This Easy Apple Strudel recipe is made with pre-made puff pastry making it a quick and easy treat that never disappoints. You will love the delicious flavors of apples, cinnamon and brown sugar wrapped in a flaky puff pastry. This recipe is just plain good!
When it comes to pre-made food, puff pastry is my favorite! Who can resist the buttery, flaky layers that is puff pastry! I imagine very few. What I love about this recipe is how quickly it comes together without the fuss of making a pastry dough from scratch.
Don't get me wrong, I love making puff pastry, but sometimes I don't have time to do all the lamination that is required for a homemade puff pastry dough. Which is where refrigerated dough that is ready to use becomes handy.
With a quick cook on the apples, wrapping and baking, this impressive treat is ready to serve in just 1 hour! You really can't beat that. I love adding a simple icing drizzle to this apple strudel which makes this dessert so beautiful.
Ingredients
What I love about this recipe is that is uses pre-made Puff Pastry dough. Which comes in handy when you are wanting to make a quick dessert.
- 1 sheet of pre-made puff pastry (thawed if bought from freezer section)
- Apples - any apple that is suitable for baking like Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious, or Granny Smith. When using Granny Smith, I like to replace one of the apples with a Honeycrisp apple to balance the tartness. Totally optional.
- Brown and white sugar (granulated)
- Unsalted butter
- Ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt
- Cornstarch for thickening the apple mixture
- Vanilla extract
- Water
- Egg for an egg wash (optional)
Simple Icing
- Powdered Sugar
- Vanilla Extract
- Milk
- Cinnamon
How To Make Easy Apple Strudel
Unlike traditional Apple Strudel, which uses a homemade pastry dough that is stretched super thin before it is filled, this version uses a premade puff pastry dough that cuts the prep time down greatly.
The full recipe can be found in the recipe card below.
STEP 1
Start by peeling, coring and dicing the apples. Add them to a medium saucepan and immediately toss in the lemon juice to prevent browning. Add in the water, both sugars, spices and cornstarch. Stir well to combine.
STEP 2
Turn the heat to medium and begin cooking until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat, mix in the vanilla and let cool completely before continuing with the recipe.
💡 Expert Tip
Puff Pastry needs to remain cold so that the butter does not melt, which will prevent the pastry dough from having its flaky layers. When using the dough only pull it out of the fridge when you are ready to use it. Make sure the filling is completely cool before filling it and bake the dough immediately after filling it.
STEP 3
Place the dough on top of a parchment lined baking sheet. Mark the folded edges with approximately 16 evenly spaced lines. These will be your guides for cutting the dough before braiding it. Unfold the dough and cut along the lines you just made.
STEP 4
Pour the apple filling in the middle of the dough and evenly spread it out just until it reaches 1 inch from the top and bottom of the dough as well as the previously cut areas.
STEP 5
Start by folding the top and bottom 1 inch of dough over the filling. Now begin braiding the dough by (starting at the end closest to you) folding a strip of the dough from the right over to the middle then folding a strip of the dough from the left over the first piece. Continue until the entire dough has been braided.
STEP 6
Brush with the egg wash and bake immediately until golden brown. Cool completely and drizzle over the icing. Enjoy!
Variations
Raisins are often found in traditional Apple Strudel recipes. If you would like to add raisins to your strudel, simply add them to the apple filling when you add the vanilla extract.
If you are wanting a pastry dough that resembles traditional Apple Strudel dough without having to make it from scratch, use pre-made Phyllo Dough. This fantastic flaky dough is a delicious replacement.
Storage Tip
I recommend storing the Apple Strudel in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
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📖 Recipe
Easy Apple Strudel
Ingredients
- 1 package puff pastry 1 sheet
- 3 large apples see recommendations above
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
Icing
- 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 dash cinnamon
Instructions
- Start by peeling, coring and roughly dicing the apples. In a medium saucepan combine the apples and lemon juice, toss to coat. Add in 2 tablespoons of water, both sugars, spices and cornstarch. Stir well to combine.
- Turn the heat to medium and cook until the apples have softened, and the liquid thickens slightly. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla extract. Cool completely before continuing.
- While the apple filling is cooling, preheat an oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Once the filling has cooled lay the puff pastry on the prepared baking sheet. Mark the folded edges with approximately 16 evenly spaced lines. These will be your guides for cutting the dough before braiding it.
- Unfold the dough and cut along the lines you just made. Pour the apple filling in the middle of the dough and spread out evenly, stopping at the cut edges and 1 inch from the top and bottom of the dough.
- Now fold the top and bottom 1 inch of dough over the filling. Begin braiding the dough by (starting at the end closest to you) folding a strip of the dough from the right over to the middle then folding a strip of the dough from the left over the first piece. Continue until the entire dough has been braided.
- Make an egg wash by whisking together the egg and remaining 1 tablespoon of water. Gently brush the entire strudel with the egg wash and bake for 35-40 minutes. Cool before icing.
- While the Apple Strudel is cooling whisk together the ingredients for the icing. When the strudel has completely cooled drizzle over the icing. Enjoy!
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