italian apple strudel

Makes: 2

Active Time: 25 min.

Total Time: 1 hr. 10 min.

½ cup raisins

3 ounces rum

3 large (1 ½ lbs) golden delicious apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4 inch dice (4 cups)

Zest and juice of 1 lemon (2 teaspoons zest plus 3 tablespoons juice)

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup pine nuts, toasted (113 grams)

10 to 11 shortbread cookies, like Walkers or Lorna Doones

1 package puff pastry, preferably all-butter (about 1 pound), cut into two equal pieces if sold in one sheet

1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon of water

Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Toast pine nuts on a rimmed baking sheet until shiny and nutty, about 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the raisins and rum.  Set aside while you prepare the filling. 

Place the cookies in a food processor and pulse into a fine sand.  Process enough cookies to yield one cup of cookie “flour.”

In a bowl, combine the apples with the lemon zest and juice, cinnamon, sugar, salt, pine nuts and ground cookies. Drain the raisins and add them as well. 

Unfold one sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper.  Roll the pastry sheet into a 9x13 rectangle. Place the parchment lined pastry sheet onto a baking sheet.

Spoon half the apple mixture down the middle of the sheet. Leave a one-inch border at each short end.

On a slant, cut 6 slits about 2 inches apart down each of the outer sides.

Beginning with one outer side, lay one diagonal strip across the mixture, then go to the other side and place a strip across the other side. Creating a diagonal braid all the way down the center strip.  Press the top and bottoms over the filling to seal. 

Brush the top with egg wash. Repeat with remaining pastry, filling, and egg wash.

Bake until the pastry is golden brown, and the apples are fork tender, about 40 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow the strudels to cool on the baking sheet, on a wire rack, for 20 minutes.  Once cooled, dust with confectioners’ sugar and cut 8 to 10 horizontal slices.