Cook Time: 30 minutes Difficulty: Easy

I love aha moments, don't you? Take, for example, toaster strudels. Who would have thought these delectable treats could be homemade? I was shocked! I usually provide healthier homemade breakfast and snack options for our children instead of their store-bought, processed cousins. Still, occasionally I have been known to buy the packaged toaster strudels so our children would not feel deprived. I would hate to be blamed later in life for ruining their lives because they never had Pillsbury toaster strudels. I couldn't live with myself;)

My aha moment came one morning while I was enjoying my coffee in peace and researching uses for leftover cherry butter (cherries cooked down to a butter-like consistency). If you have been following our blog, you'll know I hate to waste food, and I love transforming leftovers into new culinary masterpieces. I also love making things homemade (or semi-homemade).

Making homemade toaster strudels had never occurred to me until I stumbled upon a picture on the internet, homemade toaster strudels made from preserves and phyllo dough. Aha!!! Except, I didn't have preserves or phyllo dough. Bummer! However, I did have Cherchies Cherry Butter and a can of Refrigerated Crescent Roll Dough in our refrigerator! Could it be true? Well, it was worth a shot.

Luckily my tasty homemade (or semi-homemade) experiment was a success. These delicious flaky pastries, oozing with fruity goodness, won our children's approval; they preferred my version over the store-bought version. Whew! What a relief. Now I won't be blamed for my children's deprivation of never having toaster strudels, let alone homemade toaster strudels.

This recipe is perfect with any of our Butter Spreads or mouth-watering preserves (Add 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch to the preserves to thicken the mixture).

Follow along for the full directions. Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 packages reduced-fat canned crescent rolls (seamless worked great)
8 Tablespoons (Tbsp) Cherchies® Apple Butter, Cherchies® Cherry Butter, or Cherchies® Strawberry Butter Spreads (or one of each:) (You could also substitute Cherchies® Blackberry Preserves mixed with 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch)
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon milk
1/2 teaspoon (tsp) vanilla

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and dust the parchment paper with a tiny bit of flour (1 Tbsp?). Roll out the packaged crescent dough on the parchment paper, and press the seams of the two crescent rolls together. With a pizza cutter or knife, cut four even vertical sections of the dough.

Next, cut the dough in the other direction as pictured below.

Spoon 2 Tablespoons (Tbsp) of Cherchies® Cherry, Strawberry, or Apple Butter Spread onto the pastry, leaving about 1/2 inch border. In a small bowl, beat egg.

Using your finger (you could use a pastry brush, but why? It's fun to play with your food), dip your finger into the egg and coat the perimeter of the pastry with the egg. Continue this process for the rest of the pastries.

Take the other half of the pastry and gently place it over the filling half. Use a fork to seal the edges of the pastry.

Brush egg onto sealed pastries. and prick each pastry a couple of times with a fork. This will allow some of the steam to escape during cooking. Bake for about 25 minutes or until pastries are golden brown. While toaster strudels are baking, make the icing.

Using a small bowl, mix together the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. Fill icing into a small re-closable plastic bag and snip off the corner of the bag. This will become your disposable icing bag. Remove pastries from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Drizzle the pastries with the icing.

Sweet, fruity, delicious, homemade toaster strudels! Perfecto! Enjoy!