing you.
Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, make small, horizontal slits up the long sides of each rectangle, as you would if you were making a large pastry braid.
Spread about a tablespoon or so of the cream cheese filling down the center strip. Place a few berries in a line down the center of each rectangle, right on top of the filling. I was able to fit 7 alternating raspberries and blackberries, but the amount will depend on the size and type of berries you are using.
Starting at the top of each rectangle, pull the strips of puff pastry dough across the center of and over the berries and filling, alternating sides to create a crisscrossed "mummy wrap". Continue to "braid" all the way down to the end of each rectangle until all mummies are complete.
The best part is, they don't have to be neat and perfect since, as far as I know, mummies are normally found in less-than-pristine condition, making them ideal for allowing little helping hands to assist!
Bake them for 18-20 minutes or until puffed and golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
While the Danish are baking, make the glaze: Whisk together powdered sugar and milk or half and half; you'll want a consistency that can be drizzled but, not too runny, so add the liquid in small bits so you can gauge consistency as you go.
Drizzle the glaze over the cooled pastries -- I like to try to follow the lines created by the puff pastry as not to lose the definition.
Finally, place the candy eyes onto mummies, pressing lightly to adhere. (I don't bake them because some types of candy eyes get melty in the oven.)
That's a "wrap" on your Danish mummies! This recipe only makes 6 of them but feel free to double it for a larger crowd.
Substitutions & Variations
Whether you want to switch up the flavors or make them for different dietary preferences, these sweet treats are easy to alter to suit your needs!
Substitutions for Dietary Needs
- Dairy-free: Try using your favorite vegan cream cheese spread instead of regular cream cheese and substitute non-dairy milk for regular in the icing.
- Gluten-free: Try store-bought, gluten-free puff pastry brands such as Schar or GeeFree.
Flavor Variations
- Sub your favorite berries, such as blueberries or cherries, for the blackberries & raspberries.
- Instead of cream cheese, try jam for an extra fruity version or try a chocolate hazelnut spread as an alternative.
FAQ's
Yes. These can be assembled and refrigerated for a few hours before baking, if needed.
These Danish mummies are best enjoyed fresh out of the oven, but if you do have some left over, store in an airtight container and refrigerate. To reheat them, warm them for a few minutes in a 300 degree oven. (Note: This will melt the glaze.)
Other Halloween Recipes
Baking these Berry & Cheese Danish Mummies may very well get you in the "spirit" for more ghoulish grub! Try out some of my other favorite Halloween recipes:
- Pumpkin Chili Cheese Dip
- Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cornbread
- Spooky Eyeball Sweet Rolls
- Frankenstein Chocolate Whoopie Pies
Berry and Cheese Danish Mummies
Ingredients
- 4 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 package frozen store bought puff pastry, thawed but still cold
- 1 package raspberries rinsed and patted dry
- 1 package blackberries rinsed and patted dry
- Candy eyes
For Glaze
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons half & half or milk
Instructions
Make Danish Mummies
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and prepare a baking sheet by lining with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, beat together cream cheese, sugar, egg yolk and vanilla extract until smooth. Set aside.
- Unroll the puff pastry while it's still slightly chilled. Cut into 6 equal rectangular pieces. Place each piece on the prepared baking sheet with the short sides facing you.
- Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, make small slits up the long sides of each rectangle, as you would if you were making a large pastry braid.
- Spread about a tablespoon or so of the cream cheese filling down the center strip. Place berries in a line down the center of each rectangle.
- Starting at the top, pull the strips of puff pastry dough across the center of each rectangle, alternating sides to create the "mummy wrap". Continue to "braid" all the way down to the end of each rectangle until all mummies are complete.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until puffed and golden.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
Make Glaze
- Whisk together powdered sugar and half and half to make a glaze that is able to be drizzled but not too runny. {Add the liquid in small bits so you can gauge consistency as you go.}
- Drizzle glaze over the cooled pastries -- I like to try to follow the lines created by the puff pastry as not to lose the definition.
- Place candy eyes onto mummies, pressing lightly to adhere.
Notes
- Dairy-free: Try using your favorite vegan cream cheese spread instead of regular cream cheese and substitute non-dairy milk for regular in the icing.
- Gluten-free: Try store-bought, gluten-free puff pastry brands such as Schar or GeeFree.
- Sub your favorite berries, such as blueberries or cherries, for the blackberries & raspberries.
- Instead of cream cheese, try jam for an extra fruity version or try a chocolate hazelnut spread as an alternative.
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