Toaster Oven Apple Strudel
An easy strudel recipe made with ready to use phyllo dough.
Servings 8
Ingredients
- 7 sheets phyllo dough (14x9 inches)
Filling
- 12 ounces apple and pear, peeled cored and cut into small chunks (start with about 1 pound total or about 3 apples and 1 pear. 12 oz is the weight after being peeled and cored. I used a Bosc pair and Honey Crisp apples. ATK used 2 Golden Delicious.
- 1 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar (40 grams)
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon lemon zest
- ¼ teaspoon each of cinnamon and ginger
- 2 tablespoons dried cranberries, cherries or raisins
- 1 tablespoon panko
- pinch of salt
- 3 ½ tablespoons melted unsalted butter
- 1 ½ teaspoons confectioners' sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Allow the thawed phyllo dough to come to room temperature.
- If using a toaster oven (such as a Breville), adjust the rack to the center. If using a regular oven, just make sure the rack is somewhere in the center. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Have ready a rimmed baking sheet. No need to line it, because you will use the parchment paper on which you assembled the strudel.
- In a microwave-safe mixing bowl, toss together the pear (if using), apples, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and spices. Cover with a sheet of plastic wrap and microwave on high for 1 minute. Uncover and stir. Cover again and microwave for another minute. Let stand, covered, for 5 minutes.
- Drain the juice from the apple mixture, reserving the liquid. You can do this with a colander or just by holding a slotted spoon or spatula against the fruit and letting the liquid drain into a little bowl or container.
- Stir a pinch of salt, dried cranberries (or raisins or cherries) and panko into the apple mixture.
- Lay a large (16x9 inch) sheet of parchment on the counter with the long side parallel to the counter. Lay one 14x9 inch piece of phyllo on top.
- If using unsalted butter, add another little pinch of salt to the melted butter. Brush the phyllo with melted butter. Using a fine mesh strainer, sprinkle with confectioners' sugar (I skipped this step completely). Repeat with the 6 more sheets of dough, brushing butter and sprinkling very lightly with the confectioners' sugar.
- Spread the apple mixture in a 2 ½ x 10 inch row about 2 inches above the bottom edge of the dough. Leave a 2 inch margin on the right and left side and somewhere between 3 and 4 inches space at the top for folding down.
- Fold the left and right sides inward covering some of the apples, then brush with some reserved apple liquid. Fold the bottom edge up and brush with apple liquid. Now carefully fold the top edge over so that it overlaps the bottom by about an inch or at least enough so that you have a good seal. Brush with a little more apple liquid. Do not turn seam side down.
- Lift the parchment and transfer the whole thing to a baking sheet. If using a toaster oven baking sheet, you'll need to trim the parchment so it fits.
- Bake at 350 degrees F. for about 25 to 30 minutes, rotating halfway through.
- When golden brown, immedately transfer strudel to a cutting board. Let cool for a few more minutes, then cut into slices and allow it to cool for a few more minutes before serving. You may want to dust it with more confectioners' sugar, as it's not very sweet.
Notes
I used salted Plugra and omitted the extra pinch of salt. The Plugra worked perfectly and probably helped make the pastry extra flaky and delicious, but next time I would use unsalted, as the salted version was a tad salty.
