Flaky pastry filled with a cinnamon apple pie filling, glazed with a maple vanilla bean glaze, these Cinnamon Apple Toaster Strudels are the perfect fall treat.
What can you use instead of an egg wash?
I like using an egg wash to brown the pastry and hold the layers together but you can also use heavy cream!
What is rough puff pastry?
Rough puff pastry is essentially a simpler, easier puff pastry that works great for a lot of things including toaster strudels and pie dough. Rather than laminating full sheets of butter in between the dough, small chunks of butter are mixed into the dry ingredients.
Homemade vs. Store bought Puff Pastry
I recommend either making the rough puff pastry listed in the recipe or a store bought puff pastry. My favorite brand of store bought pastry is Dufour but it can be quite expensive so alternatively I love Pepperidge Farms puff pastry.
Tips for making Cinnamon Apple Toaster Strudels
- If using store bought pastry, check the defrosting instructions before you start as they can vary drastically.
- It’s important to use apples that aren’t too sweet! Anything from granny smith to honey crisp to pink lady will all work. If the apples don’t seem like you could mush them and all the liquid has cooked off, simply add another 1/4 cup and cook until it has mostly evaporated.
- Make sure the apple filling is cold before adding it to the pastry. If the filling is warm, it will heat up the pastry and reduce the puff.
- Be sure to roll the homemade pastry out thin – thinner than you think. If the pastry is too thick it will puff to much and the pastry to filling ratio will be off.
- If you don’t want to use or make an egg wash, you can use heavy cream instead. I made this glaze with milk and maple syrup but someone commented saying I should use apple cider instead of milk and honestly I wish I had!
Additional Recipes to try!
- Apple Blackberry Toaster Strudels
- Lemon Blueberry Toaster Strudels
- Raspberry Rhubarb Toaster Strudel
Toaster Strudel Ingredients
- Apples: Honey crisp, Granny smith, or Pink Lady will all work well for the filling!
- Sugar: Granulated sugar sweetens the pastry and the filling, dark brown sugar is also used in the filling and powdered sugar is used for the glaze.
- Lemon: Lemon juice is added to the apples to keep their brightness amongst the sugar.
- Cinnamon: Ground cinnamon adds warmth to the apple filling.
- Vanilla: I used vanilla extract in the apple filling and vanilla bean paste in the glaze but you can use vanilla extract for both!
- Corn Starch: A bit of starch thickens the filling – without it the filling won’t have that soft apple pie texture.
- Flour: All purpose flour is used for the base of this pastry.
- Fine Sea Salt: A pinch of salt balances out the pastry and the filling.
- Butter: I prefer to use a high fat salted butter for the rough puff pastry because it is easier to incorporate but any butter should work. Butter is also added into the filling.
- Ice Water: It’s important to use ice cold water for the rough puff pastry.
- Egg: One egg is used to make the egg wash which helps seal the pastry layers as well as give them a shiny golden brown top.
- Maple Syrup: Be sure to use real maple syrup for the glaze!
- Milk (or apple cider): Originally I used whole milk for the glaze but someone suggested apple cider and I think that would be delicious.
How to make Cinnamon Apple Toaster Strudels
Rough Puff
- Add ice into a cup of water and set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and sugar with a fork.
- Thinly slice the cold butter, dropping it into the dry ingredients as you do. The slices should be between 1/8th and 1/4 of an inch thick.
- I like to use a pairing knife and cut directly off a big Kerrygold block but you can also pre slice the butter on a cutting board if you prefer. Just make sure the butter stays cold.
- Smush each slice of butter between your fingers into the dry ingredients to flatten them out and start working in the flour mixture.
- Drizzle the ice water onto the surface of everything in the bowl.
- Use a fork to mix and slightly smush the water into the mixture until it looks shaggy. It’s ok if it still looks a little dry but there shouldn’t be large amounts of completely dry flour left. Don’t be tempted to add more water.
- Pour the mixture onto a sheet of plastic wrap and use the sides of the plastic wrap to smush the dough into a square that’s between 1/2″ and 1″ thick.
- Place the dough in the fridge to chill for 45 minutes.
- After 45 minutes, dust your work surface with flour. Take the pie dough out of the fridge and roll the dough out in a rectangle that is about 1/4″ thick. Use flour and a bench scraper as needed to keep the dough moving and keep it from sticking.
- Letter fold the dough so fold the top third over the middle third, and then the bottom third over the other two thirds.
- Rotate the dough 90 degrees and roll the dough back out to 1/4″ thick. Repeat the letter folds, it should be a skinny long rectangle so when you fold it you will have a square.
- Rewrap the dough and chill for another 45 minutes.
- After the 45 minutes have passed repeat the above steps of rolling and folding the dough twice. Rewrap the dough and chill for another 45 minutes. At this point you can chill it for as long as you need until you’re ready to use it.
- If chilling for more than 6 hours, place it in a ziptop bag to make sure it doesn’t dry out.
Cinnamon Apple Filling
- Add the butter, both sugars, lemon juice, cinnamon salt and water into a medium pot with a lid.
- Dice approximately two apples into 1/2″ chunks, there is no need to peel them first.
- Cover the pot with the lid, place over medium low heat and wait until it starts to bubble.
- Continue to cook with the lid on until 90% of the liquid has evaporated and the apples are beginning to break down (more than just soft). Stir every 5 minutes and then replace the lid until finished cooking.
- If all the liquid has evaporated but the apples need to cook longer, add another splash or two of water and keep cooking.
- In a separate bowl stir together the corn starch a splash of water, and stir to combine.
- While stirring the apples, pour in the corn starch mixture. Stir and cook for another 2-3 minutes until it has visibly thickened.
- Remove from the heat and pour in the vanilla. Stir again and then pour it into a shallow heat safe dish to cool. Allow it to cool to room temperature and then move it to the fridge for at least 15 minutes.
- Make sure it’s cold before using for the filling of the puff pastry.
Assemble and Bake
- Preheat the oven to 400 F and place a rack in the center of the oven.
- Line a baking sheet, with a sheet of parchment paper.
- Make the egg wash by whisking the egg with two tablespoons of water and a sprinkle of salt in a small bowl.
- If using the homemade ruff puff, use flour as needed to roll the pastry as thin as you can. If using store bought, just give it a quick roll out so that it’s smooth and flat. For the homemade pastry you’ll want it to measure about 16″ x 10″ (slightly larger is better).
- Trim off any scraggly edges and then cut the rectangle into 8 even rectangles.
- Lay four of the rectangles onto the parchment lined baking sheet.
- Brush the edges of the rectangles on the sheet with the egg wash. Then spoon 3-4 tablespoons of the chilled apple filling into the center.
- Lay the top set of rectangles over the top of the bottom set. You have to slightly stretch each rectangle to fit it over the pile of filling.
- Press the edges of the two sheets of pastry together with your fingers first. Then use a fork to crimp the edges together so they are fully sealed.
- Use the same fork to prick the top of each pastry rectangle three times so that steam can escape.
- Brush the top of the pastries with more egg wash.
- Bake the pastry in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, then rotate and bake for another 10-15 minutes until deeply golden brown.
- Once baked, remove the sheet from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for 10-15 minutes minimum.
Vanilla Maple Glaze
- In a small bowl whisk together the powdered sugar, milk (or apple cider), maple syrup, and vanilla bean paste into a glaze. It should be the consistency of a creamy peanut butter or a thick honey. Add more powdered sugar or milk as needed to thicken or loosen the glaze respectively.
- Once cooled, spoon or drizzle the tops of the pastries with the glaze. Optionally top with a little flaky salt.
- These are best fresh but they will keep for a day or two at room temperature in an airtight container.
Cinnamon Apple Toaster Strudels
Flaky pastry filled with a cinnamon apple pie filling, glazed with a maple vanilla bean glaze, these Cinnamon Apple Toaster Strudels are the perfect fall treat.
Servings: 4
Equipment
Ingredients
Rough Puff Pastry
- 150 grams flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 150 grams salted butter cold!!
- 65 grams ice water
Apple Filling
- 300 grams apples honey crisp, granny smith, or pink lady
- 30 grams salted butter
- 30 grams dark brown sugar
- 30 grams granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 20 grams lemon juice
- 150 grams water
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
Vanilla Maple Glaze
- 160 grams powdered sugar
- 20 grams maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 25 grams whole milk or apple cider
Instructions
Rough Puff
- Add ice into a cup of water and set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and sugar with a fork.
- Thinly slice the cold butter, dropping it into the dry ingredients as you do. The slices should be between 1/8th and 1/4 of an inch thick.
- I like to use a pairing knife and cut directly off a big Kerrygold block but you can also pre slice the butter on a cutting board if you prefer. Just make sure the butter stays cold.
- Smush each slice of butter between your fingers into the dry ingredients to flatten them out and start working in the flour mixture.
- Drizzle the ice water onto the surface of everything in the bowl.
- Use a fork to mix and slightly smush the water into the mixture until it looks shaggy. It’s ok if it still looks a little dry but there shouldn’t be large amounts of completely dry flour left. Don’t be tempted to add more water.
- Pour the mixture onto a sheet of plastic wrap and use the sides of the plastic wrap to smush the dough into a square that’s between 1/2″ and 1″ thick.
- Place the dough in the fridge to chill for 45 minutes.
- After 45 minutes, dust your work surface with flour. Take the pie dough out of the fridge and roll the dough out in a rectangle that is about 1/4″ thick. Use flour and a bench scraper as needed to keep the dough moving and keep it from sticking.
- Letter fold the dough so fold the top third over the middle third, and then the bottom third over the other two thirds.
- Rotate the dough 90 degrees and roll the dough back out to 1/4″ thick. Repeat the letter folds, it should be a skinny long rectangle so when you fold it you will have a square.
- Rewrap the dough and chill for another 45 minutes.
- After the 45 minutes have passed repeat the above steps of rolling and folding the dough twice. Rewrap the dough and chill for another 45 minutes. At this point you can chill it for as long as you need until you’re ready to use it.
- If chilling for more than 6 hours, place it in a ziptop bag to make sure it doesn’t dry out.
Cinnamon Apple Filling
- Add the butter, both sugars, lemon juice, cinnamon salt and water into a medium pot with a lid.
- Dice approximately two apples into 1/2″ chunks, there is no need to peel them first.
- Cover the pot with the lid, place over medium low heat and wait until it starts to bubble.
- Continue to cook with the lid on until 90% of the liquid has evaporated and the apples are beginning to break down (more than just soft). Stir every 5 minutes and then replace the lid until finished cooking.
- If all the liquid has evaporated but the apples need to cook longer, add another splash or two of water and keep cooking.
- In a separate bowl stir together the corn starch a splash of water, and stir to combine.
- While stirring the apples, pour in the corn starch mixture. Stir and cook for another 2-3 minutes until it has visibly thickened.
- Remove from the heat and pour in the vanilla. Stir again and then pour it into a shallow heat safe dish to cool. Allow it to cool to room temperature and then move it to the fridge for at least 15 minutes.
- Make sure it’s cold before using for the filling of the puff pastry.
Assemble and Bake
- Preheat the oven to 400 F and place a rack in the center of the oven.
- Line a baking sheet, with a sheet of parchment paper.
- Make the egg wash by whisking the egg with two tablespoons of water and a sprinkle of salt in a small bowl.
- If using the homemade ruff puff, use flour as needed to roll the pastry as thin as you can. If using store bought, just give it a quick roll out so that it’s smooth and flat. For the homemade pastry you’ll want it to measure about 16″ x 10″ (slightly larger is better).
- Trim off any scraggly edges and then cut the rectangle into 8 even rectangles.
- Lay four of the rectangles onto the parchment lined baking sheet.
- Brush the edges of the rectangles on the sheet with the egg wash. Then spoon 3-4 tablespoons of the chilled apple filling into the center.
- Lay the top set of rectangles over the top of the bottom set. You have to slightly stretch each rectangle to fit it over the pile of filling.
- Press the edges of the two sheets of pastry together with your fingers first. Then use a fork to crimp the edges together so they are fully sealed.
- Use the same fork to prick the top of each pastry rectangle three times so that steam can escape.
- Brush the top of the pastries with more egg wash.
- Bake the pastry in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, then rotate and bake for another 10-15 minutes until deeply golden brown.
- Once baked, remove the sheet from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for 10-15 minutes minimum.
Vanilla Maple Glaze
- In a small bowl whisk together the powdered sugar, milk (or apple cider), maple syrup, and vanilla bean paste into a glaze. It should be the consistency of a creamy peanut butter or a thick honey. Add more powdered sugar or milk as needed to thicken or loosen the glaze respectively.
- Once cooled, spoon or drizzle the tops of the pastries with the glaze. Optionally top with a little flaky salt.
- These are best fresh but they will keep for a day or two at room temperature in an airtight container.
Notes
Tips for making Cinnamon Apple Toaster Strudels
- If using store bought pastry, check the defrosting instructions before you start as they can vary drastically.
- It’s important to use apples that aren’t too sweet! Anything from granny smith to honey crisp to pink lady will all work. If the apples don’t seem like you could mush them and all the liquid has cooked off, simply add another 1/4 cup and cook until it has mostly evaporated.
- Make sure the apple filling is cold before adding it to the pastry. If the filling is warm, it will heat up the pastry and reduce the puff.
- Be sure to roll the homemade pastry out thin – thinner than you think. If the pastry is too thick it will puff to much and the pastry to filling ratio will be off.
- If you don’t want to use or make an egg wash, you can use heavy cream instead. I made this glaze with milk and maple syrup but someone commented saying I should use apple cider instead of milk and honestly I wish I had!
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