Anyone who knows me knows I have a sweet tooth, so I just couldn't stay away from the dessert recipes any longer. I learned a bit on this one...I'll say that! There are pieces to this, so I'll put the ingredients, then the directions for each of the pieces. Read through the whole thing before you do this and you'll see how it comes together.
Streusel Topping
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix together with a fork until crumbly.
Ironic...the part that goes on last is the first thing in the recipe!
The Fruity Part
3 1/2 cups peeled sliced Granny Smith apples
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
Combine the apples, cranberries, sugar, butter, cinnamon stick, water, and nutmeg in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, for 10 to 12 minutes, until the apples are softened. Remove from the heat and stir in the walnuts. Allow to cool to room temperature or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
I did it again...typed this out and just realized I missed putting in the walnuts. Really, I have them in the cupboard ready to go, JUST for this recipe! Oh well. I used Craisins for the cranberries and opted for the cooking followed by leaving it in the refrigerator overnight. That part was just fine.
Other Ingredients
2 sheets frozen puff pastry dough, thawed
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut each of the puff pastry sheets into 4 equal squares (reserve 2 squares for other use). Using your hands, stretch the squares about 1/2 inch larger in each direction. Whisk together the egg and water in a small bowl. Using a pastry brush, brush the pastry squares with the egg wash. Place 1/2 cup of the apple filling in the middle of each square. Fold the corners over partway to make a hexagonal pastry, covering part of the filling but leaving most of it exposed. Press down lightly. Brush the folded0over corners with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Springle 1 tablespoon of the topping over the filling.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a wide spatula, carefully transfer the pastries to the prepared baking sheets, leaving space between them. Bake for 30 minutes, until the pastry is puffed and golden. Serve warm.
Look Kirsten! A picture! So this is how mine looked before I put them in the oven. I thought I was clever and started with the pastry sheets right on the parchment paper. Then, when I was done, I just slid the baking sheet under the parchment paper and was ready to go!
I folded the corners WAY over and found out they unfold on their own while baking, so fold away!- There is plenty of topping to put more than 1 tablespoon on each strudel. You'll see.
- I should have cleaned any extras off the parchment paper. They burned and stole some of the better aroma from the room.
- Those 2 extra squares...do something separate with them. I thought I'd fill them with a little sugar and cinnamon, fold them over, all that good stuff...um...no. Don't do it. I'm lucky I didn't set off the smoke detector again with that experiment!
When all was said and done, this is what the better of mine looked like: The 30 minutes was a hair too long for my oven, but with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, it didn't matter much.
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