Apple & Sweet Cottage Cheese Strudel

Growing up in Germany, apple strudel was something we enjoyed eating throughout the year. No amount of words can describe the taste of biting into a warm apple strudel. The crispy crust with warm sweet apples inside is a more sophisticated version of apple pie. Making apple strudel takes time and is not exactly something that you can whip up when the craving calls for it. Apple strudel is made from simple ingredients, but the secret of a successful strudel is the dough. It must be elastic and smooth to stretch it very thin. The dough will be rolled and wrapped around the filling, which in this case consists of apples and a sweet cottage cheese filling.

Dough:

1 2/3 cups flour

¼ tsp salt

1 egg

2 tbsp melted butter

½ cup warm water

Filling:

6 apples (grated) + ¾ cup sugar

¼ tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 cups cottage cheese

½ cup sour crème

1 egg

½ cup sugar (depending on taste)

½ tsp vanilla

¼ cup bread crumbs + 1 tbsp sugar

About 8 tbsp melted butter

Directions for filling:

1. Peel and grate the apples. Add sugar and cinnamon.

2. In a small bowl combine cottage cheese, sour crème, egg, sugar, vanilla.

Prepare dough:

1. Mix flour and salt in a large bowl.

2. Beat egg, butter, water to blend.

3. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients.

4. Knead dough on a lightly floured board until dough feels smooth (about 5 minutes).

5. Pick up dough and slam down onto board repeatedly (about 5 minutes).

6. Shape dough into a smooth oval and brush lightly with melted butter. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for about 20 minutes.

Roll out dough:

1. Cover a table with a clean tablecloth and dust with flour. Roll out dough into a large oval (approx. 18- by 26-inch oval).

2. Stretch the dough with your hands as much as you can. If dough tears, overlap the torn edges and seal them. The dough should be thin enough to see through.

3. Brush dough with 6 tbsp melted butter. Sprinkle breadcrumbs and sugar evenly over the dough.

4. Spread apples and cottage cheese filling over the dough.

5. Gently lift cloth under the filled dough guiding it forward to form a compact roll, ending seam down.

6. Transfer it to a PAM sprayed baking sheet. Brush strudel with about 2 tbsp. butter.

7. Bake strudel in a 375 degrees oven on center rack for about 35 to 40 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar (optional).