Homemade Jam Filled Toaster Strudels

These Homemade Jam Filled Toaster Strudels are like mini flaky pies filled with homemade blackberry jam and topped with sweet vanilla glaze. The filling options are never-ending and you can fill these with fresh or frozen berries, any jam, chocolate, Nutella or even sweet cream cheese. They are so easy to make and your whole family will love these tempting breakfast treats!

Some of our other childhood favorites that make breakfast easy are Easy French Toast, Cheese Pancakes and Potato Pancakes.

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Growing up, we used to eat store-bought Pillsbury toaster strudels for breakfast quite often. They used to be one of our favorite breakfast treats. Then we started making homemade which is a million times better and probably healthier. Sure, we bake ours in the oven, but we also have couple shortcuts to make them so easy.

Homemade Jam Filled Toaster Strudels Recipe:

We are using Pepperidge Farm frozen puff pastry in this recipe as a shortcut so these are semi-homemade. Store-bought puff pastry is a lifesaver in the kitchen of a baker and I always make sure to have couple packages in my freezer all the time. It’s buttery, flaky, crisp and convenient all-in-one! One package of puff pastry comes with 2 sheets so you will end up with 6 delicious homemade toaster strudels, freshly baked in your kitchen.

We are filling these with homemade blackberry jam that is thick with perfect amount of sweetness. The vanilla icing is the best part and we like LOTS of it on each pastry.

Ingredients and Substitutions for Easy Toaster Strudels:

• Frozen Puff Pastry Sheets – we used Pepperidge Farm brand to achieve light and flaky pastry. You can use homemade or any other brand you have on hand.
• Homemade Blackberry Jam – our favorite jam to use for baking because it’s so thick, but any homemade or store-bought jam, any flavor will work just as well.
• Organic Corn Starch – using cornstarch as a thickener helps to keep jam from leaking out of the strudels.
• Large Egg and Water – we combine these to make an egg wash to seal the edges and brush over the top so your treats would be gold and shiny.
• Confectioners Sugar – we use it to make a thick and sweet vanilla glaze to drizzle over the baked pastries. It’s important to sift powdered sugar to achieve smooth lump-free icing. If not using icing, sprinkle coarse sugar before these go into the oven.
• Half and Half – we use it to make the icing. Adjust the amount for thicker or thinner icing. You can also substitute it for heavy cream or milk.
• Vanilla Extract – brings that delicious vanilla flavor to the glaze. You can substitute it for almond extract or use a bit of both.

How to Make Homemade Jam Filled Toaster Strudels:

1. Preheat oven to a 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, whisk to combine large egg and 1 tablespoon of water. In a separate small bowl, combine 1/2 cup jam and corn starch. Set aside.

2. Assemble: Place and unfold first sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface just until it is slightly flattened. Use a pizza cutter to cut each sheet into 6 even rectangles. Spoon about 2 teaspoons of jam into the center of the top 3 rectangles, leaving about 1/2-inch rim around all edges uncoated. Brush uncoated edges with egg wash, around the jam section. Layer bottom puff pastry rectangles over jammed puff pastry rectangles and lightly press edges to seal. With help of thin turner or spatula, transfer onto baking sheet. Repeat with second sheet of puff pastry.

3. Bake: Brush tops of strudels with the egg wash. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.

4. Make the Icing: Combine sifted powdered sugar, vanilla extract and half and half. Whisk until smooth and add more cream a little at a time, as needed so the icing is a drizzling consistency. Transfer icing into a plastic Ziploc bag, cut a tiny tip from one of the corners.

Drizzle the icing over the room temperature pastries. Avoid drizzling while they are still hot or the icing will slide off the pastries and turn into a mess.

Can you Freeze Toaster Strudels?

After the pastries are fully assembled (before brushing tops with egg wash), freeze them flat on a lined baking sheet then transfer to a freezer-safe Ziploc Bag. When ready to bake, arrange them frozen on a baking sheet (without thawing), brush with egg wash and bake at 400˚F for 22-25 minutes. Make the icing while these bake and drizzle once pies are room temperature.

Where to Buy Puff Pastry Sheets?

These semi-homemade toaster strudels are calling for store-bought puff pastry that can be found in most local grocery stores. Some stores, like Trader Joe’s have their own version that also works great for this recipe, but they are not as flaky and buttery as the Pepperidge Farm. Of course, maybe that’s what you prefer then definitely go with another brand.

How to Thaw Frozen Puff Pastry:

Don’t be tempted to work with frozen puff pastry sheets or they can be easily torn when unfolding. Here are few tips to help you properly thaw puff pastry sheets before doing any baking. Keep in mind, pastry should unfold easily, but still be cold once thawed. If sheets reach room temperature, return them to the fridge to rechill.

• To thaw at room temperature, remove pastry sheets from the box, but keep them in the outer wrapping. Place them on the kitchen counter and thaw sheets until the pastry unfolds easily, no more than 45 minutes.
• To thaw in the fridge, remove pastry sheets from the box, but keep them in the outer wrapping. Leave them overnight or for at least 4 hours to defrost.
• To thaw in the microwave, remove pastry sheets from the box and outer wrapping and wrap in a paper towel. Microwave on high for about 15 seconds. If they still don’t unfold easily, microwave for additional 5 seconds on each side.

Toaster Strudel Filling:

The filling variations for toaster strudels are never-ending. Our all-time favorite is the homemade blackberry jam. You can use any homemade or store-bought jam, but try to go for thicker kind so it’s not as runny.

Other flavor options would be using fresh or frozen berries, chocolate, Nutella or even cream cheese combined with a bit of sugar or jam. Another favorite is cream cheese with strawberries turning these into strawberry toaster strudels. Whatever filling you choose; your family will love these!

Toaster Strudels Tips:

• Crimp the edges of the pastry with a fork to seal the filling inside. Then, poke few holes or gently score with a knife the top of each pastry so steam can escape while baking and they don’t puff up as much. Keep in mind, no matter how well you crimp the edges, there will always be at least one strudel that has filling oozing out especially if the filling is runny and that is normal.
• Roll out puff pastry sheets to prevent them from rising too much, but avoid pressing too much or it will prevent the pastry from rising.
• Bake on parchment paper or a silpat liner to avoid mess if filling leaks out too much. Burned jam on baking sheets leaves stains and overtime destroys your baking sheets.
• Let baked pastries cool to room temperature before enjoying or adding icing. Icing will melt too much and slide off pastries and if using jam, you can burn your mouth with the hot jam.
• Press down the pastries as soon as they are out of the oven. With Pepperidge Farm sheets, these puff up to about 3-inch high. Let them slightly cool for a minute or two before gently pressing them down on sides to make them up to 1-inch shorter. Avoid pressing down pastries in the center to avoid them from cracking.

More Delicious Breakfast Treats:

We love pastry and muffins for breakfast probably more often than for dessert.

• Cranberry Scones – are all-time favorite and very tempting
• Sour Cream Blueberry Muffins – perfectly soft and loaded with fresh berries
• Raspberry Scones – these smaller-shaped pastries are perfect for summer using fresh raspberries
• Cheese Vatrushka – taste so good warmed up next day

We first published this recipe in August 2017 and updated it in April 2020 with new photos, substitutions and more tips.