{"id":10728,"date":"2025-07-27T23:42:54","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T03:42:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/snarklesauce.com\/blog\/?p=10728"},"modified":"2025-08-07T18:55:41","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T22:55:41","slug":"costco-cherry-cheese-danish-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snarklesauce.com\/blog\/2025\/07\/27\/costco-cherry-cheese-danish-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Costco Cherry Cheese Danish Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Author’s Note: As always, this is not a paid review. I have no affiliation with Costco<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You know better than this, Costco.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Man, I was so<\/em> excited about Costco’s new Cherry and Cheese Danish. And it somehow ended up being both better<\/em> and worse<\/em> than I expected. Hmmph!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Let’s start with the good.<\/strong> This pastry is so much more<\/em> home-made looking than I expected. It has a natural, rustic appearance, like an artisanal bakery. The dough is elegantly braided, and topped with a combination of crunchy streusel chunks and delicate icing. If you take the whole thing out of the package, no one would guess this came from a big box retailer.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Icing<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Sing the praises of the excellent pastry.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The pastry texture is fabulous<\/em>.<\/strong> Mind-blowing, even. Yes, it’s actually made with butter! It’s crisp, tender, and flakey. With a quality butter aroma. It’s a substantial dough, with a yeasty vibe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve generally been a fan of Costco pastry, but this is the best I’ve had. (And yessss, it’s much better than the pastry of Aldi’s Cherry Strudel<\/a>. Although, strudels and danish<\/a> are not the same thing.)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Fingers<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The cherry filling hath betrayed me.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

But. The cherry filling. What happened, Costco? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve had great<\/em> experiences with cherry-stuff from the Costco Bakery thus far. Above average. I loooove the round cherry danishes, and I enjoyed the cherry-topped cheesecake — the fruit was tangy and wholesome. Plump and perky natural texture, with a deep flavor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But THIS is entirely different. This is not<\/em> the same filling.<\/strong> This is, by comparison, an abomination. I feel betrayed.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Cherry<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The texture is gummy and gelatinous, instead of smooth and luscious. And there are only a few, tiny cherry fragments. Mostly just the sugary red goop. The flavor tastes artificial, like a jolly rancher. (It reminded me of the obnoxious fake flavor of this Racine Danish Kringle<\/a>.) Disappointingly, there are even artificial colors, including Yellow #5 & Yellow #6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don’t think I would be as<\/em> disappointed if it were not for all my other “very good” experiences with Costco cherry-filling-products. I expected better. I guess I’m offended, knowing that Costco KNOWS BETTER and can do<\/em> better. They just didn’t.<\/em> Hmmph!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Fingers<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Cheese filling is A-Ok, tho.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Anyway. Now that I’ve got that off my chest. The cheese filling is enjoyable.<\/strong> It’s deeply tangy, and only lightly sweet (the way I like it!), with a fluffy-yet-rich texture. It’s not good enough to make up for the cherry disappointment. But I liked it. Yes.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Serving the danish braid.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When slicing the danish, it helps to use a very large, very sharp knife. The slices are quite long.<\/strong> I measured mine at 5 inches at the widest point. It cuts better when chilled. There’s cherry filling on one side of the braid, and cheese filling on the other. Theoretically, you could divide this danish down the center and serve EITHER cherry OR cheese to your guests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I liked this danish best at room temperature. I stored mine in the refrigerator, but let each slice warm up to room temp on a plate before serving. The pastry actually gets reasonably crisp just from sitting out; I didn’t need to toast mine or re-bake it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(For a lighter, less sweet breakfast pastry, check out my review of Costco’s Butter Sugar Palmier<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Ingredients in Costco Danish Braid<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here are the ingredients. I’m delighted to see Butter and Cream Cheese among the first four ingredients. Plus real Vanilla Extract towards the end. I’m disappointed by the prominent High Fructose Corn Syrup (ingredient #7), Sodium Metabisulfite (a sulfite), FD&C Yellow #5 & #6, Artificial Flavor, Potassium Sorbate, and Sodium Phosphate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ingredients<\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Price and Servings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The 1 pound, 6 ounce danish cost $7.99 at my local Costco. I’d hazard there are 8 long, thin slices in this package. Which means each serving would cost about $1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a “Kirkland Signature<\/a>” (Costco store-brand) product, and the item # is: 1927582.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My package weight was almost exactly<\/em> the printed label weight of 22 ounces. I think the days of Costco slipping us some “extra” in our bakery packages is over. Alas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Shelf Life<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The “sell by” date on my package allowed approximately 2 days to consume. I kept mine in the refrigerator and ate it over approximately 6 days. It definitely tastes best the first day or two<\/strong>, but it’s still good almost a week later.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Dramatic Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The cherry filling makes me mad. Because this danish deserved better. The butter pastry is fabulous, but I can’t get past the icky stuff, like dyes, preservatives, HFCS, and artificial flavors. So, on my highly scientific “Awesome-o-Meter,” this treat scores a reluctant “Maybe.” It could have been “Speechless,” with just a little more effort from the Costco wizards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The End.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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More Reviews You Might Like (or Hate)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Check out these other reviews I’ve written. Or don’t. I won’t be mad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n