Peach Strudel

Due to the fact that it is summertime right now my family has been buying a variety of fresh fruit and our kitchen is filled with strawberries, cherries, peaches, apricots, plums....really the list is endless. Unfortunately, our desire to have such a wide selection of fruit leaves us unable to consume all of the fruit fast enough before it becomes too soft and ripe. At the beginning of the week I noticed that our peaches had become quite soft and I knew that in my "firm fruit" loving household no one was going to eat them in their natural form by this point. I had come across a recipe online for a blueberry strudel and decided to make it using the peaches instead.

The recipe was quick and easy and even the assembly was fast. The only time consuming part was preparing the filling because I had to peel the peaches but after preparing a peach tart for my cousin's birthday last week I learned a neat trick on how to quickly peel fruits. The fruit is scored at the bottom with an X and then submerged in boiling water for 30 seconds. Once it has cooled for a minute the skins can be easily peeled off; just make sure not to keep the fruit in the water for too long otherwise it will start to cook.

The original recipe called for a lemon glaze and, although I made it, I decided to only put in on half of my strudels. I had a feeling that the lemon flavor might be a little too strong compared to the delicate peaches and therefore I simply sprinkled some sugar on the remaining half. I'm glad that I left half unglazed because everyone agreed that it ended up tasting better. The peaches were able to really shine in the strudel with just a little sugar on top while the ones with the glaze mostly tasted of lemon. Perhaps if I had created the recipe with the blueberry filling, as it was originally intended, the glaze would have worked out better because I know from past experience that blueberries and lemon are a very classic combination and the two fruits are able to hold their own ground relative to each other. Next time I will try making the strudels with the blueberry filling and the glaze, but I will definitely repeat the peach strudel with the simple sugar on top as well.

Peach Strudel

• 2 cups peaches, peeled and chopped into small pieces (2 large peaches should suffice)
• 2 tsp corn starch
• 1/4 cup sugar + 1 tbsp extra for sprinkling
• 1 package puff pastry, thawed
• 1 egg yolk + 1 tbsp water

1. Prepare the filling by combining the peaches, corn starch, and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir all of the ingredients together and continue to heat until the mixture lightly boils and thickens. 
2. Set the filling aside to cool in a colander over a bowl so that the extra juices are drained.
3. Meanwhile, roll out the two puff pastry dough halves into rectangles of equal size approximately 14" x 12". Cut each of the rectangles into 12 squares.
4. Combine the egg yolk with the water to create an egg wash and, using a pastry brush, brush the borders of 12 squares of dough.
5. Divide the filling evenly among the 12 brushed squares and then top with the unbrushed squares of dough. Using a fork, crimp and seal the edges of each strudel and then place on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray.
6. Use the remaining egg wash to brush the tops of the dough and then sprinkle with the extra sugar.
7. Bake at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-12 minutes, or until the dough puffs up and becomes lightly golden.