Strudel is a beautiful dessert to serve to company.  And this one happens to be easy enough for a weeknight treat too.

It’s an adaptation of an old recipe I have for Cranberry Braid Bread.  For that recipe, you make the yeast dough by hand.  It’s fun and not too hard, but it is time consuming.

This version makes use of Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry.  No hand making dough required.  Puff pastry is fantastic, because it bakes up to impressive flaky layers.

This strudel is filled with sweet-tart cranberry filling.  Start with a bag of fresh cranberries, some sugar and orange juice.  It cooks up easily.  I drizzled orange glaze over the top for an extra dose of sweetness.

Cranberry Strudel makes a great alternative to pie for Christmas or Thanksgiving.  It would also round out a brunch nicely.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Print Recipe

Easy Cranberry Strudel

Ingredients

• 12 oz package fresh cranberries
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 Tbs. cornstarch
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1 package Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry
• 1 egg beaten
• 1 Tbs. water
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3-4 Tbs. orange juice

Instructions

• Rinse cranberries.
• Combine sugar and cornstarch in 3 quart saucepan.
• Stir in orange juice and cranberries.
• Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly for 10-15 minutes. Cranberries will crush and thicken.
• Remove from heat, cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
• Place thawed puff pastry on parchment lined baking pans.
• Spread half of cranberry filling down center section of each pastry sheet.
• Cut 1″ slits in the side sections of pastry sheets.
• Fold over filling, alternating the sides to create a braid.
• Stir water and beaten egg together and brush tops of pastries.
• Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
• Remove from oven and cool.
• Stir orange juice and powdered sugar together to make glaze and drizzle over top of pastries.

Here’s a photo of the assembly process:

It’s quick and easy to make a pretty braid with puff pastry.

I’m always looking for ways to spark new creative ideas with my recipes.  I hope you enjoy this recipe and don’t forget to check out more recipes at www.puffpastry.com.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry. The opinions and text are all mine.