Apple strudel is the dessert that rounds out a Wurstfest week, and with one sheet of store-bought puff pastry you can bake it at home in about an hour instead of stretching dough paper-thin. This Hill Country version swaps the classic hazelnuts for toasted Texas pecans, just in time for November baking.
Photo: AI illustration.
Prep: 25 minutes · Cook: 35–40 minutes · Serves: 6
Why puff pastry is a fair shortcut
Apple strudel is a traditional Viennese pastry, and according to Wikipedia’s apple strudel entry, the oldest known strudel recipe is a handwritten one from 1697 kept at the Wienbibliothek im Rathaus in Vienna. The classic dough is unleavened, made from flour, oil or butter and salt, then stretched until it is about as thin as phyllo. That takes practice and a big table.
The shortcut has good backing: the Viennese apple strudel recipe on Austria’s official tourism site lists “strudel dough or puff pastry” as the wrapper. Puff pastry bakes up richer and flakier than stretched dough. The trade-off is fewer, thicker layers, so this strudel eats a little more like a turnover than a Vienna café slice.
Pick apples that hold their shape
The Food Network guide to baking apples names Braeburn, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith and Honeycrisp as widely available pie apples, and says Gala, Fuji and Red Delicious won’t hold up in the oven. A mix of two tart Granny Smiths and one sweeter Honeycrisp gives a filling that tastes bright but still has slices you can see when you cut it.
Slice the apples thin, about 1/8 inch. Puff pastry only needs about 35–40 minutes to brown, and thick chunks can still be crunchy when the crust is done.
Don’t skip the buttered crumb layer
Austria’s tourism board recipe fries breadcrumbs slowly in bubbling butter until golden, stirs in grated nuts, and spreads them under the apples. That layer soaks up the juice the apples release, so the bottom of the pastry bakes crisp instead of soggy. Here, finely chopped pecans stand in for hazelnuts. Toast them first for the deepest flavor; our guide on how to toast pecans walks through the oven and skillet methods.
Ingredients
- 1 sheet store-bought puff pastry, thawed overnight in the refrigerator
- 2 medium Granny Smith apples
- 1 medium Honeycrisp apple (about 1 1/2 pounds apples total)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar (3 tablespoons if your apples are very sweet)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch ground cloves
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1 tablespoon dark rum or warm apple juice
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup pecans, toasted and finely chopped
- 1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water
- Powdered sugar, for dusting
- A little flour, for rolling
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment. Put the raisins in a small bowl with the rum or warm apple juice and let them soak while you prep.
- Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat until it bubbles. Add the breadcrumbs and stir for 3 to 4 minutes, until evenly golden. Take the pan off the heat, stir in the pecans and let the crumbs cool.
- Peel, core and thinly slice the apples. Toss them with the lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and the drained raisins. Let the bowl sit for 10 minutes, then pour off any liquid that collects at the bottom.
- On a lightly floured sheet of parchment, roll the puff pastry into a rectangle about 12 by 14 inches, with a long side facing you.
- Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the half of the pastry closest to you, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border at the sides and the near edge. Pile the apples on top of the crumbs in an even log.
- Fold the side borders in over the filling. Lift the near edge of the parchment to roll the pastry up and over the apples into a log, then roll it onto the lined baking sheet seam side down.
- Brush the top and sides with egg wash and cut 5 or 6 diagonal slits across the top so steam can escape.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the pastry is deep golden and juice bubbles at the slits. If the top browns too quickly, tent it loosely with foil.
- Let the strudel cool on the pan for at least 20 minutes so the filling sets. Dust with powdered sugar and slice with a serrated knife.
Make-ahead, serving and storage
- Make ahead: assemble the strudel up to 4 hours early and keep it unbaked and covered in the refrigerator. Egg-wash it just before baking and add a few minutes to the bake time.
- Serving: the Austria.info recipe suggests serving it lukewarm or cold with a dusting of powdered sugar. Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream is never wrong.
- Leftovers: wrap and refrigerate, then re-crisp slices in a 350°F oven for 8 to 10 minutes. The microwave softens the pastry.
- Swaps: walnuts work in place of pecans, and dried cranberries can replace the raisins for a Thanksgiving table.
A Wurstfest-week dessert
Wurstfest runs in New Braunfels through November 15, and our Wurstfest 2026 food guide covers what to eat on the grounds. If you are staying home, this strudel is an easy finish to a German-style dinner, and it holds well enough to carry to a potluck.
