(Easy) Apple Strudel

June 17: National Apple Strudel Day

German immigrants have a lasting legacy in The Lone Star State, where we currently reside, ranking behind Hispanics and the English-Irish as a major ethnic group. Many Texas towns have German names, especially along the “German Belt” (from Fredericksburg in the Hill Country to Houston on the gulf coastal plain). There are several celebrations, such as Oktoberfest, Wurstfest and Christmas markets, throughout the state. And the festival foods are always fun to eat and very filling! As an homage to the descendants of Deutschland, Texas has declared apple strudel as an official pastry of Texas. We baked a simplified version of this delicious dessert for National Apple Strudel Day.

Recipe

(Adapted from Pepperidge Farm)

Ingredients

• 1 box (2 sheets) puff pastry, thawed
• 1 can (21 ounces) apple pie filling (we have used Lucky Leaf brand of premium fruit and lite pie filling)
• 1 egg, beaten and mixed with 1 tablespoon water (egg wash)
• powdered sugar (optional)

Directions

Unfold the puff pastry onto a floured surface. Use a rolling pin to stretch the puff pastry into a 12×16-inch rectangle. Place half a can of apple pie filling onto the bottom of the short side of the puff pastry, leaving about an inch around the edge.

Fold the bottom edge of the puff pastry over the apples and roll toward the top. Seal the top and side edges with a little water. Place the rolls on a lightly greased baking sheet with the seams of the puff pastry tucked underneath. Brush with egg wash. Cut diagonal slits on the top of the rolls.

Bake the puff pastry in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave it to rest for 10-15 minutes. Cut on the opposite diagonal from the slits in one-inch thick slices.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar (optional) before serving.

Notes

• The original recipe uses a whole can of pie filling for one sheet of puff pastry. But we divided it to fill two sheets just fine.
• Search our blog for posts of other German recipes.