Peach Strudel

In August and early September I'm making all things peach! I had some leftover filo dough, so I decided to treat my family with a fresh Peach Strudel. It is the easiest recipe and you can be as sloppy as you want. The only tricky thing about it is keeping the filo dough from drying, but I'll give you a couple of tips. Keep reading.

Make sure that your filo dough is thawed overnight in the fridge. If you thaw it too quickly under the room temperature, you will have a great difficulty working with the dough. I recommend thawing it in the fridge for 24 hours. Do not remove the original plastic packaging, as it will keep the dough moist while thawing. Remove the paper packaging only.

Makes: 2 strudels

• 3 tbsp butter, divided (you can also use cooking spray to spray the filo dough sheets)
• 8 medium peaches, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar (If your peaches are not very sweet, use more)
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon (or to taste) 
• 12 frozen filo dough sheets, thawed
• brown sugar (optional) 

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Melt 1 tbsp butter in a large sauce pan. Add peaches and golden raisins. Cook for 5-10 minutes until peaches become soft and juicy. Add powdered sugar and cinnamon. Mix well and ensure the sugar melts. Remove from the heat.

2. We will now need to brush each filo dough sheet with butter. To do that, cover the stack of filo dough sheets with a moist (but not wet) kitchen towel while working with each sheet. It will prevent the sheets from drying and becoming brittle. Using a small brush, brush 6 sheets of filo dough with butter. You can also use cooking spray instead of butter for the same purpose. You may find it a bit easier to use. The trick with filo dough is to work quickly before the sheets dry out. Stack the 6 sheets on top of each other in a greased baking pan. Pour half of the peach mixture down the middle of the filo dough sheets lengthwise. Fold the pastry lengthwise and place the strudel seam side down. Brush with butter and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon if desired. Repeat with the second strudel.

3. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the pastry looks golden brown. Serve warm sprinkled with powdered sugar.