I made homemade toaster pastries in my air fryer and I'm never going back to store-bought.
I decided to make wild-berry and brown-sugar recipes, which were both straightforward.
The finished pastries really blew me away, and I can't wait to come up with more flavors.
I often crave a sweet breakfast, but pastries — especially those with flaky layers — aren't known for being a quick-fix treat.
When I looked up recipes for homemade Pop-Tarts, baked versions took anywhere from an hour and 15 minutes to upwards of three hours and 30 minutes.
So, I turned to my trusted air fryer and found recipes that would be ready in less than half the time. It's no wonder the air-fryer market is valued at $982 million and projected to keep on growing — these babies are efficient, and time is money.
I decided to test two recipes, wild berry and brown sugar, to see if a simple air-fried version could live up to the store-bought breakfast treat.
I made both berry and brown-sugar toaster pastries.
For the wild-berry toaster pastries, I needed store-bought puff pastry, 1½ cups of berries (of my choosing), 1 teaspoon of cornstarch, ½ cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and sprinkles.
The brown-sugar recipe was like a warm hug, calling for two sheets of store-bought puff pastry, one egg, ½ cup of brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of flour, 2 tablespoons of butter, and 2½ teaspoons each of vanilla and cinnamon, 1 tablespoon milk, and 1 cup of powdered sugar.
I started by making a berry compote.
While my frozen puff pastry was thawing, I added ¼ cup of sugar to a mixture of raspberries and blackberries in a saucepot on medium-high heat.
I stirred and smashed the berries as the mixture liquified. Once it was boiling, I added 1 teaspoon of cornstarch to the pot to thicken everything up.
I let it boil for another minute and removed it from the heat.
Then I moved on to the brown-sugar mixture.
I started by melting the butter in a small bowl before adding the brown sugar and flour. I also sprinkled in 2 tablespoons each of the vanilla and cinnamon — reserving the rest for the icing.
Using store-bought puff pastry made this even easier.
Once the puff pastry thawed, I rolled it out. My goal was to maintain a rectangular shape so it would be easier to cut evenly.
When the sheet of dough was big enough, I sliced it into eight equal pieces.
It didn't take long to assemble the pastries.
To fill the pastries, I added 2 tablespoons of the fruit compote to the center of four of the rectangles of dough, making sure to leave at least ¼ inch around the edges.
I closed it up by placing one of the unfilled pieces of dough on top and using a fork to stamp the edges all the way around. I also added a few holes to the top for ventilation.
While filling the pastries, I set aside about 2 tablespoons of the compote for the icing.
The process for the brown-sugar version was very similar.
I used a similar strategy for the brown-sugar pastries, placing 2 tablespoons of the filling on four rectangles.
Once again, I stamped the top piece of dough to the bottom using a fork and poked the top of the pastry for ventilation.
Unlike the wild-berry pastries, this version called for an egg wash. I beat an egg in a small bowl with a fork before painting it around the top of each pastry.
When everything was ready, I popped the pastries in the air fryer.
Using a spatula, I put one pastry in an air fryer set at 330 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes.
When it was done, I removed it with a spatula and set it aside to cool while I air-fried the rest.
The toppings left some room for creativity.
While the air fryer was doing its thing, I mixed the remaining berry compote, powdered sugar, and lemon juice. You can adjust the thickness of the icing by adding more or less powdered sugar.
Once each pastry was cool enough, I spread some icing over the top. It may be runny if the pastry is still warm, but it should set within a few minutes.
I added rainbow sprinkles for a pop of color, but berries would also make for a nice decoration.
I went with a slightly simpler approach for the second batch.
I mixed powdered sugar and milk with the remaining cinnamon and vanilla to make the topping for the brown-sugar pastries
Once well combined, I spread the icing evenly across each pastry and let them cool.
The pastries were so good, and I can't wait to make them again.
The texture of the puff pastry was reminiscent of a flaky, buttery croissant.
Both fillings were thick and had a perfect balance of flavor. I served them to my family, and the pastries got rave reviews.
I especially liked that the recipe called for mostly kitchen staples. And I can see myself coming up with my own fun flavors in the future based on what I have lying around.
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