orange pecan cream cheese coffee cake

First of all, thank you all so much for sharing the joy in our news. We are so excited to welcome a baby girl into our lives. I’m already so anxious to meet her! And I’m pretty sure she’s anxious to get out, too, because it’s like a dang karate school in my belly right now with all her (adorable) kicking.

Second of all, this coffee cake. You have to make it. The end.

OK but seriously, let’s think about all the things that are probably on your mind right now (as they are mine) — Christmas shopping, preparing the Christmas dinner menu, Christmas shopping, shoveling/snowblowing the snow off the driveway, decorating for Christmas, making sure you don’t slip and break a hip on your way from the house to the car, Christmas shopping, making sure the cat doesn’t destroy all the ornaments at the bottom of the tree, Christmas shopping (in case you can’t tell, I am WAY behind on my Christmas shopping). The last thing you’re thinking about is getting a legit meal on the table (unless Christmas cookies count, which in my house they totally have/do).

While you might not be so keen to have coffee cake for dinner (in which case, this soup should do the trick), you can definitely cross off your weekend breakfast/brunch with this one. And you get to sleep in, too. Huzzah!

If you’re not a real coffee cake fan (because it’s too sweet/too crumbly/too whatever), this recipe will likely change your mind. It’s sweet, yes, but it’s also tangy from the orange marmalade and cream cheese filling. And using Pillsbury crescent dough to make a braided coffee cake? Life = changed. It’s easy, it’s convenient, it’s delicious — it’s pretty much everything I’d want in a homemade breakfast/brunch treat. Done and done.

Oh, and those crunchy pecans added to the mix? Good gracious yum.

In our house, this coffee cake has manifested itself as breakfast, second breakfast, afternoon snack and dessert on multiple occasions. I can see it not only making a great addition to a holiday brunch, but also a tea-time spread (if that’s a thing you do) and a dessert table. Really, there is no pretense with this cake — it’s just really good, no matter when you eat it.

P.S. Check out more Pillsbury holiday eats on Serious Eats’ recipe hub.

Orange Pecan Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

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• Author: Girl Versus Dough
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Total Time: 40 mins
• Yield: 8 1x

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Ingredients

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• 3 oz cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations® seamless dough sheet
• 1/4 cup orange marmalade
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans, plus more for topping
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons milk

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Unroll seamless dough sheet onto prepared baking sheet. Spread cream cheese mixture along the center third of the dough. Spread marmalade on top of the cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle with chopped pecans.
4. Use kitchen scissors or a knife to cut 1 inch strips on either side of filling. Carefully fold opposite strips of dough over filling, crossing in the center to make a “braid.” Seal ends.
5. Bake 20 minutes until dough is golden brown. Transfer braid to a cooling rack; cool completely.
6. In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and milk to make a glaze. Drizzle glaze over cooled braid; sprinkle with extra chopped pecans.

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Disclosure: I received compensation from Pillsbury for recipe development purposes. All opinions are my own.