Serves 8
This apple strudel steers clear of the traditional hand-pulled dough, and instead takes a shortcut with store-bought puff pastry. Thin, buttery dough puffs up in the oven when cooked and envelops a soft apple filling spiked simply with cinnamon and sugar. This works as both a fancy morning pastry and an after-dinner sweet, particularly when paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
SUGGESTED VARIETIES: Choose any baking apple you like for this strudel. Cortland, Macoun, and Winesap work well together.
¼ cup raisins (optional)
2 tablespoons rum (optional)
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
½ cup sugar
4 to 5 medium apples, cored, peeled, and thinly sliced
2 sheets (1 package) puff pastry, thawed
All-purpose flour, for dusting
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
In a small bowl, add the raisins and rum, if using. Let the raisins soak in and absorb the rum.
While the raisins are soaking, combine the cinnamon and sugar in another small bowl. In a large bowl, combine the apples with half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture, tossing to coat evenly. Set aside.
Lightly flour the countertop and set out 1 sheet of puff pastry. Dust the top lightly with flour and roll it out, keeping the rectangular shape, until the dough is about ¼ inch thick. Sprinkle half of the remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture over the entire pastry. Spread half of the apple mixture along the length of the pastry, stacking the slices slightly, leaving a 1-inch border from the edge. Sprinkle with half the raisins, if using. Fold the pastry edge up and over the apples, and then—using both hands to hold the apples firmly in place—roll the strudel, covering the apples completely. Pinch together the ends and tuck them under to seal. Working quickly, lift the strudel and set it on a baking sheet. Working in the same fashion, shape the second pastry, sprinkle with the last of the cinnamon-sugar, fill with apples and raisins, and fold, shaping into a strudel. Place the second strudel on the baking sheet.
Using a sharp knife, make several cuts across the tops of the strudels. Brush both strudels with the melted butter and bake in the oven until puffed up and golden brown, 35 to 45 minutes. Let cool before serving.