This apricot strudel recipe is easy to make with store bought phyllo dough. The homemade apricot filling is made with fresh and dried apricots, brown butter, brown sugar and warm spices. It’s an impressive dessert that everyone will love!
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Everyone will love biting into this crispy apricot strudel! It’s filled with a gooey, warmly spiced apricot filling. To make it extra delicious, the layers of flaky filo are brushed with brown butter!
This apricot strudel recipe is perfect for entertaining. You can prepare the filling ahead of time. The crust is simply store bought phyllo dough and brown butter! It’s much easier than you’d think to make!
I adapted this apricot pastry from my apple turnover recipe. Instead of individual phyllo pies, it’s formed into one strudel.
For more stone fruit dessert recipes, try my peach and raspberry cake recipe and peach cobbler cake.
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Why you’ll love this recipe
- This delicious phyllo dough strudel is a fun and impressive alternative to pie just like my apple and strawberry crumble and mascarpone blueberry tart!
- Store bought phyllo dough makes this recipe extra easy. We’re brushing it with brown butter and gets perfectly crispy and delicious when it bakes!
- The simple and sweet filling is made with both fresh and dried apricots, brown butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, fresh ginger and brown sugar. It’s perfect for summer and fall just like these chocolate chip and pecan cookies!
Ingredients
Here are some useful notes on the ingredients for this apricot filo pastry recipe.
- Phyllo dough: Phyllo dough (sometimes also called phyllo pastry or filo dough) is sold in the frozen aisle of most grocery stores. Thaw phyllo in the fridge overnight. I used six sheets for this recipe.
- Butter: Use unsalted butter. Butter is used in the filling and for brushing the layers of phyllo. To enhance the flavor, I highly recommend browning your butter! It only takes a few extra minutes to essentially toast the butter. The butter develops a rich, nutty flavor. See recipe card for instructions!
- Fresh apricots: Use 1 pound of fresh apricots.
- Dried apricots: Dried apricots add extra apricot flavor and a delicious chewy texture. For more recipes with dried fruit, you’ll love these oatmeal raisin cookie bars and date and orange scones!
- Orange juice: Soak the dried apricots in a little orange juice before adding them to the filling. It enhances the flavor and plumps the apricots up.
- Cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger: These spices give these pastries their apple pie flavor. I used ground cinnamon and nutmeg and fresh ginger. For more warmly spiced treats, try my popular pumpkin spice olive oil cake and snickerdoodle cookies!
- Nuts: Use pistachios, walnuts, almonds, or hazelnuts. I prefer to toast the nuts for the best flavor. See recipe card for instructions on toasting nuts. If you’re a fan of baking with nuts, you’ll love my chocolate chip and pistachio cookies and ricotta pistachio cake recipe!
- Brown sugar: I used dark brown sugar. It has more molasses in it which adds more fall flavor. You can also use light brown sugar.
Substitutions & variations
- Instead of apricots, use plums, peaches, apples or pears!
- Swap in 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger in place of freshly grated ginger.
- Instead of all butter, use a mixture of butter and olive oil to brush the phyllo.
Instructions
Step 1 (Picture 1 above)–Melt or brown the butter. To brown butter, melt it in a medium skillet over medium heat. Once melted, reduce heat to medium-low. Stir frequently. The butter will get foamy and bubbly then it will get quiet and turn an amber color and will have a nutty aroma. When the butter reaches this stage, remove it from the heat.
Step 2 (Picture 2 above)– Pour the brown butter into a small bowl. Pour two tablespoons of the brown butter back into the skillet. Set rest of the brown butter aside for later.
Step 3 (Picture 3 above)– Add the fresh apricots, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, vanilla and salt to the skillet. Stir occasionally and cook 6-7 minutes, until apricots begin to soften. Stir in toasted chopped nuts and dried apricots. Remove from heat and set aside to cool briefly.
Step 4 (Picture 4 above)–Place one sheet of phyllo on a baking sheet. Brush evenly with the melted or brown butter. Repeat this process with the remaining sheets of phyllo.
Step 5 (Picture 5 above)– Spread the filling over the phyllo. Leave a 2 inch border of phyllo on all 4 sides.
Step 6 (Picture 6 above)– Fold the 2 short ends over to cover 2 inches of the apricot mixture. Brush ends with brown butter.
Step 7 (Picture 7 above)– Begin at the long end closest to you. Carefully fold the phyllo over the filling, rolling towards the other end. Roll it like you’d roll a jelly roll. Brush the outside allover with butter.
Step 8 (Picture 8 above)– Bake in your preheated 375 F oven for 27-34 minutes, until strudel is nicely golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet. Dust with powdered sugar or a mixture of powdered sugar and ground cinnamon just before serving.
Recipe FAQs
You can find phyllo dough in the frozen food aisle in most grocery stores.
This strudel is best made the day you plan to serve it. You can make the filling the day before. Store the filling in an airtight container in the fridge. If you
This apricot strudel is best served the same day they it’s made. Store leftover strudel in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. The filling can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Expert tips
- Assemble the strudel right on the sheet pan that you plan to bake the strudel on. This way, you don’t risk breaking the strudel when transferring it.
- Phyllo dough can dry out, so work quickly and keep phyllo covered with a kitchen towel as you work.
- If you run out of brown butter or are running low while assembling the strudel, melt more butter or just add a little olive oil to the bowl of brown butter.
- Don’t roll it up too tightly so that it doesn’t burst open while baking.
- Make sure strudel is seam side down on the baking sheet.
- This apricot walnut strudel is best served on plates and eaten by hand! It’s a little messy, but it’s so good!
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Apricot Strudel
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter browned or melted, divided
- ⅓ cup (43.33 g) dried apricots diced
- ½ cup (118.29 ml) orange juice
- 1 pound (453.59 g) fresh apricots pitted and quartered or thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup (73.33 g) brown sugar light or dark, packed
- 1¼ teaspoon (1¼ teaspoon) cinnamon plus more for dusting, optional
- ¼ teaspoon (¼ teaspoon) nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon (2 g) fresh ginger grated on microplane or box grater
- ½ teaspoon (½ teaspoon) salt
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract
- 11 sheets (209 g) phyllo dough thaw according to package instructions
- ½ cup (72 g) nuts toasted, optional (see recipe)
- powdered sugar for dusting, optional
Instructions
- Thaw the phyllo dough in the refrigerator overnight or according to package instructions. Take phyllo dough out of the fridge about 45 minutes before you plan to use it.
- Dice the dried apricots. Set them in a bowl with the orange juice for 20 minutes to soak. After 20 minutes, discard the orange juice and set dried apricots aside.
- Toast and/or chop the nuts. Toasting is optional, but recommended for flavor. Toast nuts in the oven or on the stovetop. To toast in the oven, preheat oven to 300 F. Spread whole nuts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in the oven for 9-11 minutes, until nuts are fragrant. To toast nuts on the stove top: Add whole nuts to a dry medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Stir as you toast them until they are fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Once nuts are cool to the touch, chop them and set aside.
- Preheat oven temperature to 375 Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Wash and pit the fresh apricots. If they're small, cut them into quarters. For larger apricots, thinly slice them. Either way works.
- Melt or brown the butter. Add butter to a medium skillet set over medium heat. Stir occasionally as the butter melts. Once melted, reduce heat to medium-low. Continue cooking the butter, stirring frequently. The butter will get foamy and bubbly then it will get quiet and turn an amber color and will have a nutty aroma. You'll also see brown bits start to form on the bottom. This browning will take around 4-6 minutes once the butter has melted. When the butter reaches this stage, remove it from the heat. Pour the brown butter into a small bowl.
- Pour 2 tablespoons of the brown butter back into the skillet. Add the fresh apricots, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, vanilla and salt. Stir occasionally and cook 6-7 minutes, until apricots begin to soften. Stir in toasted chopped nuts and dried apricots. Remove from heat and set aside to cool briefly.
- Take out a pastry brush, clean kitchen towel and a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Open the box of phyllo dough. Spread phyllo out on the table and cover it with the kitchen towel. Set your baking sheet in front of you horizontally.
- Place one sheet of phyllo on your parchment paper lined baking sheet. Brush the sheet of phyllo dough evenly with the melted or brown butter. Keep the remaining phyllo sheets covered with a clean kitchen towel while you brush each individual sheet with melted butter.
- Lay another sheet of phyllo dough on top. Brush with brown butter. Repeat this process with the remaining sheets of phyllo. If you run out of brown butter or are running low, melt more butter or just add a little olive oil to the bowl of brown butter.
- With your baking sheet in front of you horizontally, spoon the filling in the middle of the sheets. Spread the mixture with the back of a spoon to leave a 2 inch border of phyllo on all 4 sides. Fold the 2 short ends over to cover 2 inches of the apricot mixture.
- Begin at the long end closest to you. Carefully fold the phyllo over the filling, rolling towards the other end. Roll it like you'd roll a jelly roll but try not to roll it too tight. Make sure the seam is on the bottom.
- Brush the outside allover with butter. Bake in your preheated 375 F oven for 27-34 minutes, until strudel is nicely golden brown allover.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet.
- Dust with powdered sugar or a mixture of powdered sugar and ground cinnamon just before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that nutritional values are created by an online calculator and should only be used as an estimate.
Carolyn
I’m going to improvise using all dried apricots and some canned apricot mixture. Will let you know outcome.
Natalie Ward
Hi Carolyn! I hope you loved this recipe. Can’t wait to hear how it turned out 🙂
Dina T
Amazing Recipe! Love it
Natalie
Thanks Dina!So happy you enjoyed this recipe 🙂