Stolen From Cousin Hilda - Apple (Apfelstrudel) Or Apple-Rum Raisin Strudel

By Hilda Schmidt (Bismarck, North Dakota)

One of the recipes German people are known for is strudel. It is a relatively easy dish to make.

This is my distant and much older cousin Hilda’s recipe. I asked her for it on the telephone.

To make apple strudel there are really just two main ingredients, the dough and the filling, and you do not have to buy an expensive fancy pastry kit to make it. The kits might be easier but they are no fun.

If it all works out the end result should look like this - photo from German Ukrainian web-site

Step One - Make the Dough

Dough Ingredients
3 cups of white all purpose flour
1 cup of warm water
2 tbs. of cooking oil (canola works fine)
½ tsp. salt

Steps To Making The Dough
1. Mix oil and water.

2. Add flour to liquid and make a soft dough.

3. Cover and let stand 10 minutes while you make the filling.

4. If you are adding rum raisins to the filling make them first according to the Alternative Fillings recipe below.

Filling Ingredients
Six - Eight apples, peeled and cored and thinly sliced (Granny Smith apples work well)

1 cup sugar

1 tsp of Cinnamon

Pinch of salt

Alternative Fillings

Good Type of Rum

One cup of Raisins (golden raisins are best)

Steps to making Alternative Fillings

1. Put raisins in a bowl

2. Cover with Rum and allow to soak for 30 minutes

3. Drain off the Rum

4. Dispose of the rum - drink it when distant cousin Hilda is not looking and tell her you forgot and poured it down the sink.

5. Mix the raisins with the apple filling ingredients for rum raisin apple strudel

Steps To Making The Filling

1. Mix the ingredients together in a bowl

Other Ingredients

Softened (preferably unsalted butter)

Steps to Putting It All Together

1. The oven should be pre-heated to 375 Fahrenheit (No idea what degrees in Celsius this is an older recipe).

2. Cut dough in three equal sized pieces.

3. Put flour on a large surface (so it does not stick) and roll out the first piece in a circle. Do this until the dough is very thin.

4. Spread soft (preferably unsalted) butter with a brush or fingers on the dough except for an inch of the edge.

5. Place a third of the filling on the buttered dough and roll up just like a jelly roll.

6. Then you carefully pinch the end of the dough to the roll and then pinch ends shut.

7. All three rolls Make sure the seams are on the side, not the bottom. Brush the tops with melted butter or margarine.

8. Place the strudel rolls in a 13 inch X 9 inch greased sheet or pan so they do not touch each other.

9. Bake at 375 F for about 45 minutes or until crust just begins to turn brown.

10. Remove from the oven and then allow to cool in the pan. Minimum cooling time is 15 minutes.

11. Dust it with plain icing sugar if you so like while it is cooling.

12. Then eat and enjoy.

Editor’s Note - Have a pandemic recipe you want to share? Drop us a line at moosejawnews@gmail.com