Apple Cream Cheese Danishes (Flourless)

I absolutely love these flourless fruit and cream cheese danishes for breakfast because they are delicious and nutritious! Delicious from the sweetness of the fruit and cream cheese topping. Nutritious from the white beans in the danish.

Ever since I made Blueberry Cream Cheese Danishes, I've been anxious to try more fruit varieties. These Apple Cream Cheese Danishes are delicious and remind me of my Apple Cream Cheese Crisp recipe.

Apple Cream Cheese Danishes
Ingredients:

For the filling and topping:

·4 - 6 oz. Neufchâtel cream cheese, softened
·2 – 3 TBS powdered sugar
·1 medium apple; peeled, cored, and cut into thin slices
·1 - 2 TBS brown sugar
·1 tsp cinnamon

For the dough:

·1 can white beans, rinsed and drained (I used Great Northern beans)

·¼ cup ground flaxseed meal

·¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

·3 TBS milk

·1 TBS vodka (Why vodka? It's a secret ingredient for flaky pie crust and adds some flakiness to a danish. Flavored vodkas can also be used to complement your fruit danish flavor. If desired, you can substitute milk for the vodka.)

·2 tsp apple cider vinegar

·1 TBS vanilla extract

·2 TBS potato starch
·2 tsp ground cinnamon
·½ tsp nutmeg

·½ tsp baking soda

·¾ tsp double-acting baking powder

·1/8 tsp sea salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375˚. Line 1 or 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.

In a small bowl, beat together cream cheese and powdered sugar. Taste and adjust cream cheese and/or powdered sugar to achieve the desired sweetness. Set aside.

In a blender or food processor, process the beans until they begin to form a paste. Add the flaxseed, oil, milk, vodka, vinegar, and vanilla extract. Process until very smooth and no bean lumps remain. Add the remaining dough ingredients and process just until blended. The bean dough mixture should resemble a very wet, soft dough. (Add a bit more milk if the dough is too dry and will not hold together).

Divide the dough into 8 equal portions and arrange on the baking sheets. Grease your palms liberally with oil and flatten each dough mound to a round disk ¼ inch thick and 4-5 inches diameter.

Divide the sweet cream cheese among the center of each disk, and spread with the back of a spoon to cover the dough (leave about ½ inch dough all around the edge). Next, divide apple slices evenly on top of the cream cheese, creating a bit of a mound in the middle. Using the back of a greased spoon, carefully push up the edge to form a rim encasing the fruit and holding it into place (leave the fruit uncovered in the middle).

Sprinkle the fruit in each danish with brown sugar and ground cinnamon, and bake for 40-50 minutes until the bottoms are deep golden brown.

Yield: 8 danishes