Dessert Apple Strudel

By Floridaberry

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup bourbon or apple juice
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 2 to 3 Granny Smith apples (about 1 pound), peeled, cored, halved, and thnly sliced
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for sprinklng
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup crushed shortbread cookies
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 2 tablespoons buttter, cut into pieces
• 6 sheets phyllo dough from a 1-pond package of frozen dough
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted, for brushing phyllo sheets; more if needed
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• Confectioners' sugar
• Caramel sauce (optional)

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with pachment paper.

Pour the bourbon or apple juice over the raisins in a small bowl and microwave on high for 25 seconds to plump the raisins. Let sit for 15 minutes.

Combine the raisins, apples, lemon juice, lemon zest, cinnamon, brown sugar, cookie crumbs, pecans, and butter in a large bowl.

Remove the phyllo dough from the box, unfold, and cover witha damp tea towel. Place 1 sheet of phyllo on the work surface and brush lightly with melted butter. Top with another phyllo sheet, brushing evenly with melted butter. Repeat process with 4 more sheets of phyllo. Keep the unbuttered phyllo covered.

Scoop the apple mixture onto bottom 1/3 of phyllo, leaving a 2-inch border on ends and sides of phyllo. Gently lift the bottm edge of the phyllo stack to cover the filling and fold the side edges over. Continue to roll the filling away from you until the filling is completely sealed in and the seam is on the bottom. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Brush the top with melted butter and sprinkle with the granulated sugar.

Bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown. Sprinkle with cinnamon and confectioners' sugar. Drizzle warm caramel sauce over the strudel, lif desired.