Brandied Apple Strudel
Brandied Apple Strudel
No, I’m not diabetic.
My father, however, is. Consequently, when they came over for dinner weekend before last, I wanted to make an appropriate dessert that wasn’t going to send him into a diabetic coma. After searching ALL week for something that looked non-cardboard-eque and didn’t require meringue of some sort, I found this.
Granted, I didn’t use the brandy in the recipe and just used water in its place, but this was pretty darn good!! I will probably make it again, it was that good and that easy to make. I purchased 3 Braeburns and one granny smith apple. Something about baked apples desserts always calls for at least ONE Granny Smith apple.
I did as much prep work as I possibly could in between cleaning sprees on Saturday. So, I chopped the apples (a little too large I think), tossed them with the water and spices, then let them marinate (or macerate as the foodies call it) until it was close to dinner time.
When the roast was resting (hehe…alliteration), I unrolled the phyllo and went to work. I combined spray butter with cooking spray, making sure to lightly coat every piece. *interjection* Okay, the recipe calls for 4 apples. Large if memory serves. Well, mine must have been gynormous. Because the 4 large apples I chopped were WAY more than my little phyllo dough could handle. There was so much filling, that I just had to call it quits and use up the remaining phyllo and apples on Sunday.
O.M.G. it smelled AMAZING as it was cooking.
The sugar, the apples, the spices. Is it Fall yet? Cause I seriously want to do more baking this Fall/Winter. It was perfectly timed!! The timer went off shortly after we finished dinner. I let it sit to cool for a bit and then we sliced that bad boy up! Of course, no self respecting apple dessert would be caught dead without a coating of sweet, chilled, creamy goodness!
Low fat, no sugar added, vanilla ice cream was purchased as the perfect topping for this diabetic dessert. I honestly don’t think I could have found a better dessert to finish off this meal. This will be made again. Possibly WITH the brandy…
Brandied Apple Strudel
Ingredients
- Butter-flavor nonstick cooking spray
- 4 large apples, cored and chopped (4 cups)
- 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar or brown sugar substitute* equivalent to 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons dried cherries or raisins, chopped if large
- 2 tablespoons chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted
- 1 tablespoon apple brandy, brandy, or water
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 6 sheets frozen phyllo dough (14x9-inch rectangles), thawed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil; lightly coat foil, if using, with cooking spray. Set baking sheet aside. For filling: In a large bowl, combine apples, brown sugar, dried cherries, pecans, brandy, honey, cinnamon, and nutmeg; set aside.
- Unfold phyllo dough. Place 1 sheet of dough on a work surface (as you work, cover the remaining dough with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out). Lightly coat phyllo sheet with cooking spray. Top with another sheet of phyllo; lightly coat with cooking spray. Repeat with the remaining sheets of phyllo, coating each with cooking spray.
- Spread filling over the stack of phyllo sheets, leaving a 2-inch border on the far long side and a 1-inch border on the remaining sides. Starting from the near long side, roll up phyllo just enough to enclose filling (there will be a generous amount of filling to enclose). Fold in sides and continue rolling to end of dough. Place, seam side down, on the prepared baking sheet. Lightly coat roll with cooking spray.
- Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until golden. Carefully transfer strudel on parchment paper to a wire rack; cool. Cut into slices.
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 228Total Fat 4gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 4mgSodium 119mgCarbohydrates 41gFiber 4gSugar 25gProtein 2g
