Enjoy a sweet breakfast treat with a Gluten Free Blueberry Danish (egg free). Real blueberry jam with mascarpone cheese make a sweet and light filling. The dough is already dairy free and vegan, simply omit the cheese to make it completely dairy free.
Warm and hot from the oven, a gluten blueberry danish is something special. Not just because they’re gluten free and egg less but because I was able to make them without the full use of my hands. Yep. It’s like my Raspberry Danishes but better in terms of simplification.
My finger is healing well after the unfortunate mandoline incident. It’s no secret that my stress relievers are running and baking. Both of which have been compromised since:
1. School is out and both kids are home full time.
2. My finger is still healing and I can’t get my hands into dough or else risk certain death from infection. <—- (not really true…I’m being a little over dramatic)
So what do you do when you can’t bake or run to relieve stress?
Think about them incessantly… 😛
I have to say, with running, I am so much more motivated to get out and really start training for the half marathon.
And since I couldn’t bake, I thought about all the things I could have made, improved and developed.
Add in the fact my son is finished with school and is home all. day. long. He’s 7 years old but still needs constant direction or else he ends up in trouble. Having an extra child at home takes a little adjusting. Mr. Naughty absolutely loves it! He calls his brother his ‘friend’ and worships the ground he walks on. In fact, he even listens to him instead of me.
While it’s fun with a full house, I’m not gonna lie… it’s a little stressful getting into a new routine. #needtobake #runforsanity
The solution to alleviate the baking need? Take a recipe that’s already good and turn it to über good by simplifying the dough handling.
Instead of cutting into straight strips and twisting each individual danish, simply stamp them out with a coffee mug and brush the whole thing with shortening…
Easy.
Done.
I’m pretty sure this could not longer be considered a danish. But, if it looks like a danish and tastes like a danish… it’s going to be a danish in my mind.
I’ll let you decide when you make these. 🙂
- 3 cups gluten free basic white blend
- 1 packet yeast (I use Red Star)
- 4 Tbsp vegetable shortening--reserve 1 Tbsp for top
- ¾ cup pineapple juice
- ¾ cup milk of choice
- 2¼ tsp guar or xanthan gum
- ¼ tsp powdered pectin
- 1½- 2 cups blueberry jam or jelly
- 1/4 cup frozen blueberries optional
- 1½-2 cups mascarpone cheese (omit or use Vegan cream cheese for dairy free)
- Heat ¼ cup of milk to 100 degrees. Add yeast and set aside for 5 minutes or until foaming.
- Mix all dry ingredients for the dough. Combine yeast, juice, 3 Tbsp shortening and remaining milk.
- Mix ingredients by hand for at least 5 minutes to help activate gum.
- Lightly dust parchment paper with extra flour and gently press out dough to form a rectangle approximately 14x18 inches. Use a rolling pin to make an even layer.
- Use a mug to cut circles. Repeat with remaining dough and cover finished disks with plastic wrap.
- Melt remaining shortening and lightly brush the top and sides of each danish.
- Fill the center of each disk with approximately 1 Tbsp of cheese. Slightly flatten cheese and create a well in the center for the jelly. Add 1 Tbsp of blueberry jelly and a few frozen berries if using.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until just beginning to turn golden brown. Centers will be wet and bubbly.
- Allow to cool on a wire rack and set for at least 5 minutes.
Some other things you may like:
Raspberry Danish- gluten free, egg free, dairy free option
Blueberry Cheesecake- gluten free egg free
Blueberry Bars- gluten free egg free vegan
Raspberry Bars- gluten free, vegan, raw
Raspberry Cookie Dough Truffles- gluten free, dairy free, vegan
Hello, I’m Laura! Thanks for stopping by… I hope this blog will help you or someone you know and love. 
Wow…gorgeous and gluten free! Count me in!
Thank you so much Julie!
You could call them hotdogs if you wanted…and I’d still want to eat one (or three)! Seriously, these look amazing. For me, getting lost in a book or a good movie helps to relieve a little stress (if I can’t head into the kitchen).
Lol! You’re too sweet Heather. Books and movies are a great idea to help relax. Thanks so much!
Gorgeous, love the fresh blueberry center in these! Pretty sure you need to open your own bakery!
Thanks Krista! Lol, a bakery seems like an impossible dream…never say never though.?
Arg, my sister asked for a mandolin for her birthday and I have warned 100x to be careful with it! It makes me cringe every time!
Loving this dessert! You always have the most creative allergy-free recipes 🙂
Yeah, those mandolins will get you. ? Thanks so much Kacey!
Those look fantastic! Danishes are probably my favorite breakfast pastry. Sorry to hear about the mandolin accident–those things are terrifying! Hope you recover well 🙂
I’m almost certain I won’t ever use a mandolin again…but you never know? Thanks so much June!
I cut myself the first time I used my mandolin too! Apple chips….the perfect application for a slicer! Perfect, even, paper-thin slices of….well…the heel of my thumb apparently! It took weeks for the soft, meat-y part of my hand to heal, and months for me to try using the mandolin again. I have gotten better at it finally. However I proceed with extreme caution!
These are some pretty stunning danish! Yum!
Thank you Justine!
So glad to hear your finger is healing up well. I love that you simplified an already amazing recipe! I am craving all things blueberry lately and I’m pretty sure this batch of danishes would disappear way too quickly if they were in front of me 🙂 They look gorgeous!
Thank you Kelly! And these really did disappear quickly… 🙂
oh my goodness!!! A mandolin incident?! Those things can be so dangerous if you’re not careful. . I sometimes cut myself as well when I’m moving/working too quickly. and girl, I hear you on the kids being home this summer. . this is why I signed them up for a few camps .. at least I can have a few hours a day for peace 😛 ok, I LOVE these danishes!!!! and love that they are dairy free!!! woot woot!!!
Thank you Alice! I’m usually better accidents… Summer will be long but fun at home together!
Glad to hear you’re healing – those mandolines can be so dangerous. Love your simplified recipe – they look so tempting!
Thank you Jeanette. I won’t be using a mandoline again anytime soon.
I am seriously SWOONING over these danish beauties! I love how stuffed with blueberries and cream cheese they are! My kinda weekday breakfast for sure. 😉
Thank you so much Sarah! Blueberry breakfast are my favorite.
Can I use orange juice instead if pineapple juice?
Also, how many does this make?
Thanks!
Hi Trisha, Any juice should be fine and it makes roughly 16 Danishes.
Thank you!! I’m making them now for my family’s Saturday morning breakfast!
I hope you enjoy!
Oh my goodness!!!!! These were out of this world delicious!!! They were so simple to prepare and tasted amazing!! I did use orange juice instead of pineapple. It was so nice to have something gluten free that actually had a great chew to it and really tasted like a gluten yeast dough. I made some with homemade black raspberry jam and some with red raspberry. My family is in heaven this morning. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe! I will definitely be making these again!
I’m SO happy you LOVE them!! It’s so nice when you can finally have a safe breakfast treat?
These look so good, I cant wait to try them. I was wondering if it was possible to use pre-made dough, like crescent roll or the Pillsbury bisquits. I know thats cheating but I am not much of a dough maker and the pre-made and a lot quicker…Dont judge me..lol
Thanks so much Nickie! Lol, I’m not one to judge. 😀 If you are able to consume gluten products then by all means grab the pre-made pillsbury and speed things up even more! I think those would end up nice and flaky. The baking time might change so watch them carefully.
Yes! Making these today! So…could use butter instead of shortening? I have both but thought butter would taste good or would it change the dough? And…when you use pineapple juice is this frozen juice? Just found your site looks great as I can not eat Gluten or eggs. Thanks
Butter would be a great substitute and would have a more flavor. The juice I used was from canned pineapple but any juice can be used. One reader used orange juice and said it turned out wonderful! Thank you so much Jillian!
do you let them rise before they go in the oven
The liquid should be heated enough to activate the yeast. You don’t need to allow extra time to rise since they will be rising while you cut out all the dough and top them.
These look amazing! What is the texture of the dough like after cooking? Is it cookie-ish or more like a traditional danish? Chewy?
The dough is still soft but crispy around the edges. The dough shouldn’t be rolled out too thin or else the whole thing will become crispy. I wish it were as soft a a traditional gluten-egg based Danish but that texture is difficult to impossible without the added protein from the egg. Thanks so much!
Do you still need to add xanthan gum if it is included in the flour blend you are using?
Not usually. Mixes often contain higher amounts of gum to be ready used for just about anything. I would try making it first without adding any and see how the dough holds up and only add some of the dough is too fragile. Keep in mind mixes will give you different results than using my less starch mixes.
I made these danishes using melted butter in the dough mix and on top as I had not received a reply to my questions. I used a small bowl bigger then a mug to cut them out as I wanted a large Danish like what you buy at the grocery store bakery. I also used canned pie filling for the tops. Any kind will work great. Apple pie filling, Blueberry, Lemon, cherry. After cooled I drizzled tops with the frosting. Wow! They tasted great and flaky like a regular Danish. I used Bob Red Mill bread our mix. Oh so yummy!!
Hi Melody! So sorry I missed your previous message, it must have gone to my Spam folder. So happy to hear things turned out wonderful with your modifications.? These freeze well too!
Yay! Vegan danish is just what I was looking for!
Do you think it can work with all purpose
unbleached flour?
Thanks so much!
Yes! Just omit guar gum and knead by hand to develop the gluten strands in all purpose flour.
I wish I could part a picture of how terribly these turned out! First, there is no way to roll the dough as big and stated and still get pucks as thick as you did. Secondly, there’s no mention in here of letting the dough rest with the yeast, so not sure why there’s even yeast in it. Lastly, there’s no mention of making a well in the dough, so the mascarpone and jam melted and ran off the pucks. I ran out of mascarpone and used cream cheese on a few and those didn’t melt but the dough even on the ones that cooked correctly was dense as a brick. All in all it was a giant mess that got thrown away!
Melissa, So sorry to hear you had a difficult time with these danishes… If you read the directions the size to roll out the dough is an approximation– 14×18 inches. The dough doesn’t need additional rising time since the liquid was already warm and the sugar from the juice actually makes it rise too fast. If extra rising time was given, the gluten free structure would collapse the moment you add any filling. Please read the directions again, as I did mention a well; “use approx 1 T mascarpone cheese and slightly flatten to create a well for jelly” The outside of the danishes should just turn golden brown on the edges to keep the centers soft. A preheated oven for 15-20 minutes will always create the best results for any baked good.
I hope with those changes you will have success the next time you make these!
These look absolutely beautiful – can’t wait to try and I appreciate others advice on substitutions! I do have a question though – well 2 actually! Is it rapid rise yeast you use or just regular yeast? And what’s the pectin? Is this an egg replacement?? I don’t usually use egg free recipes, since it’s not an issue for me, but obviously you don’t need them in this!
Thanks:)
Hi Trish, rapid rise yeast takes les time to rise than standard yeast…simply use what you have. Pectin is a binder used for gluten free baking and isn’t an egg exactly but acts like a glue. Hope that answers your questions!
Hi Laura I just made the Danishes and they are wonderful and even my picky husband really liked them. I am just wondering why pineapple juice? Is it just for the sweetness or is there something in it that helps with gluten and egg free baking?
Hi Susie,
I chose pineapple juice for a few reasons… It is really sweet, natural and is acidic. Adding extra forms of acid (apple cider vinegar) to baked goods helps the pH of the dough with rising. Salt is also needed to help create a good condition for baked goods.
Hey! I’m new to your website, and I love checking out all of your recipes! They look beautiful! I made these Danish yesterday. Unfortunately, I had some trouble and I wanted to get your advice. I really didn’t want to use vegatable shortening for health reasons. I found palm shortening online and that seemed a reasonable sub. However, it turned out to be crazy expensive online and super difficult to find locally. In desperation (pasteries do that…it’s a thing!) I tried coconut oil. The resulting dough was extremely difficult to handle- crazy sticky! It was hard to roll, very hard to cut into circles and lift up, etc. It was so frustrating that I almost gave up! But…pasteries…so I got the few I could and baked them. The end danish were okay, actually…but oil all over the baking sheet so dough was greasy. They also seemed to not brown like yours. Can you help? Is there anything I can sub for the shortening and get accurate results? Is your dough difficult to handle? You made it look super easy in your photos! Thank you for your help!!
Hi Jenn! Boo to mandolin troubles; YES to becoming consumed with making pastries! Coconut oil is tricky since you’d need less for almost all recipes (it’s just an oily oil) I actually used palm shortening for the vegetable shortening. Many people get turned off by Palm since many brands destroy the rainforests… I use Spectrum Organic Palm Shortening (which is sustainable Palm) and found it at my health store and Whole Foods for about $7 a large tub.
If you cannot find the shortening, try using less coconut oil AND adding some flour as a dusting surface to reduce stickiness.
Hope that helps!!