Puff Pastry Apple Strudel – My Baking Habit

Made utilizing store-bought puff pastry, this simple apple strudel recipe is full of tart apples, candy brown sugar, and loads of heat spices. Puff pastry apple strudel is bound to develop into a fall favourite!

I can’t imagine there was a time after I was intimidated by the concept of working with puff pastry. 

I feel it was as a result of desserts made with puff pastry look so fancy, in order that they must be exhausting to make, proper? Fallacious!

A package deal of store-bought puff pastry generally is a tremendous nice shortcut for making some actually scrumptious, simple recipes. Puff pastry cinnamon rolls, puff pastry danishes, and cherry turnovers are a few of my favourite recipes to make with the stuff.

Proper now I’m actually into this puff pastry apple strudel. It’s already develop into one in every of my new favourite fall brunch recipes, and I’ve a sense it’ll make it onto my Thanksgiving breakfast menu, too.

Why you’ll love this simple apple strudel recipe

Strudel is a well-liked European pastry manufactured from a candy filling wrapped in an excellent skinny dough.

Do-it-yourself strudel dough is scrumptious, however isn’t one thing that I’ve the time or power to make more often than not. However fortunately, we will make a scrumptious shortcut apple strudel with sheets of puff pastry.

Puff pastry and strudel dough are positively completely different, so your puff pastry apple strudel goes to be completely different than a standard Austrian or German apple strudel. But it surely’s an important choice for days while you need a scrumptious brunch or dessert in a fraction of the time.

This recipe can also be nice for holidays as a result of it may be assembled forward of time, frozen, and baked while you’re able to get pleasure from it. we love a superb make-ahead recipe round right here!

Serve this puff pastry apple strudel as a part of a fall brunch unfold or prime it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a easy however stunning dessert. There’s no unsuitable time to get pleasure from a slice!

Learn how to make puff pastry apple strudel

Components you’ll want

In the event you’ve made lots of my different apple recipes, you most likely have already got a whole lot of the components wanted for this puff pastry apple strudel. 

For the strudel itself, you’ll need:

• 3 massive Granny Smith apples (peeled, cored and thinly sliced)
• ¾ cup flippantly packed gentle or darkish brown sugar
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons apple pie spice
• ¼ teaspoon wonderful sea salt
• ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste pure vanilla extract
• 2 sheets puff pastry (thawed in line with package deal instructions)

I like utilizing Granny Smith apples for the strudel filling. The tartness of the apples retains the strudel from changing into too candy, and they’re tremendous crisp in order that they maintain up properly to baking.

Different apples that may work properly are honeycrisp apples, golden scrumptious, jonagold, or pink woman apples.

Utilizing a 3-in-1 peeler/corer/slicer makes it actually fast and straightforward to organize the apples, however you are able to do that by hand, too. 

I like the flavour that brown sugar provides to the filling. If you’re out of brown sugar, you should utilize a brown sugar substitute.

Apple pie spice has the entire heat spices that we have to complement the flavour of the apples. In the event you don’t have apple pie spice, you should utilize pumpkin pie spice or simply cinnamon as an alternative. 

Ensure the puff pastry sheets are thawed however nonetheless chilly. Hold them refrigerated till you’re able to work with them.

Additionally, you will want an egg and 1 tablespoon of milk for an egg wash.

I like to complete the apple strudel with a vanilla glaze. For this, I take advantage of:

• ½ cup powdered sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract 
• 2 1/2 to three teaspoons milk

Making this recipe

Put together the apple filling by tossing the apple slices gently with the brown sugar, flour, apple pie spice, salt, and vanilla. Set this apart.

Unfold one sheet of the puff pastry dough onto a flippantly floured floor. Use a rolling pin to roll the pastry right into a rectangle about 10×12 inches. It’s okay if it’s not actual! Simply attempt to get it shut.

At this level, I like to maneuver the pastry onto a chunk of parchment paper massive sufficient to cowl the underside of a rimmed baking sheet. This may make it simpler to maneuver the strudel as soon as it’s assembled.

Place half of the filling lengthwise down the center third of the pastry. Go away a 1-inch border on the prime and backside edges.

Now you’ll make the pastry strips that can fold over the filling.

Use a pointy knife, pizza cutter, or dough blade and make cuts on the sides of the pastry each 1 to 1 1/2 inches at a slight angle perpendicular to the filling. 

The highest and backside corners received’t kind a full strip—you possibly can discard these corners.

Fold the highest and backside edges of the pastry over the filling, then fold the strips over from the highest down, alternating sides in order that the strips barely overlap within the heart. This may create a “braided” impact.

In the event you haven’t already, use the parchment paper to maneuver the assembled strudel to a rimmed baking sheet. 

Repeat this course of with the second sheet of puff pastry and the remainder of the filling.

Earlier than baking, whisk collectively the egg and milk. Brush this over the tops of each strudels. Bake at 400°F for 30-35 minutes or till golden brown. Among the juice from the apples will seep out of the edges throughout baking; that’s completely regular! 

Let the apple strudels cool on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes earlier than transferring to a wire rack. Allow them to cool one other 5 minutes when you make the glaze.

Whisk collectively the powdered sugar, vanilla, and sufficient milk in an effort to drizzle the glaze over the pastries. Prime the strudels with the glaze and let it set for a couple of minutes earlier than serving heat or at room temperature.

Make-ahead directions

This recipe makes use of two sheets of puff pastry so you’ll get two apple strudels. This implies you possibly can share one with a pal, feed a crowd, or freeze one of many strudels for later! 

If you wish to assemble the strudels forward of time and freeze to bake later, observe the meeting directions as listed, stopping simply earlier than you add the egg wash.

As a substitute of egg washing and baking, place the sheet pan with the assembled strudel within the freezer for 2-3 hours or till stable.

As soon as frozen, wrap in plastic wrap and place in a zip-top freezer bag. Freeze for as much as 1 month.

Once you’re able to bake, unwrap the frozen strudel, place on a lined rimmed baking sheet, brush with egg wash, and bake in line with the recipe directions. It’s possible you’ll must an additional 5 minutes to the baking time when baking from frozen.

I take advantage of this similar method for freezing apple turnovers, too!