Easy Apple Strudel

If you are tired of store bought apple strudel that’s more pastry than apple filling try this Easy Apple Strudel recipe that is packed with fresh apples and has no preservatives or artificial ingredients. Some supermarket bakeries enhance the color of their strudels, turnovers, cakes, and pies by adding artificial colors.

The warehouse club brand apple strudel pictured below is bargain priced, but you get 20 percent filing (about 30 g) and 80 percent pastry (120 g). That’s 4 times more pastry than filling. You’re paying for refined wheat flour and sugar and very little apple filling. It should be called baked puff pastry with a hint of apple.

The filling from one of these strudels easily fit in a tablespoon. That’s about 1/2 cup (120 ml) of filling for 8 strudels. Talk about cutting corners!

This apple strudel recipe uses thin, crisp, fillo dough instead of puff pastry. Fillo dough is available in the frozen foods area of most supermarkets along with other frozen breads and doughs.

Why use two types of apples? Since this strudel bakes in a fraction of the time needed for apple pie, quick cooking Golden Delicious apples provide sweetness and Fuji apples (you can substitute McIntosh) provides crunchiness. This strudel recipe has apples with a firmer texture than prepared strudels made from fresh or dried apples.

You can make this recipe using butter, margarine, or vegetable cooking spray. If you are concerned about calories and saturated fat, using cooking spray reduces saturated fat by over 80 percent.

The breadcrumbs absorb moisture from the apples as they bake producing a crisp pastry.

Substitution

You can substitute fried, unseasoned breadcrumbs for fresh breadcrumbs.

Cook’s Tips

1. To prevent discoloration while preparing apples, slice and place in a large bowl of water with several tablespoons of lemon juice or a 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of citric acid. Drain and pat dry with paper towels before adding other ingredients.
2. Fillo sheets can be coated with cooking spray instead of melted butter or margarine. Cooking spray reduces saturated fat.

Related Recipe

Homemade Breadcrumbs

Ingredients

• 9 tablespoons (126 g) butter or margarine, melted
• 1/4 cup (45 g) fresh bread crumbs
• 12 oz. (325 g) Golden Delicious apples
• 10 oz. (290 g) Fuji apple
• 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar in all
• 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 ml) ground cinnamon
• 15 sheets fillo dough, thawed

Method of Preparation