APPLES + FILO DOUGH = DELICIOUS DESSERTS : APPLE STRUDEL WITH FILO.

Byline: Cathy Thomas Orange Country Register

Ever been a pastry prisoner? I have.

Make a traditional apple strudel from scratch. You'll catch on big-time. During a course at the Viennese Gastronomic Institute in Vienna, I tackled strudel dough - authentic Austrian strudel dough - under the watchful eye of a stern pastry chef-turned-teacher.

Never again. No wonder the name ``strudel'' is derived from the German word for ``whirlwind.''

The idea is to make a paper-thin dough to encircle a luscious apple-raisin mixture - a dough made from egg, vinegar, melted butter, lukewarm water and high-gluten bread flour. Mixing is easy. It's trying to make a large, see-through sheet that causes the aggravation.

It takes skill and patience to make a dough-ball into a large, sheer, scarflike pastry. Too much stress and gaping holes erupt. Too little stretch and it's thick and doughy.

Push. Lift and roll. Drape it over the heels of your hands. Pull and stretch.

Snuggle gently over the sides and corners of a table. Yes, a 5-by-3-foot table.

Sweat.

Exit tradition. Enter store-bought filo.

Sold frozen at most supermarkets, filo dough is a great substitute for bona fide handmade strudel dough. Thaw according to package directions and it's ready to use.

Team it with apples, brush it with melted butter or margarine and bake until golden brown and crispy. Perfection.

Unlike strudel dough, flour and water are the only ingredients in filo (also spelled phyllo). The sheets are thinner. The texture crisper.

Brush a thin coating of butter or margarine on filo before baking to turn it brown; otherwise it stays white. To cut down on fat, spray alternate filo layers with nonstick olive-oil spray rather than butter.

Tear it? Patching is a cinch. Brush with a tiny bit of butter and slap on another filo layer.

Apples and filo dough make incredible desserts. Serve warm and add a dollop of ice cream or whipped cream, if you like.

Apple Strudel With Filo: Layer sheets of filo. Sprinkle with toasted bread cubes or crumbs (to absorb the excess juices) and place chopped apple-nut-raisin mixture in a log shape along the shorter end. Roll up and bake until golden brown. Cut into thick slices and serve warm or at room temperature, with ice cream, frozen yogurt or whipped cream.

Apple-Dried Cherry Filo Bonnet: A variation of apple strudel. Fold sheets of filo and arrange like the spokes of a wheel, overlapping slightly, from the center of a pizza pan. Place apple-dried cherry filling in the center and pull up 1 filo sheet at a time, twisting excess on top to make a roselike shape. Bake until golden. Dust with powdered sugar and cut into wedges. Serve warm or at room temperature with ice cream, frozen yogurt or whipped cream.

Sliced Baked Apples With Filo Leaves: Peel and core apples. Cut horizontally into 1/4-inch slices and re-form the original shape. Stuff with brown sugar, butter and dried cranberries or golden raisins. Add a little apple brandy, if desired. Bake until softened and caramelized. Garnish with cutout leaves made from several layers of baked filo.

Apple Crisp With Filo Triangles: Sweetened sliced apples are baked with a crunchy crumb topping. Spoon into a bowl and arrange cutout triangles of baked filo around the outside edge. Serve warm with ice cream, frozen yogurt or whipped cream.

6 cups Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup toasted, chopped walnuts OR pecans (see Note)

1/2 cup raisins

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 pound filo; if frozen, thaw according to package directions

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted

1 1/2 cups small fresh bread cubes, buttered and toasted in oven

Powdered sugar for garnish

Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan with butter. In a large bowl, combine chopped apples, brown sugar, nuts, raisins, cinnamon, lemon peel and vanilla. Toss gently to mix. Set aside.

Place a clean, dry kitchen towel on a work surface. Place 1 sheet of filo on top of towel, with short end facing you. Brush lightly with melted butter.

Layer on 2 more sheets of filo, brushing each lightly with melted butter. Seal unused filo airtight. Place about 1/2 cup toasted bread cubes in a narrow strip about 1-inch from short end of filo (the one closest to you), leaving a 1-inch margin on both ends. Top bread with 1 cup apple mixture.

Using towel as an aid, roll up filo, jellyroll fashion, to enclose filling. Brush ends (inside) with butter and tuck under. Place on prepared pan. Repeat to form additional rolls until all apple mixture is used, placing rolls about 1-inch apart on pan. Brush with melted butter.

Bake in preheated 350-degree oven 40 to 50 minutes or until filo is crisp and golden brown. Cool and dust with powdered sugar.

Using a sharp knife, cut into 2-inch diagonal slices and serve with whipped cream, frozen yogurt or whipped cream. Makes 12 servings, 2 slices per serving.

NOTE: To toast nuts, place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven 3 to 5 minutes, until nicely browned. Watch carefully, nuts can burn easily.

Adapted from ``Filo Fantastic'' by Mary Crownover, Taylor Publishing Company.

APPLE-DRIED CHERRY FILO BONNET

2 1/2 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and very thinly sliced (see Note)

1/2 cup granulated sugar 

3/4 cup dried cherries

1/4 cup apple brandy, such as Calvados OR apple juice

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

1/2 pound filo; if frozen, thaw according to package directions

Powdered sugar (for garnish)

Lightly grease a 15-inch pizza pan with melted butter.

In a large bowl, combine apples and sugar; toss. Set aside.

Place dried cherries and brandy in a microwave-safe bowl or measuring cup. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave few minutes; set aside.

Place prepared pizza pan in a location where you have plenty of empty space on all sides. On a clean, dry surface, place a single layer of filo. Brush lightly with butter and fold in half lengthwise. Brush top lightly with melted butter.

Arrange on pizza pan so that one end is in center of pan and opposite end extends out over edge of pan onto work surface. Repeat with 7 additional sheets of filo, arranging individually, overlapping slightly, like spokes of a wheel. Fold an additional sheet of filo in half and place in center of pizza pan to reinforce bottom.

Place apple mixture in a strainer or colander and drain, shaking gently to remove excess juices. Place apple mixture in center of filo and press into a disk about 9 inches in diameter. Place cherries on top of apples.

To enclose filling, pull 1 sheet of filo toward center of apple mixture; twist excess filo into a free-form rose shape. Repeat with remaining filo sheets, 1 sheet at a time, placing rose shapes close together. Brush with melted butter.

Bake in preheated 400-degree oven 13 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F; bake an additional 25 minutes, checking after 15 minutes to see if filo is becoming too brown. If it is, loosely tent with foil and continue baking.

Pour off any juices that accumulate on pan and reserve. Slide onto a serving plate or cooling rack. Drizzle a little of reserved juices over top.

Cool slightly and dust with powdered sugar; place sugar in a small sieve and shake handle to dust sugar over surface.

Cut into wedges and serve warm. Accompany with ice cream, frozen yogurt or whipped cream. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

NOTE: Quickest way to thinly slice apples is to cut apples in half and slice in a food processor fitted with a thin slicing disk.

BAKED APPLES WITH FILO LEAVES

1/4 cup dried cranberries OR golden raisins

2 tablespoons apple brandy, such as Calvados OR apple juice

4 McIntosh apples

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 packed cup brown sugar

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter OR margarine, cut into small pieces

4 cinnamon sticks

Filo Leaves for garnish (optional)

Grease a pie pan with butter or margarine.

Combine cranberries and 1 tablespoon apple brandy in a microwave-safe bowl or glass measuring cup. Cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high (100 percent) power 1 1/2 minutes. Set aside.

Peel, core and cut apples horizontally into 1/4-inch slices. Stack each apple into its original shape and place in prepared pie pan. Brush generously with lemon juice. Spoon a little brown sugar, butter and cranberries into core of each apple; repeat. Drizzle remaining 1 tablespoon brandy over top of apples.

Bake in a 450-degree oven 20 minutes, basting with pan juices 2 or 3 times. Place a cinnamon stick in core of each apple. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake an additional 20 minutes or until apples are tender and browned, basting 2 times with pan juices.

Place apples on individual dessert plates. Spoon syrupy sauce at bottom of pan over top. Garnish with Filo Leaves. Serve warm, if desired, accompanied with ice cream, frozen yogurt or whipped cream. Makes 4 servings.

FILO LEAVES: Place 1 sheet of filo on a clean, dry surface. Don't worry if filo tears. There will be several layers, so it doesn't matter. Brush lightly with melted butter OR margarine. Place a second layer of filo on top of first sheet. Brush lightly with melted butter OR margarine.

Repeat process until a total of 6 sheets are layered and brushed. Cut into leaf shapes with a sharp knife. Place on a lightly buttered baking sheet, holding layers together when you move them.

Bake in preheated 350-degree oven 3 to 5 minutes or until nicely browned. Can be done 1 day ahead and then stored at room temperature.

APPLE CRISP

APPLE MIXTURE:

6 medium cooking apples, such as McIntosh, pippin, Granny Smith, Rome OR golden delicious, peeled, cored and sliced

1/2 cup apple brandy, such as Calvados OR apple juice

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

TOPPING:

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter OR margarine, cut into 6 pieces

1 cup slivered almonds

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Filo Triangles for garnish (optional)

In a 9x13-inch baking pan, make Apple Mixture by combining apples, brandy, sugar and cinnamon; gently toss to mix.

In a food processor, fitted with a metal blade, combine all Topping ingredients. Process in 3 or 4 short pulses or until ingredients are crumbly and mixed, not smooth. Sprinkle over apples.

Bake in preheated 400-degree oven 35 to 40 minutes or until top is browned and crusty. Spoon into 6 to 8 bowls.

Garnish top with 2 to 3 baked Filo Triangles. Serve warm with ice cream, frozen yogurt or whipped cream. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

FILO TRIANGLES: Place 1 sheet of filo on a clean, dry surface. Don't worry if filo tears. There will be several layers, so it doesn't matter. Brush lightly with melted butter OR margarine. Place a second layer of filo on top of first sheet and repeat process until a total of 6 sheets are layered and brushed.

Cut into triangles with a sharp knife. Size of triangles will vary, according to size and shape of individual serving bowls; wide, shallow bowls accommodate larger triangles than small, deep bowls. Place on a lightly buttered baking sheet, holding layers together.

Bake in preheated 350-degree oven 3 to 5 minutes or until nicely browned. Can be done 1 day ahead, then store at room temperature.

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Drawing

PHOTO (color) This Apple-Dried Cherry Filo Bonnet, made with store-bought filo, eliminates the hassle of preparing handmade dough.

Leornard Ortiz / Orange County Register

Drawing: No Caption (Basket of apples)