Apple strudel. There was a recipe in Cook’s Illustrated that promised to make it easy to bake for “the rest of us,” and this was the kind of step-by-step guide I needed to overcome my unacknowledged fear of baking pastries. I was intimidated by the process of buying and handling phyllo dough, and nervous that I wouldn’t be able to fold the dough correctly or allow it to hold its shape. Nevertheless, it worked. You prepare an apple and cinnamon mixture and then lay out seven phyllo sheets on top of one another, brushing each layer with melted butter and confectioner’s sugar. Spoon out the apples in a rectangle on the bottom third of the pastry, then fold over the left and right sides and the bottom, brushing the folded portions with reserved liquid from the apple mixture. The last step is to fold over the top, making sure it overlaps by an inch or so, and brush with more apple mixture to seal it. It isn’t often that you can find a strudel at a bakery with apples that taste so fresh. The next step? Find a better source for purchasing the phyllo dough, or make it yourself.

(Photo: Wild growths, backyard.)

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