Sweet Pumpkin Strudel

One more nod to Thanksgiving, then we’ll move on. We got to host the Noon meal on Thanksgiving Day, and then were guests at a second feast for Saturday supper. Our newly-married niece asked that I bring a dessert. Greg and I had seen this recipe for Sweet Pumpkin Strudel made on Michael Symon’s Cooking Channel show “Symon’s Suppers”. We both thought it looked delicious, and while staying in the flavor profile of Thanksgiving, it was a bit different from plain-old pumpkin pie.

These are easy to make, but a bit tedious. I suggest teamwork – someone butter, someone roll them up. I did these by myself, and they needed to be baked and cooled in time to leave for Sara’s, so I put together a dozen of them, then stashed the rest of the filling in the frig. I’ll make up some more and freeze them, then they can be baked whenever Greg wants a pumpkin-y  treat.

I’ll reprint the recipe here, but if you click on the link above, you’ll go to the official web site. You’ll notice the recipe yield says 12 servings, which is what I made, and I had a lot of filling leftover. I also chose to go without nuts, since there was a good chance that the baby grandson would eat them. We did have the turbinado sugar, though, and that’s a fun touch.

These were served just as you see in the photo, and were well-liked. I think with the honey and whipped cream they’d be even better.

Sweet Pumpkin Strudel

Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients

• One 15-ounce can pumpkin
• One 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 12 sheets frozen phyllo dough (18- by 14-inch rectangles), 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

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.)
Cut the 2 layered sheets of phyllo lengthwise to create 2 long strips. 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 phyllo 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 phyllo with pecans and turbinado sugar. Bake until the phyllo is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Serve the phyllos warm drizzled with the honey and topped with whipped cream if using.