Hungry Girl's Crazy Delicious Danish

This recipe is one I helped develope! (I had to brag a little..go to the link below and they give me a shout out:)) I had seen the new Pillsbury Recipe Creations refrigerated dough at the grocery store (and had also seen it on Hungry Girl's website listed as a lower calorie alternative to a standard dough) and I decided to get a little creative. Growing up my mom always ordered what were called 'Butter Braids' from different fund raisers and they were G-O-O-D! I would look forward to waking up to them on a weekend morning. This memory sparked me to come up with a healthier alternative. So, the Hungry Girl's Crazy Delicious Danish was born.:) I experimented on my family and friends and came up with a pretty dang good recipe. I then emailed Hungry Girl's website and within a couple of weeks the recipe was posted on their site!! I was shocked that they actually liked it enough to make it part of the site.
Here is the link: http://www.hungry-girl.com/chew/chewdetails.php?isid=1731

MAKES 9 SERVINGS
Ingredients:
For Danish:
1 package Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations refrigerated dough
Half an 8-oz. tub fat-free cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup frozen dark sweet cherries, thawed
1/4 cup regular oats (not instant)
2 tbsp. Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
1 tbsp. light vanilla soymilk (or skim milk)
1/4 tsp. almond extract
For Icing:
1 tbsp. Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme
1 tbsp. Cool Whip Free, thawed
1/2 tbsp. Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
1 tsp. powdered sugar
1 tsp. cornstarch
1 drop vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. To make the icing, combine Splenda, powdered sugar, and cornstarch in a small microwave-safe bowl. Add 1/2 tbsp. cold water and the vanilla extract, and mix until ingredients have dissolved. Add Marshmallow Creme and microwave for 5 seconds, or until creme is soft enough to fold into mixture. Stir until smooth. Add Cool Whip and stir again, until evenly combined.
3. Refrigerate icing until you're ready to ice the Danish.
4. In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, oats, Splenda, soymilk (or skim milk), and almond extract, and stir until thoroughly mixed.
5. Fold in cherries and set aside. This is your filling.
6. Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick spray.
7. (I'll post pics of this part later)..Lay out your dough on the sheet and (using a rolling pin, a can, or your hands) lightly roll it out into a long rectangle of even thickness. Arrange baking sheet in front of you so that the short sides are on the left and right and the long sides are on the top and bottom. Spoon cherry filling lengthwise across the middle third of the dough, leaving 1-inch borders on the left and right of the filling. Along the top third of the dough, cut slits down from the top of the dough toward the filling, stopping about 1/2 inch away from the filling -- space slits about 1 inch apart from each other. Repeat on the bottom part of the rectangle, cutting upward toward the filling. This will create 1-inch-wide strips of dough on both the top and bottom of the filling.Starting at one side, alternate folding the 1-inch strips from the top and the bottom over the filling, covering filling completely and creating a criss-crossed, "braided" appearance. After all the strips have been folded, fold the short sides of the dough in toward the filling, so filling cannot escape, and pat firmly to seal.
8. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, until pastry is crispy and golden brown.
9. Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes.
10. Just before serving, drizzle entire Danish with icing. Cut into 9 slices and indulge! (P.S. Refrigerate leftovers.)
Nutrit. Info:
Serving Size: 1/9th of Danish
Calories: 118 Fat: 4.25g Sodium: 275mg Carbs: 17g Fiber: 0.5g Sugars: 5g Protein: 3.5g