When Dale Carnegie wrote his famous self-help book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People“, he listed six ways to get people to like you. I’m here to present you with a seventh way: make these cranberry apple cinnamon danishes and share them with whomever you are hoping to befriend.

Danishes are usually a pretty darn time-consuming thing to make with their layers of laminated dough, so I’ll let you in on a secret (OK, two secrets): one, I made these over a weekend, and two, they are made with Beatrice Ojakanga’s brilliant quick danish pastry recipe. I’ve dabbled with this recipe before, which has you roughly cut chunks of butter into flour, mix it with yeast, milk, sugar, and an egg, then tuck it in the fridge for an overnight rest – no kneading required. The next day you roll it and fold it a few times – only requiring about a quarter of the effort of full viennoiserie – and then voila, you have danishes, and everyone loves you.

These little beauties were inspired by “cinnamon snail” danishes, so called because they are rolled up like snails around a cinnamon-sugar filling. I had some leftover Thanksgiving cranberries in the freezer and a few baking apples languishing in my fruit bowl, so I chopped them up and sprinkled them over the filling before rolling up the dough. The result was spectacularly yummy: buttery, crisp, flaky pastry caramelized with cinnamon sugar and dotted with tart-sweet cranberry and apple bits. Guaranteed to win anyone over – and if not, then they’re probably not the kind of person you want to be associating with anyway 😉

Cranberry Apple Cinnamon Danishes

Pastry dough from Beatrice Ojakangas. Makes 24 danishes. Click here for a printable PDF of the recipe.

In a small bowl, mix together:

1/4 cup warm water (105-115˚F)

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

Let sit for about 5 minutes to proof the yeast, until it is frothy.

Add the proofed year to a large bowl along with:

1/2 cup milk, at room temperature

1 egg, at room temperature

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp fine salt

Whisk everything together and set aside.

Place 2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour in the bowl of a food processor. Cut 1 cup (8 oz) cold, unsalted butter into 1/4″ thick slices and add to the flour. Put the lid on the food processor and pulse 8-10 times, until the butter is in 1/2″ chunks. Don’t over-process it – it should be like very rough pie dough before the liquid is added.

Dump the flour-butter mixture into the bowl with the yeast mixture, and gently fold it together with a spatula until it is combined. Don’t overwork it, and don’t be tempted to knead it – you want the butter to still be in discrete chunks, but all the flour should be moistened.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight, or up to 4 days.

Lightly flour your work surface and turn the dough out onto it. Shape the dough into a square with your hands and roll it out into a 16″ x 16″ square. Fold the right third in to the middle, then the left third in as well, like a letter, to give you a rectangle.

Roll the folded dough out into a 24″ x 10″ rectangle. Again, fold in thirds (this time – top third down, bottom third up) to make a square.

Roll the dough into a 20″ x 20″ square and fold in the sides again in thirds to make a long, narrow rectangle.

Finally, fold this rectangle into thirds (top third down, bottom third up) to make a square. (Note that at any time during this process, you can cover and chill the dough for 30 minutes if it gets too soft to handle). Cover and chill the dough for at least 30 minutes (and up to 4 days) before proceeding.

While the dough chills, prepare the filling. In a medium bowl, toss together:

2 cups peeled and finely diced apple

1 cup roughly chopped fresh or frozen cranberries (you could use about 1/2 cup dried cranberries instead)

In another bowl, cream together:

1/2 cup soft unsalted butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

pinch fine salt

Roll the chilled pastry into a 20″ x 20″ square on a lightly floured surface. Gently smear the butter-sugar-cinnamon filling over the dough – I found it easiest to use my hands for this to prevent the dough from pulling and tearing. Scatter the apples and cranberries evenly over top.

Starting from one edge, tightly roll up the dough to enclose the filling, pinching the seam shut.

With a serrated knife, trim off the ends to expose the filling, then cut the log of dough into 24 equal slices. Divide the danishes between two baking sheets, leaving an inch of space between them. You can either put each individual danish on a paper muffin liner, or just line the baking sheets with parchment paper. Cover lightly and let proof at room temperature for 35-45 minutes, or chill in the fridge overnight.

When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375˚F (350˚F convection) with the racks in the top and bottom third positions. Bake the danishes for 20-25 minutes, rotating the baking sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until puffed and golden brown. Remove to a rack to cool.

In a small bowl, whisk together 1 cup confectioner’s sugar with 4-5 tsp milk and a pinch fine salt to make a thick but drizzlable icing. Drizzle over the danishes and allow to set. These are best eaten the day they are baked, but can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 day and no one will complain about it 😉