►Combine cherries, 1/4 cup water, lemon juice, sugar, and cornstarch in a medium saucepan and place over medium high heat. Stir gently until cherries release their juices and the sugar melts, about 2 minutes. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat to low and cook, stirring frequently until the liquid thickens, about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in almond extract, if using. Cool to room temperature.

►Combine chèvre, cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on high, slowly incorporating sugar and vanilla, until creamy. Set aside.

►Preheat oven to 400°F.

►There are typically 2 rolls of puff pastry in one package. Lay out one roll on a silicone mat or piece of parchment paper. Divide it into 4 equal squares.

►Leaving a ½ centimeter edge, start ½ centimeter in from the corner and cut parallel to one side, not quite to the middle. Start from where you cut at the corner and make an L going down the other side but not all the way to the middle. Do this on each corner. Repeat on all 4 squares.

►Leaving a ½-centimeter border, make 8 total cuts along the edges of the square, with each cut going about ⅓ of the way through the length of the edge. Make sure the cuts do not touch in the middle of each side. These cuts will allow you to pull the edges of the dough to the center of the pastry to form a flower.

►Working with square at a time, put a scant teaspoon of cream cheese filling in the middle of each corner of the pastry. Place one cherry and small amount of cherry filling on each cream cheese corner. Fold each cut corner piece into the middle making sure to press slightly so it will hold. Put one cherry in the middle. Repeat for all four squares. Place in the refrigerator while you repeat the process on the second roll of pastry.

►Bake 12 minutes. Cool. Garnish danishes with a sprinkling of confectioners’ sugar just before serving.