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What Great Grandma Ate / Recipes / Desserts / Easy Apple Danish Pastry Recipe (Gluten-Free Option)

Easy Apple Danish Pastry Recipe (Gluten-Free Option)

Last Updated on October 12, 2023 by Jean Choi 3 Comments

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A light and flaky Apple Danish Recipe made from pancake mix and stuffed with a delicious homemade apple pie filling! An easy 30-minute dessert featuring super simple ingredients- the best! 

an overhead shot of apple danishes on a white plate next to a rack of danishes and an apple.

What Makes This Recipe Great

I wanted to create an ooey gooey Apple Danish Pastry Recipe with all the original’s classic tastes and textures, but with a simpler method that didn’t involve puff pastry dough. This version is just as flaky, light, and delicious as the classic, but it’s made with pancake batter.

You heard me right, pancake batter! I love these sweet apple pastries because they really come together so easily with minimal ingredients and easy instructions. The resulting pastry features a homemade apple filling, a sweet glaze, and a melt-in-your-mouth buttery crust, making this treat absolutely irresistible. 

I made mine gluten-free, but this recipe is easy to make either way! You can also make it dairy-free with a few simple substitutions. 

Watch a Short Video of This Recipe

Ingredient Notes

a photo of recipe ingredients: apple, vanilla extract, arrowroot starch, egg, butter, sugar, coconut milk, and pancake mix.

Apple Filling

I made my own apple pie filling (it’s really easy and yummy), but you can use store-bought. Feel free to experiment with other fillings, like different kinds of jam or pie fillings. 

  • Butter: Vegan butter will also work.
  • Apple: For a sweeter Danish, use a red apple like Fuji. If you prefer a tart taste, granny smith apples work well. 
  • Granulated sugar
  • Water 
  • Cinnamon 
  • Arrowroot starch: I used arrowroot starch, which is a healthier alternative to cornstarch, but feel free to substitute cornstarch in a pinch. 

Danish

  • Pancake mix: I used a gluten-free pancake mix (Birch Benders), which I found to be the perfect base for my Danish. 
  • Cold butter
  • Granulated sugar
  • Full-fat coconut milk: You can also use half and half if preferred. 
  • Vanilla extract
  • Egg: This is for the egg wash, a crucial step that gives the dough that classic flaky texture and appearance.

Glaze

The glaze is optional, but it adds an extra bit of sweetness and a beautiful finished look. 

  • Powdered sugar
  • Milk: Use regular or dairy-free milk of choice. 

How to Make an Apple Danish

numbered step by step photos showing how to make apple danishes

Apple Filling

  1. Using a sharp knife, peel, core, and chop your apple. 
  2. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.
  3. Add chopped apple, sugar, 1 tbsp water, and cinnamon. Cover and stir occasionally while cooking for 5 minutes until slightly softened.
  4. Whisk together water and arrowroot starch in a small bowl and add to the saucepan.
  5. Stir and continue cooking while bubbling until the apple chunks are soft and the mixture is thickened and sticky.
  6. Remove from heat and cool while you make the dough.
numbered step by step photos showing how to make an apple danish with pancake mix.

Danish

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together pancake mix, butter, and sugar. Mix with your hands until crumbly – having chunks of butter not fully incorporated is okay.
  3. Add coconut milk and vanilla extract, and stir until a wet dough is formed.
  4. Drop the dough by 2 tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2-3 inches apart. 
  5. Grease the back of a tablespoon and make an indent in the center of each dough. Fill the centers with a spoonful of the apple filling.
  6. Crack the egg in a bowl and whisk to make an egg wash. Brush the top of the Danish with the egg wash, concentrating on the outer dough.
  7. Bake for 15-17 minutes until puffed and golden. Remove from the oven to cool completely. They’ll firm up as they cool.
  8. If using the glaze, stir together powdered sugar and milk in a bowl until smooth. You can add more milk for a thinner consistency. Use a fork to drizzle over the apple Danish. Enjoy!
gluten free apple danishes cooling on a wire rack

Expert Tips

  • Gluten-Free: Use a gluten-free pancake mix. I used Birch Bender’s, which turned out really nice!
  • Dairy-Free: Use dairy-free milk and vegan butter to make this apple Danish recipe dairy-free. 

Storage Tips

  • Store at room temperature for up to 2 days or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
  • To freeze, let your Danishes cool completely. Store in a freezer-safe container for 1-2 months. When ready to serve, thaw overnight and reheat in the oven for a few minutes to warm and crisp up the pastry. 
an up close shot of three pastries stuffed with cooked apple filling and drizzled with a sugar glaze

Recipe FAQs

What is Apple Danish made of?

An Apple Danish is typically made with flaky puff pastry sheets filled with cooked apples, sugar, and spices like cinnamon. It’s typically baked until golden brown, then drizzled with a sweet glaze. It is usually cut into triangles or rectangles and served warm out of the oven. 

For this recipe, I opted for an easier base, as puff pastry dough can be time-consuming to make. I used pancake mix, which yielded a similarly flaky dough and turned out delicious! 

More Sweet Treats

Cranberry Galette

Chewy Purple Ube Brownies

Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

Classic Cinnamon Vegan Coffee Cake

Gluten-Free Banana Upside Down Cake

apple danish pastries on a wire cooling rack

Easy Apple Danish Pastry Recipe

A light and flaky Apple Danish Recipe made from pancake mix and stuffed with a delicious homemade apple pie filling! An easy 30-minute dessert featuring super simple ingredients- the best! 
5 from 2 votes
Print Pin Rate
Keyword: apple danish, gluten free option
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 22 minutes minutes
Total Time: 32 minutes minutes
Servings: 16 servings
Calories: 164kcal

Video

Ingredients

Apple Filling

  • 2 tsp butter
  • 1 apple cut in to 1/4 inch pieces
  • 1 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1 tbsp water
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 tsp water
  • 1 tsp arrowroot starch

Danish

  • 2 cups gluten free pancake mix i used Birch Benders'
  • 1/2 cup cold butter cut into small pieces
  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 2/3 cup full-fat coconut milk or half and half
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 egg

Optional Glaze

  • 2/3 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tbsp milk of your choice

Instructions

Apple Filling

  • Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium low heat.
  • Add chopped apple, sugar, 1 tbsp water, and cinnamon. Cover and stir occasionally, while cooking for 5 minutes until slightly softened.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together water and arrowroot starch, and add to the saucepan.
  • Stir and continue cooking while bubbling until the apple chunks are soft and the mixture is thickened and sticky.
  • Remove from heat and cool while you make the dough.

Danish

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F, and line and baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a large mixing bowl, stir together pancake mix, butter, and sugar. Mix with your hands until crumbly – it's okay to have chunks of butter not fully incorporated.
  • Add coconut milk and vanilla extract, and stir until a wet dough is formed.
  • Drop the dough by 2 tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2-3 inches apart.
  • Grease the back of a tablespoon and make an indent in the center of each dough. Fill the centers with a spoonful of the apple filling.
  • Crack the egg in a bowl and whisk to make a egg wash. Brush the top of the danish with the egg wash, concentrating on the outer dough.
  • Bake for 15-17 minutes until puffed and golden. Remove from the oven to cool completely. They'll firm up as they cool.
  • If using the glaze, stir together powdered sugar and milk in a bowl until smooth. You can add more milk for a thinner consistency. Use a fork to drizzle over the danish. Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Easy Apple Danish Pastry Recipe
Amount Per Serving (1 danish – makes 16)
Calories 164 Calories from Fat 99
% Daily Value*
Fat 11g17%
Saturated Fat 7g44%
Trans Fat 0.2g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 2g
Cholesterol 48mg16%
Sodium 201mg9%
Potassium 103mg3%
Carbohydrates 13g4%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 4g4%
Protein 3g6%
Vitamin A 272IU5%
Vitamin C 1mg1%
Calcium 70mg7%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Notes

Expert Tips

  • Gluten-Free: Use a gluten-free pancake mix. I used Birch Bender’s, which turned out really nice!
  • Dairy-Free: Use dairy-free milk and vegan butter to make this apple Danish recipe dairy-free. 

Storage Tips

  • Store at room temperature for up to 2 days or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
  • To freeze, let your Danishes cool completely. Store in a freezer-safe container for 1-2 months. When ready to serve, thaw overnight and reheat in the oven for a few minutes to warm and crisp up the pastry. 

What Great Grandma Ate / Jean Choi is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Regarding other affiliate links and affiliate relationships: In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog. Thank you for your support and understanding.

196 shares
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By Jean Choi | October 9, 2023

Comments

  1. Jenn says

    October 26, 2023 at 4:32 pm

    5 stars
    god this recipe rocks. simple, straight forward, perfect sweetness. I think there might be a typo with tsp vs tbsp for the arrowroot step, but even so I will be making this on repeat. Thank you Jean!!!

    Reply
    • Jean Choi says

      October 29, 2023 at 3:22 pm

      Thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. It’s actually not a typo, it should thicken with just 1 tsp but maybe it was a different type of starch? Anyway – thank you so much for leaving a review!

      Reply
  2. Erika says

    May 4, 2024 at 6:39 pm

    5 stars
    This recipe is great! I made some (possibly) significant changes and the dough still turned out awesome. I used ghee, instead of butter, but I did chill it till it was hard. I used paleo pancake mix – instead of gluten free- and just added a 1/2 tsp xanthan gum. Also, I used coconut cream instead of coconut milk, and I ended up having to add 5 Tbsp of water to get the dough to the right consistency. I even added the egg white to the dough and just used the yolk for the egg wash. Normally, making this many changes to baked goods does not end well. But this did! The dough has a great texture and I think it will be my go-to recipe for other flavors of Danishes.

    Reply

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Hi, I’m Jean!

headshot of Jean Choi - blogger of What Great Grandma Ate

I’m a food lover and recipe developer living in Southern California. I love to share simple and approachable gluten-free recipes that are healthy but never sacrifice on flavor. I hope I can help you feel confident in the kitchen and inspire you to try out some new-to-you dishes!

More About Jean

Recipe Key

  • 3030 Min or Less
  • AIPAIP
  • EFEgg Free
  • LCLow Carb
  • NFNut Free
  • PPaleo
  • VVegan
  • W3Whole 30

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