Blueberry Cream Cheese Danishes (Flourless)

This is a delicious recipe for gluten-free Blueberry Cream Cheese Danishes! The dough texture isn't exactly the same texture of a gluten danish, but the gluten-free version has a great texture that is somewhat flaky and tastes As Good As Gluten. I'm anxious to get back into the kitchen and start experimenting with different fruit flavors using this base cream cheese danish recipe.

You'll notice that my danishes are somewhat skimp on blueberries. Even though I piled the blueberries on before baking, they cooked down a lot. So, follow the recipe below and pile on the fruit for a fruitier danish!

A few weeks ago, Kalinda at Wheat Free Meat Free posted a Vegetarian Gluten-Free Roundup that included my Lemon Custard Cakes and a delicious recipe from Ricki at Diet, Dessert, and Dogs for Freeform Blueberry "Cream Cheese" Danishes. I've made delicious desserts by baking with black beans, and I've been wanting to try baking with white beans. When I saw Ricki's recipe, I knew that Blueberry Cream Cheese Danishes would be my first attempt at baking with white beans.

Ricki's recipe is written gluten-free, sugar-free, grain-free, anti-candida, and vegan. However, I'm only gluten-free and chose to adapt Ricki's recipe to meet my needs. So, if you need sugar-free alternatives or vegan alternatives to this recipe, Ricki's already done the work for you.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Danishes
Adapted from Diet, Dessert, and Dogs 

Ingredients:

For the filling and topping:

·4 - 6 oz. Neufchâtel cream cheese, softened
·2 – 3 TBS powdered sugar
·1 cup frozen blueberries
·1 - 2 TBS brown sugar

For the dough:

·1 can white beans, rinsed and drained (I used Great Northern, but navy or white kidney would work)

·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

·½ tsp baking soda

·¾ tsp double-acting baking powder

·1/8 tsp sea salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375˚. Line 1 - 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 until blended. The bean dough mixture should resemble a 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, pile about 2 TBS frozen blueberries 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 edges of the dough to form a rim encasing the fruit (leave the fruit uncovered in the middle).

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

Yield: 8 danishes

I've also shared this recipe on: Seasonal Sunday