This Braided Apple Strudel features a gorgeous filling made with apples, walnuts, raisins, and cranberries wrapped in a flaky puff pastry. Perfect for fall but can be enjoyed any time of the year!
Red, yellow, green, pink, russet or multi-colored… Sweet or tart, with hints of pineapple, apricot, strawberry and many others… Firm, crisp, crunchy… Apple season has finally arrived!
Farmers’ market shelves are bursting with all kinds of these delicious fruits and as an avid apple eater, I couldn’t be happier about that. Even though supermarkets offer apples all year round, I prefer to stick with local fresh produce and enjoy them from late summer to early spring, when they are at their best.
I try to eat an apple almost every single day this time of the year + fall is the season for apple pies, cakes, strudels, cookies, YUM! These delicious goodies warm me up from the inside and make me forget about the rain outside the window and the days getting chillier.
Today I craved something baked with apples really bad but was too lazy / tired to spend time in the kitchen making my own dough. Then I remembered seeing an easy braided apple strudel made with puff pastry on TV some time ago and decided to recreate the recipe myself. This happened to be the best idea I’ve had in a long time.
Without a further ado, let me tell you more about the contents of this bad boy. The filling features apples, dried cranberries, raisins, walnuts, cinnamon, and nutmeg. All this goodness is then encased in a flaky puff pastry crust. Sounds awesome, doesn’t it? This strudel tastes like fall!
Another great thing about this strudel is how easy the process of making it is. Just throw all the filling ingredients into a skillet for 5 minutes and then wrap it in a thawed puff pastry. The “braid” making technique is pretty simple too. And that’s it!
This braided apple strudel looks so great that everyone will think that you spent hours making it when you pull it from the oven. Well, they don’t have to know the truth, right? Let it stay between us (wink). 
Braided Apple Strudel with Walnuts, Raisins, & Dried Cranberries
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons (30g) butter
- 2 cups thinly sliced apples (3-4 medium apples)
- 4 tablespoons (40g) golden raisins
- 2 tablespoons (40g) dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup (25g) chopped walnuts
- 2 tablespoons (30g) brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch of nutmeg
- 1/2 of a 17.3 oz. package puff pastry sheets (1 sheet) , thawed
- 1 egg , beaten
- powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 400°F (200°C).
- In a large skillet, melt the butter. Add the sliced apples, raisins, cranberries, walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and cook for 5-7 minutes until the apples soften a little bit but are still firm. Let cool.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the puff pastry sheet into 12x9 inch rectangle. Place it on a parchment paper lined sheet pan.
- Spread the apple filling over the center of the pastry sheet creating a log. Cut slits 1 inch apart along the two sides of the sheet to within ½ inch of the filling.
- Fold the strips over the filling, alternating left and right to create a braid. When it comes to the other end, fold the end and finish the final strips to secure. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Let it cool before slicing. Sprinkle with the powdered sugar and enjoy!
Nutrition
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4 Comments
MAry Beth
October 27, 2017 at 3:50 pmIs it ok to make this the night before in case you need it for a brunch item?
Looks great! I will be making it this weekend.
Thanks for the recipe.
Jovita
October 28, 2017 at 12:29 pmMary, if you want to leave it unbaked overnight, I am not sure that’s a good idea because it can become too soggy. If you want to bake it the day before, well that’s not a problem. But of course this strudel will always taste the best the same day 🙂
MAry Beth
October 27, 2017 at 3:53 pmAlso what is the extra cook time if making two?
Jovita
October 28, 2017 at 12:36 pmI am not sure because I only made one at a time. Just until both strudels are golden brown 🙂