Caramel Apple Toaster Strudel
These Caramel Apple Toaster Strudel are a homemade twist on your childhood favorite! With a sticky sweet caramel apple filling and a cream cheese glaze, these are an upgrade on the classic.
Okay, raise your hand if you loved having Toaster Strudel for breakfast as a kid or teen. Hand raised? This recipe is for you. Think of your childhood favorite, with its super flaky crust, sticky fruit filling, and sweet creamy icing—now imagine it deliciously upgraded for grown-up consumption.
These Caramel Apple Toaster Strudels are a fall-themed homemade take on the regular old Apple Toaster Strudel. They have a gooey apple filling that’s thick, sweet, and full of creamy caramel.
How to make homemade apple toaster strudel
To start, you’ll dice half of the apples into small chunks to add texture and grate the other half of the apples to help thicken the apple mixture. After cooking down the apples for a few minutes to soften them, caramel is mixed right into the apple mixture. This gives you that swoon-worthy caramel apple flavor without the mess of eating an actual caramel apple.
We use puff pastry for the strudel crust, which makes these much easier to make. We roll the puff pastry into a large rectangle to get a crispy, layered crust that isn’t too thick.
The, we’ll dollop the caramel apple mixture on top of rectangles of puff pastry. Seal them with an egg wash and another rectangle of puff pastry. If you want a shiny crust, you can add more egg wash on top of the prepared Toaster Strudel before baking.
After turning golden brown in the oven, you’ll drizzle these Caramel Apple Toaster Strudels with cream cheese icing. Let everyone drizzle on their own icing for the most classic experience!
Take a bite and be brought back to your childhood mornings in the best possible way.
How to store & freeze
To store in the refrigerator: keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days. Reheat in the toaster when ready to serve. Store icing separately and add just before serving.
To store in the freezer: keep in an airtight container in the freezer for up to six months. Reheat in the toaster when ready to serve, no need to defrost. Store icing separately and add just before serving.
Want more apple goodness?
- Vegan Apple Oatmeal Muffins
- Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookie Bars
- Homemade Apple Syrup
- Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
- Caramel Apple Baked Brie
Caramel Apple Toaster Strudel
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 60 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Breakfast, Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
These Caramel Apple Toaster Strudel are a homemade twist on your childhood favorite! With a sticky sweet caramel apple filling and a cream cheese glaze, these are an upgrade on the classic.
Ingredients
For the filling
- 2 baking apples, peeled and cored
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoon flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup caramel sauce
- 1 package (2 sheets) puff pastry, thawed
- 1 egg, beaten
For the frosting
- 4 oz. cream cheese
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Prepare filling: Grate apple on the large side of a box grater. Squeeze out excess juices from grated apples (don’t dry them out completely, but they shouldn’t be dripping). Dice other half of apple into very small (about 1/8″) chunks.
- Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add grated and diced apples and stir to coat. Add flour, cinnamon, and salt and cook over medium heat, about 5 minutes. Add caramel sauce and cook for another 5 minutes, until thick and syrupy. Let cool before using.
- On a well-floured surface, roll out one sheet of puff pastry into a large 10”-x-14” rectangle. Using a pizza cutter or very sharp knife, cut rectangle in half lengthwise, creating two 5”-x-14” rectangles. Cut each into four equal rectangles.
- Place one heaping tablespoon caramel apple mixture in the middle of four rectangles of puff pastry. Brush the other four rectangles of puff pastry with beaten egg using a pastry brush and lay egg-washed side down on top of filling. Use a fork to seal edges and make a few holes with tines of the fork on top. Repeat with other sheet of puff pastry.
- Bake strudels on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 30-25 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool 15 minutes before serving. Best served warm. Reheat for a few minutes in a toaster oven if desired.
- For icing: In a mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth. Transfer to a plastic bag or piping bag and drizzle on toaster strudels just before serving.
Yummy that sounds so good! I love anything with apples.
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My cousins are all about toaster strudels and these look delicious- and way better than store-bought :)
Oh gosh, my hand is raised! I used to have these growing up and I can just imagine how much better homemade ones would taste! These look amazing! Love the caramel apple combo!
We didn;t have toaster strudel in Australia but this looks so delish! Could eat several right now :)
Can you believe I’ve never actually had a toaster strudel? I’m discovering many of these childhood treats late in life. Love how easy this looks with the puffed pastry, I would use that stuff every day if I could!
When I was a kid my mom probably hated bringing me through the freezer aisle because I always begged for Toaster Strudel. Haha. But these are KING! They are so stuffed full of delicious filling. They look amazing!
I used to eat the heck out of these things as a kid, but I’m pretty sure a homemade version trumps the processed stuff from the freezer section. I love this grown up version!
These look so delicious!!
I have been wanting to make toaster strudel for so long now. This looks perfect for fall!
They were surprisingly easy, Kathleen! You have to try them :)
I have honestly never eaten, or heard of, toaster strudel…maybe it isn’t an NZ thing? BUT they look so good and I think I need to try them out – caramel + apple encased in flaky pastry has to be a good thing <3
It’s probably just a US-only chemical-filled treat :) haha, you’re much better off with the homemade version!! Thanks, Claudia.
Oh my goodness, both my hands are raised for these caramel apple strudels! Your pictures AND your amazing description has me practically jumping out of bed to make these – YUM
This is so brilliant! I am loving the apple filling! So perfect for fall!
Love these! Your homemade version looks so much better than a store bought toaster strudel!
Wow! I don’t remember toaster strudels ever looking so delicious!
I’m absolutely in love with homemade versions of childhood faves, this is definitely a must try!
I did love toaster strudel growing up, and I can definitely say that your version looks 100% better! I love all that filling — these would be so amazing for breakfast!
I always liked the blueberry toaster strudel
better. However, these do look good though.
Am I missing something? What are the ingredients to make the puff pastry dough?
Hi Malka, this recipe uses store-bought puff pastry, which you can see in the ingredients list!
I wanted to make my own GF pastry. Do you have a recipe?
Hi Malka, no I don’t have a recipe for a GF puff pastry but I’ve seen this recipe and this recipe, both from reputable gluten-free recipe websites that could be worth a try, that you could then use with this recipe!