Apple Danish

A Sheet-Pan Apple Pastry Sliced Into Bars

This isn’t your morning bakery danish. It’s a sheet-pan version closer to an apple slab pie, with a tender milk-and-egg-yolk pastry crust top and bottom, sliced apples cinnamon-sugared between, and a final almond-scented glaze drizzled on top.

The egg-yolk-and-milk pastry is what sets this apart from a standard pie crust. Both add richness and tenderness, and the yolk specifically contributes to a more golden, biscuity texture that holds up to a generous fruit filling without going soggy. Sliced thin, the apples melt into the cinnamon sugar as the pastry browns above them.

Brushing the top with stiffly beaten egg white before baking is the small step worth taking. The whipped white creates a slight crisp, almost meringue-like sheen on the crust, giving the danish a polished, pastry-shop finish that plain egg wash misses.

Pro Tips

• Use firm baking apples like Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, or Braeburn. Soft apples turn to applesauce and weep moisture into the crust.
• Roll the dough on a generously floured surface so it lifts cleanly into the jelly roll pan without tearing.
• Cool the bars completely before glazing. Warm pastry melts the glaze into the surface instead of leaving the pretty drizzle on top.
• Cut into bars only after the glaze has set, otherwise it sticks to the knife.

Variations

• Add a handful of raisins or chopped dried cranberries to the apple filling for extra chew.
• Swap almond extract for vanilla or maple flavoring in the glaze for a different finish.
• Use a mix of apples and pears for a softer, more autumnal filling profile.