Easy Family Sized Braided Apple and Cinnamon Strudel

I am a huge fan of Pinterest, and while browsing for new recipes to try out, this caught my eye. I instantly wanted to give it a shot and a few days later, I did. This one was hugely simple (though I did make it more complicated by #1 not having a rolling pin and #2 not realising until five minutes into baking that wax paper and parchment paper can not be used in place of one another!) Here's how it goes:

2 Packages of Cresent Rolls (substitute whatever dough you want)
4 Medium Apples
1 Egg
A Splash of Milk
Sugar and Cinnamon

I Googled a few recipes for Apple Pie filling to make sure I did the filling for the Strudel right, and this is what I ended up doing after taking pointers from a few different sites. After peeling and chopping the apples I boiled them in just enough water to cover them, on high and covered. It made the kitchen smell like hot apple cider and though I was worried that boiling the apples would take out some of the flavour but it really just enhanced it. Once boiled I drained them, and in a bowl added sugar and cinnamon, as much as you want, honestly, the more you add the better it tastes.

For the dough I followed the recipe above, rolling it out and cutting slits into it on the sides, about a half inch to an inch wide each, leaving enough room in the middle for the filling. After adding the filling braid as the recipe says, making sure to keep it tight without tearing the dough. It's important to not cut the slits too far into the rolled out dough or the filling will spill out the sides. Once it was all braided, I beat one egg together with a splash of milk, and brushed this over the Strudel. Then I sprinkled more sugar and cinnamon on top (once again you can never have enough!) and put it in the oven at the temperature given on the cresent rolls package. It took about 45 minutes to bake fully, and because I couldn't roll the dough out as thinly as I wanted, I had to keep checking by lifting up one of the braided strands to make sure it wasn't still raw.

It will be golden brown when cooked, and none of the dough should appear raw underneath. When it was finished I sliced it up instantly and served it to my family (with a bit more sugar sprinkled on top); it was a huge hit! Serve hot with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream or just the way it is. I'll definitely be doing this one again, trying with different fruits, and maybe a more savoury take on it as well, which I will be posting here. Please try this one out, the braided techniquie can be used with any filling you want, and it was so much fun and extremely easy!