Chocalate Chip and Cream Cheese Danish

I saw this recipe on TV and was so tempted by them that I made them the next day. I'm glad I did, they are delicious! I have made them again since then with some slight adjustments. I know it sounds hard to make danish but it is super easy if you use store bought puff pastry. And once you make this recipe then you can make tons of different kinds by just changing the filling.

The Recipe:

(I basically followed Giada Di Laurentiis' recipe with a few slight modifications. Her original recipe can be found here.)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) cream cheese at room temperature
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon flour
  
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
• 2 (9-inch-square) sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed (check package for thawing directions)
  
• 1 egg, beaten

Directions

• Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
• Make the filling: In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, egg yolk, flour, sugar, vanilla and salt until smooth. Fold in the chocolate chips. Set aside.
• Cut each sheet of pastry into 4 equal-sized squares. Put 4 pastry squares on each prepared baking sheet. Spoon about 2 to 3 teaspoons of the filling into the center of each piece of pastry.
  
• Beat the remaining egg and brush egg on each of the corners of the pastry (this acts like a glue). Bring all four corners up over the filling and pinch together to secure (leaving some space between all of the sides on top so that air can escape while baking). Brush the top with beaten egg as well (this makes the pastry shiny and golden brown.)
• Bake until puffed and golden, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Like I said above, these are really easy and very delicious so give em a try!
Two additional suggests: pop the danish in the fridge for about 10 minutes after assembling and before baking so they can cool down and bake well (this keeps the chocolate chips in tact during baking instead of mixing in with the cheese and overpowering the filling). And 2nd suggestion, store left over danish in the fridge but then let come up to room temperature before eating (I also tried baking leftovers again to crisp them up but found it was better just to let them come up to room temp.).