Fresh berries and cream cheese in a fancy flakey blueberry cream cheese braid! I love flakey sweet pastries, and when they’re filled with cream cheese and berries, I lose all willpower. My blueberry cream cheese braid is all these things, plus it’s simple to make. This sweet treat can be dessert or even a special breakfast. Fresh berries are in season. Combine them with a sweet cream cheese filling, all wrapped up in a flakey pastry, and this dish is hard to resist. I use the crescent roll dough sheets that you find in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. They are easy to roll out and are flakey and delicious.
Belle’s Blueberry Cream Cheese Braid
1 package crescent roll dough sheet (or crescent rolls)
1-pint blueberries
8 ounces cream cheese (softened to room temperature)
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Sliced almonds, if desired
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Unroll the crescent dough and pull the sides to make it an even rectangle. If you’re using crescent rolls- unroll the dough and press to seal the edges to make a sheet of rectangular dough. With a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until fluffy. Add 1/4 cup of sugar and half the lemon zest and beat until smooth. Spread the cream cheese mixture down the center of the crescent roll sheet, leaving about an inch of dough on both sides. In a bowl, toss the blueberries with the flour, the rest of the lemon zest, 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Place the blueberries evenly over the cream cheese mixture. Make diagonal cuts into the dough, starting next to the cream cheese and outward. Make about seven cuts on each side. Pull the strips of dough over the top of the blueberries, alternating sides. Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes to 17 minutes, or until golden brown. Let it cool. In a small bowl, whisk together the rest of the lemon juice and the powdered sugar to create a glaze. If the mixture is too thick, add a tiny amount of milk until it is thin enough to drizzle. When the braid has cooled, drizzle the glaze over the top. Sprinkle with sliced almonds if desired.
