The year was 1985 - Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the Soviet Union, Phil Collins released No Jacket Required, and the Pop-Tart had an utter monopoly on the heat-and-eat breakfast pastry market. Luckily, a man known only as Mr. Wieners created a frozen innovation, the so-called Toaster Strudel: a flakier and fruitier response to its shelf-stable contemporary. It would go on to partially fund a clique of particularly unkind young women, portrayed in the 2004 biopic “Mean Girls”. Anyway, today we’re making homemade toaster strudels.
Ingredients
Toaster Strudel Ingredients:
12 ¾ oz all purpose flour + more for dusting
½ tsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
12 oz unsalted butter, cubed + cold
6 ½ oz sour cream
1-2 Tbsp white vinegar or water, if needed
Filling(s) of choice (see recipes below)
Egg Wash (see recipe below)
Icing (see recipe below)
Blueberry Apricot Sumac Filling Ingredients:
10 oz frozen blueberries, preferably wild blueberries
2 oz dried apricots, finely chopped
2 ½ oz granulated sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp sumac
¼ tsp kosher salt
Apple Ginger Cardamom Filling Ingredients:
3 medium baking apples
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 oz light brown sugar
1 ½ oz honey
2 oz candied ginger, finely chopped
Juice from ½ lemon
Optional: 2 Tbsp bourbon
¾ tsp ground cardamom
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp kosher salt
Strawberry Basil Filling Ingredients:
4-6 large basil leaves, blanched + finely chopped
14 oz fresh ripe strawberries, washed + trimmed + finely chopped
2 ½ oz granulated sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
¼ tsp kosher salt
Egg Wash Ingredients:
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
Splash heavy cream
Pinch kosher salt
Icing Ingredients:
5 oz powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract or paste
¼ tsp kosher salt
Optional: ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
As needed heavy cream, reserved strawberry liquid, or lemon juice
Optional: food coloring of choice
Method
Toaster Strudel Method:
Combine the flour, salt, sugar, and cold butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix the ingredients together until well distributed and the butter pieces are the size of large blueberries, about 2-3 minutes.
Add in the sour cream and mix until a mostly homogenous dough forms.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead until the dough is mostly smooth. Shape the dough into a rough rectangle about ¾ inch thick. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
On a lightly floured work surface, unwrap the dough and roll it out to rectangle about 8 inches wide by 12 inches long and about ½ inch thick. Perform a 3-fold by folding the top section of the dough ⅔ over itself. Fold the bottom half completely over the top half like a letter.
Turn the dough 90 degrees such that the fold of the dough is on the left side, then repeat the 3-fold process twice more.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use, at least 30 minutes.
When ready to assemble, preheat the oven to 400 °F.
Working with half of the dough at a time, roll the first portion of dough out to about ⅛ inch thickness. Cut the dough into a rectangle, removing excess dough, then cut into 6 even rectangles.
Add about 2 tablespoons of your desired filled into the center of half of the rectangles leaving a ½ inch border around the exterior. Brush the border with Egg Wash, then drape the remaining dough rectangles over top, making sure to push out any air bubbles while sealing.
Seal the edges with a fork and trim off the excess dough. Transfer the strudel to a large rimming baking sheet lined with parchment paper, then refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
Meanwhile, repeat steps 8-10 with the remaining half of the dough.
Brush the top of each strudel with egg wash.
Bake the strudel in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and puffed. Allow the baked pastries to cool for 10-15 minutes before drizzling with Icing.
*If freezing, bake the strudel for 17-18 minutes or until blonde, then allow the pastries to cool completely before freezing in an airtight bag for up to 3 months. When ready to reheat, microwave on high for 30 seconds then transfer to a toaster to toast until golden brown.
Blueberry Apricot Sumac Filling Method:
Combine the blueberries, dried apricots, sugar, lemon juice, sumac, and salt in a medium pot. Cook the mixture over medium-low heat until the blueberries have released their moisture and the sauce has thickened to an almost paste-like consistency, about 10-20 minutes.
Turn off the heat and allow the filling to cool to room temperature before using.
Apple Ginger Cardamom Filling Method:
Peel, de-core, and grate the apples using the largest grate on a box grater.
In a medium pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the apples and toss in the melted butter, cook for 1-2 minutes to toast the apples.
Stir in the brown sugar, honey, lemon juice, bourbon (if using), cardamom, cinnamon and salt. Continue cooking the mixture on medium-low heat until the apples release more water and the sauce has thickened, about 10-30 minutes (depending on the moisture of the apple).
Turn off the heat and allow the filling to cool to room temperature before using.
Strawberry Basil Filling Method:
Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add the basil leaves and cook for 30 seconds. Immediately transfer the blanched basil into an ice bath to cool. Remove the basil from the ice bath and pat dry. Finely chop the basil and set aside.
Combine the strawberries, chopped basil, sugar, lemon juice, and salt in a medium pot. Cook the mixture over medium-low heat until the strawberries have released their moisture and the sauce has thicken, about 12-15 minutes.
Turn off the heat and allow the filling to cool to room temperature before using. If the strawberry filling is still too loose, strain about ½ cup of liquid from the filling using a fine mesh sieve over a small bowl. Reserve the strawberry liquid for later use.
Egg Wash Method:
Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside until ready to use.
Icing Method:
Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract or paste, salt, and cinnamon (if using) to a small bowl. Add just enough heavy cream, reserved strawberry liquid, or lemon juice to form a thick but drizzle-able sauce.
Optionally, color the icing using a few drops of food coloring.
Keep covered until ready to use.