This is a very special heirloom family recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Grandma Gertie's Flaky Strudel Pastry with Two Filling Variations
This is a very versatile dough that I learned from my Hungarian grandma. It is an excellent dough to use for pies, pastries, quiches and the like and it can be varied in as many ways as your imagination can come up with.
Ingredients:
1 cup sweet butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sour cream
Directions:
Beat together the butter and flour until it resembles coarse crumbs. Then, beat in the sour cream until blended, oh about 30 seconds should do it. Turn the dough out onto a floured marble slab covered in saran wrap. Sprinkle a little exta flour over the dough to make handling easier and shape the dough into a circle. Wrap in saran and refrigerate overnight.
Divide the dough into 4 parts and roll each one into a 10 inch square. Spread with filling and roll up jelly roll style. It should be 3 x 10 inches and you should place it seam side down on a lightly greased baking sheet.
The strudels will bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes or until the top is golden. Let them cool on the pan. Sprinkle each generously with powdered sugar.
The 4 rolls will yield 24 slices.
These are two of my favorite fillings:
Tart Apple Filling:
2 tart apples, (Pippin or Granny Smith), peeled, cored, and grated
3/4 cup good apricot jam
1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
4 tablespoons cinnamon and sugar
1 cup yellow raisins
2 Tablespoons grated lemon peel.
Directions:
Stir together the above ingredients until well-blended. This will be enough filling for 4 strudels.
Chocolate Chip Filling:
12 Tablespoons Nestle's Quick chocolate powder (I have not tried this with Ghiradelli Sweet Ground Chocolate or any other hot chocolate mix but it would be interesting to try)
6 oz Nestles chocolate chips (I bet you could substitute Ghirardelli chips)
1 cup chopped walnuts
Directions:
Spread 3 Tablespoons of the chocolate powder over each strudel. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup each of the chocolate chips and walnuts. Proceed as above.
Grandma Gertie's Flaky Strudel Pastry with Two Filling Variations
This is a very versatile dough that I learned from my Hungarian grandma. It is an excellent dough to use for pies, pastries, quiches and the like and it can be varied in as many ways as your imagination can come up with.
Ingredients:
1 cup sweet butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sour cream
Directions:
Beat together the butter and flour until it resembles coarse crumbs. Then, beat in the sour cream until blended, oh about 30 seconds should do it. Turn the dough out onto a floured marble slab covered in saran wrap. Sprinkle a little exta flour over the dough to make handling easier and shape the dough into a circle. Wrap in saran and refrigerate overnight.
Divide the dough into 4 parts and roll each one into a 10 inch square. Spread with filling and roll up jelly roll style. It should be 3 x 10 inches and you should place it seam side down on a lightly greased baking sheet.
The strudels will bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes or until the top is golden. Let them cool on the pan. Sprinkle each generously with powdered sugar.
The 4 rolls will yield 24 slices.
These are two of my favorite fillings:
Tart Apple Filling:
2 tart apples, (Pippin or Granny Smith), peeled, cored, and grated
3/4 cup good apricot jam
1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
4 tablespoons cinnamon and sugar
1 cup yellow raisins
2 Tablespoons grated lemon peel.
Directions:
Stir together the above ingredients until well-blended. This will be enough filling for 4 strudels.
Chocolate Chip Filling:
12 Tablespoons Nestle's Quick chocolate powder (I have not tried this with Ghiradelli Sweet Ground Chocolate or any other hot chocolate mix but it would be interesting to try)
6 oz Nestles chocolate chips (I bet you could substitute Ghirardelli chips)
1 cup chopped walnuts
Directions:
Spread 3 Tablespoons of the chocolate powder over each strudel. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup each of the chocolate chips and walnuts. Proceed as above.