Demand-worthy Apple Strudel 1.20 P.S. I Lo...

“Take her up on that. It is good. And demand a slice of strudel.” “Okay. I demand some strudel”

Ingredients:

For the dough:

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

• ¼ tsp salt

• ½ cup water

• 2 tbsp coconut oil plus more for brushing

• ½ tsp apple cider vinegar

For the filling:

• ¼ cup butter, melted

• ⅓ cup breadcrumbs

• 1 lb red apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (I used gala)

• ⅔ cup golden raisins

• ¼ cup chopped hazelnuts

• ½ cup granulated sugar

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

For the topping:

• 1 tbsp powdered sugar

• Vanilla ice cream to serve (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt. Carefully add the water, oil, and vinegar and combine until a smooth dough forms. You can use a dough hook with a stand mixer if you have one or your hands. If your dough seems a little dry, add more water, a teaspoon at a time until you’re able to form the dough.

2. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for about 5 minutes.

3. Brush a little more coconut oil over the ball of dough and tightly cover so it doesn’t dry out. Allow the dough to rest for 60 minutes.

4. Slice the ball of dough in half. Cover one half until you’re ready to use it.

5. Add the raisins to a bowl of hot water and let soak for 10 minutes then drain the water.

6. Roll out the first half of dough on a lightly floured surface until it’s almost paper-thin. Then move to a flat surface covered with a clean tablecloth. You can also use parchment paper if you don’t have a tablecloth.

7. Stretch the dough out until you’re able to see the pattern of the tablecloth through it. But be careful not to tear the dough. You should form a large rectangle. Brush the rectangle with about a quarter of the melted butter.

8. Sprinkle half of the breadcrumbs across one side of the rectangle. Be sure to leave about an inch of the dough uncovered. Then place half of the sliced apples over the breadcrumbs. Top the apples with half of the raisins and half of the hazelnuts.

9. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl then sprinkle half of the mixture across the apple filling.

10. Fold the inch of exposed dough along the sides of the filling (see pictures below).

11. Gently lift the table cloth and carefully begin to roll the strudel in on itself to form a log. Be careful not to rip the dough as you roll. Make sure the filling stays inside the dough.

12. Carefully move the log to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper seam side down. Brush with another quarter of the melted butter.

13. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

14. Repeat this process with the remaining ingredients to create a second strudel. Place on the baking sheet seam side down and brush with the remaining butter.

15. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

16. Allow the strudel to cool then sprinkle with the powdered sugar. Slice the strudel and serve with vanilla ice cream if you desire.

A light coating of coconut oil prevents the dough from drying out.

I have a special place in my heart for apple strudel. Even though it’s not specified in the episode what kind of strudel the Gilmores are having for breakfast, I immediately knew I was going to make apple. I’ve traveled to the Alpine region in Europe twice now and each trip is always accompanied by at least one slice of apfelstrudel- or more if we’re being honest. My favorite apfelstrudel was in Innsbruck, Austria, a charming town with beautifully colored buildings. There was a very light snowfall while my friend, Gretchen, and I were wandering around town. We were supposed to meet up with our group in less than 20 minutes, but it was freezing and we needed a pick-me-up to make it through the rest of the day and the bus ride to Switzerland. We ducked into a small cafe to order a treat where we ran into one of my favorite professors in college who was also on the trip. We each ordered a coffee and a slice of apfelstrudel which we then proceeded to scarf down quickly to make it to our meeting point on time. Even though it was quick, it was DELICIOUS.

You want your dough thin enough to see the tablecloth through.

I just know that Richard would always have apfelstrudel during his travels to Central Europe; in fact, he would demand it. Traditional apfelstrudel has golden raisins in it. Personally, I don’t like raisins, but in a strudel filling, I don’t mind them. We are back to making dough! I have already made 6 different doughs that required kneading and 4 additional doughs on top of that. I should have named this blog dough-ing Gilmore (okay that was incredibly cheesy- I apologize). Anyway, yet another dough! This one is tricky because you have to get it super thin, but once you manage, you get this beautiful, flaky crust.

In full disclosure, I rolled the dough of my first strudel too thin so that it ended up tearing when I tried to roll it. I patched it up with a bit of extra dough, but it still ended up leaking while it baked. No matter, it still tasted amazing! And I learned from my mistakes for the second strudel. I love learning from yummy mistakes. They are the best kind of mistakes.

Create a little pocket to keep your filling in place.

Who else thinks Rory is a little annoying in this episode? I get that she’s upset with Lane for not telling her that Dean was her science partner and Lorelai not telling her that she was getting back together with Max, but she overreacts. I think it was unfair that she scared Lorelai by running off to her grandparents. She’s allowed to be annoyed for being kept out of the loop, but she acted like a brat. I still think Dean was an ass to her by breaking up with her after she couldn’t say I love you back, so if anything, she should have had a bad attitude towards him.

Tightly roll the strudel to create a log shape.

I never really noticed how much the scene in the diner when Lorelai shows Luke all the clothes she bought for him resembles the scene in season 6 when she plans out their entire wedding. Everything is on sale and she goes into a hyper shopping spree. I’d like to think Amy was giving us a bit of foreshadowing for things to come. Even though we know Luke and Rachel’s relationship was doomed, it’s hard not to feel bad for Rachel when she walks in on Lorelai dressing him.

There are some moments of this episode in which I like Max- like when he comes over to comfort Lorelai when she’s freaking out about Rory being missing. However, there are moments in which Max makes me really cringe. His phone call to Lorelai in the teacher’s lounge being one of them. They had great chemistry in Love, War, and Snow, but here, they don’t have any and this scene is awkward to watch, at least to me. I also don’t like how Max basically sticks his foot into his mouth when he talks to Rory after class. You can clearly tell that Lorelai hasn’t told her that they’re talking again, and yet he blabs it to Rory, tipping her over the edge. I also don’t like that he gets all upset that Lorelai hasn’t told anyone they’re getting back together- like chill dude, nothing was official.

Sprinkle your baked strudel with powdered sugar!

Even though I think Emily is too smug towards Lorelai about Rory wanting to stay with them, I do think it’s sweet that she wants to make Rory’s stay feel special. Her little touches to Rory’s room and the pink toothbrush with sparkles are a cute nod to Rory’s Birthday Parties and when Lorelai taught her mom about Rory’s taste. And though watching Rory and Lorelai fight is sad, watching them reconcile always feels so good. I love their conversation at the Gilmore mansion, and Lorelai realizes she might be part of the reason why Rory couldn’t say I love you.

I can’t believe I’m almost done with season one. I just have one more dish to share with you for this season, and it’s a very Gilmore dish!

Happy Cooking!

A scoop of vanilla ice cream is the perfect pair for apple strudel!

If you missed what I made last episode, catch up here!