The pastry chefs at Spago make fresh strudel dough, but we call for packaged phyllo here. For the breadcrumbs, finely grind crustless white sandwich bread in a processor, then toast the crumbs in a 350°F oven until dry, about 10 minutes. You'll need two 14-cube ice-cube trays for the filling.
Ingredients
Makes 8 to 10 servings
Step 1
Mix apple cubes and lemon juice in medium bowl. Mix 1 cup sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and white pepper in small bowl to blend. Melt 1/4 cup butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat and stir constantly until butter browns, about 3 minutes. Add 1/3 cup water, then sugar mixture and cook until syrup turns deep amber color, stirring constantly, about 4 minutes. Mix in brown sugar and stir until dissolved. Add apple cubes with lemon juice; cook until juices are thick and spoon leaves path when drawn across bottom of pan, about 13 minutes. Add molasses and stir to blend. Divide apple mixture equally between two 14-cube ice-cube trays. Freeze until frozen, at least 4 hours. (Frozen apple cubes can be prepared 1 month ahead. Cover; keep frozen.)
Step 2
Melt remaining 1 cup butter in heavy small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stack 14 phyllo sheets on work surface. Trim phyllo stack to form 13x8-inch rectangle. Cut stack in half lengthwise, forming two 13x4-inch stacks; place on top of each other. Cover with plastic wrap, then damp kitchen towel. Repeat with remaining 14 phyllo sheets, forming second stack. Place 1 phyllo strip on work surface. Brush lightly with melted butter. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon breadcrumbs. Top with second phyllo strip. Brush lightly with melted butter; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon breadcrumbs. Remove 1 frozen apple cube from ice-cube tray; return remaining cubes to freezer. Place frozen apple cube on lower short end of prepared phyllo strip. Turn bottom right corner of strip over apple cube so that bottom edge lines up with left side. Continue folding up phyllo, flag-style, creating triangle and enclosing apple cube. Brush triangle with melted butter; place on rimmed baking sheet and transfer to freezer. Repeat with remaining pastry strips and apple cubes. (Turnovers can be made 2 weeks ahead. Cover; keep frozen.)
Step 3
Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake strudel turnovers on rimmed baking sheets until golden brown, about 13 minutes. Serve strudel turnovers warm with vanilla ice cream.
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Reviews (30)
Back to TopAbsolutely delicious! I followed another reviewer's advice and used grated walnuts instead of bread crumbs - a really pleasant substitution. These are time consuming to make, especially if you do all of the components the same day (like I did), but they are great to have stored away in the freezer for whenever you want a delicious dessert in 13 minutes.
blueyedfeather
Michigan
9/22/2010
perfect for partys. absolutly incredible! But could do without bread crumbs!:)
beatlefreak
NJ
10/4/2008
these are absolutely incredible. i have never made anything that tasted this good. just cook the apples down longer than recommended.
Anonymous
boston, ma
11/21/2007
A great recipe. Really easy. I loved how you could freeze the filling and make them as you need them. I will definitely make them again.
lenahsmom
West Milford, NJ
11/2/2007
These tasted amazing. I thought the ice-cube idea was good but chose to use a muffin tray so I could use more filling per turnover. (Actually, the sauce is too reduced to freeze completely) I didn't bother with the breadcrumbs, which made no difference as far as I could see. Also I used Granny Smith and Golden Delicious, which was all I could find in June. I'd certainly make this again (when I have 4 hours or so to devote to the making!) The freezing option allows you to divide, however, the assembly across a few days.
ginevra1
Newport, RI
6/24/2007
I didn't freeze the filling. If sufficiently thickened they can be made immediately. I brushed the triangles with butter and sprinkled coarse sugar on top. Lovely dessert, with or without the ice cream!
Anonymous
Toronto, ON
11/5/2006
这有很好的味道。这只是consumi所以时间ng, not as big a pay off in the end as I'd hoped. My sauce never thickened after cooking double the time. I just ladeled out the apple mixture so it wouldnt be too runny. I also think there was not enough filling, only 2 bites in the center and the ends were just dough.
kristadona
Vista, CA
2/11/2006
great recipe! i made a couple of slight variations...added fresh nutmeg to the apple mixture and less molasses. i feel too much molasses overpowers the flavor of the apples. also added a drop of cornstarch to the sauce to help thicken and sprinkled the tops of the turnovers with cinnamon sugar. just a note about adding water to the brown butter...if you add the sugar first, then the water, no worries about hot butter splashing you or your stove. great september dessert!
Anonymous
maplewood, nj
9/23/2005
这些确实是非常美味的!我有一件事值得注意的s that hot butter + water = FOOOOOOOOOOOSH. Let the browned butter cool down a bit before adding the water. The frozen apple cube is definitely a good idea (no more trying to roll up hot oozy apple filling), though my apples never froze solid so much as got colder and more cube-shaped. But that was sufficient to help me assemble, and it was actually useful to be able to squash the cubes into shape as I was rolling them up. The white pepper adds a tiny bit of heat as more of a background note; I liked it. One thing I noticed on the finished, baked product is the breadcrumbs tended to darken between the layers of phyllo, which is somewhat unattractive. The crumbs are supposed to be there to keep the layers from sticking, though. Still, I might try this again without them, or with something else between the layers, or maybe process the crumbs again after toasting them to make them finer. The last minor issue was the brand of phyllo dough I used tasted somewhat savory (salty) in places that didn't have any apple in them. Next time I might try wrapping the apples tighter and sprinkling the finished turnover with a bit of sugar. Overall, thumbs up! Definitely something I wouldn't mind playing with again.
mschlock
Sunnyvale, CA
8/13/2005
This is absolutely fabulous. I made them ahead of time and froze them to serve with Christmas brunch. I did have a difficult time getting the sauce to thicken. Ultimately I had to remove the apples and then continue to simmer the sauce. It took a lot longer than what the recipe indicated. I didn't have ice cube trays, so I used the plastic egg trays sprayed with cooking spray. You should plan on the better part of an afternoon to make these, but they are absolutely worth it.
Anonymous
Missoula, MT
12/26/2004
I really liked these turnovers but I did not get enough apple mixture to fill 2 14 cube trays. I also thought that the turnovers would benefit from having more apple fillng. It seemed a little skimpy. That being said, they are tasty and were a big hit when I served them.
shuonder
Vadnais Heights, MN
11/27/2004
Used chopped walnuts instead of breadcrumbs on one layer of the phyllo. Only one thing to say . . . magnifique!
slags
Atlanta, GA
11/15/2004
This is a very time consuming recipe but well worth the effort it takes to make it.
Anonymous
Phillidelphia, PA
7/14/2004
I liked this recipe because I did it in completely separate steps, spaced over three months. In October I made the apple filling and froze it in ice cubes. I used Cortland apples. After a few weeks I removed the frozen apple cubes and put them in a freezer container. Then in November I did the phyllo thing, this was the most labor intensive, and one needs quite a bit of freezer space to keep placing the completed turnovers on a cookie tray and then transferring into a storage container. I also used Japanese panko bread crumbs instead of the home made crumbs. The baking was the easiest thing, I used parchment paper to minimize clean up, and they were enjoyed by all.
Anonymous
Larchmont, NY
12/22/2003
This recipe sounds good. Freezing the apple mixture is a nice touch. It saves time filling the turnovers as none seeps out while closing the pastry.I live in Holland and can't buy molasses. Has anyone tried these with Maple syrup or The English Golden Syrup? My review is based on my experience as a cook. I haven't tried the recipe yet.
Anonymous
Kortenhoef Holland
10/24/2003
