Cherry Breakfast Braid

5 from 2 votes

This sweet and tasty cherry breakfast braid recipe is a simple, homemade favorite with dough, creamy cheese, cherries, and a delicious glaze!

Prep Time10

Cook Time25

Total Time35

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Cherry Breakfast Braid Recipe

Servings:

Calories: 237kcal

Ingredients

Filling

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
1 small lemon zest
¾ cup cherry pie filling (I used the Duncan Hines-Comstock brand)

Braid

8 ounce crescent roll sheet (I used Pillsbury brand)

Glaze

1½ cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice (from the zested lemon)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, using a handheld mixer on medium-low speed, beat together the softened cream cheese, granulated sugar, egg yolk, vanilla extract, salt and lemon zest until smooth.
Unroll the crescent roll sheet onto the prepared baking sheet and gently flatten it to a rough 8x14-inch rectangle.
Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut 10 (1½-inch) strips, at a diagonal, on each side. You want to leave the center solid (about 3 to 4 inches wide) because that is where you will place your filling.
Evenly spread your cream cheese mixture onto the center of your cut crescent roll sheet, being careful not to get it on the cut strips.
Spoon your cherry pie filling onto the top of the cream cheese filling.
Fold the ends of the crescent dough up, and over the top of the cream cheese and cherries. This helps the filling to stay nice and neat inside the ends of the cherry breakfast braid when baked.
Starting at one end, fold one strip across to the other side of the filling. Then take one strip from the opposite side and cross it over the top of the strip you just placed. Repeat until you have made a criss-cross (braid) pattern on the top of your crescent and fillings. You want to make sure that you go all the way across to the other side when placing your strips. This ensures that your filling does not seep out the sides when baked.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden.
In a medium bowl, combine the powdered sugar, heavy cream, and lemon juice. Whisk until smooth. If your glaze is too thick you can add a small amount of additional lemon juice to thin it. Be careful not to add too much liquid.
Allow your baked cherry breakfast braid to cool on the counter for 30 minutes before adding the glaze and serving.

Video

Notes

If you are serving a crowd, you can very easily double this recipe. If you get 1 (21-ounce) can of the canned pie filling, you can split the contents in half between the two breakfast braids, and it will yield approximately ¾ cup for each breakfast braid.
Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature to make combining them easy and ensuring there are no lumps.
Use either a sharp knife, pizza cutter, or a pastry wheel to easily cut the diagonal lines.
Oven temperatures vary and may need to be recalibrated periodically to ensure they are accurate. Make sure to check your breakfast braid at the lower end of the recommended baking time.
Make sure the puff pastry braid is cooled before you drizzle the glaze to make sure it sets nicely.

Nutrition