This Braided Blueberry Cheese Danish has a golden brown dough, a ton of cream cheese filling, and blueberries that pop with every bite. It is a home run.
Put cheese in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave one minute. Stir. Microwave 30 seconds. Stir. At this point, all the cheese should be melted. Microwave for 30 more seconds until uniform and gloopy (it should look like cheese fondue at this point). Add the rest of the dough ingredients and the cheese to a food processor. Mix using the dough blade until a uniform color. If you do not have a food processor you can mix in a medium bowl with a wooden spoon but you may need to dump it onto wax paper and knead it by hand to thoroughly incorporate the ingredients.
Once the dough is a uniform color wet your hands and press it out into a 9×12 ish rectangle on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
To make the cream cheese filling you can add the cream cheese, vanilla, egg, and sweetener to the food processor (no need to wash) or to the bowl you were using. Mix until smooth in the food processor or with an electric mixer.
Put the filling down the center of the dough. Mine was spreading out a bit so I just pushed it back to the middle with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle the blueberries on top. Cut one-inch strips down the edges of the dough as shown in the photo. Crisscross one over the other, braiding as you go down. Bake for 40-45 min until the dough is golden and the cheese filling no longer jiggles.
Optional glaze: Mix 1 tablespoon of softened butter with 1 tablespoon of finely ground sweetener and ¼ teaspoon vanilla. Put in a piping bag and drizzle over the top of the warm pastry (or just spread on top). It will melt and make a shiny glaze. This only makes a small amount of icing. If you would like more you can double or triple it. If you don't want the icing to melt cool the danish to room temperature before adding the icing.