Sweet Pumpkin Strudel

I've made many pumpkin desserts but this one is simply amazing. Never ever tried something so light yet so scrumptious and delicious. Flaky, balanced, with great texture yet dissolves like a cloud... let me introduce you to "Sweet Pumpkin Strudels".

Just think for a moment, a flaky and buttery Phyllo dough, filled with the most delicious pumpkin and spices, rolled up, sprinkled with turbinado sugar and chopped pecans... baked and then drizzled with sweet honey and a dollop of homemade whipped cream... if your mouth is not watering by now... I would be shocked! :)

So, if you're looking for something more sophisticated yet easy to make than pumpkin pie for the holidays, this is your recipe!

Ingredients:

1 set of sheets of frozen Phyllo dough (package comes with two set of sheets), thawed
2/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup chopped pecans
3 tablespoons turbinado sugar, or other coarse sugar
2 tablespoons honey, for serving
Whipped cream, for serving, optional

- For the Filling:
1 15-ounce can pumpkin
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

For the filling: Combine the pumpkin, cream cheese, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and nutmeg in a small bowl. Mix until nearly uniform and set aside. 

Place 2 sheets of the phyllo on top of one another and brush the top sheet with some of the butter. (Keep the remaining phyllo dough covered with plastic wrap to prevent it from becoming dry and brittle.) 

Place a well-rounded tablespoon of the filling about 2 inches from the end of the dough strip.
To shape, fold the bottom edge of the Phyllo up and over the filling. Fold in the sides and roll up to encase the filling, brushing the exposed dry Phyllo with some of the butter as you roll. 

Place the rolled strudel on a baking sheet, seam-side-down. Brush the top of the Phyllo with some of the butter. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Sprinkle the tops of the strudels with pecans and turbinado sugar. Bake until the phyllo is golden brown, about 15 minutes. 

Serve the strudels warm drizzled with the honey and topped with whipped cream if using. 

 

 

Note:  It is important not to overfill the strudels.  Otherwise, they will explode while baking (learned that one the hard way ;)


Source:  Recipe Courtesy of  Iron Chef Michael Symon - slightly adapted