Apple Rolls

Thanksgiving is coming up and I wanted to make a few new recipes to celebrate. Apples are so beautiful and sweet this year. And apples are so perfect for autumn. I wanted to try something different, so I decided to make apple turnovers. That turned out to be harder than I expected.

Apple Rolls

I have tried to make these three times. I used puff pastry the first time. The pastry didn’t puff, and they were soggy. The second time I used pie crust. Too much crust. The third time I used empanada wrappers. Those were chewy and weird. You are probably thinking, “Why didn’t she give up?” Because that is NOT who I am!

Really, part of the fun of creating this blog is challenging myself. I was almost desperate enough to use phyllo dough. I say desperate because while phyllo is beautiful and delicious, it is a bear. Then I thought about egg roll wrappers. I had some in the freezer. Why not?  Why not indeed? These were wonderful.

I know these seem like a long list of instructions, but read over them. They are really easy to follow and quite simple.

Servings: 10 Apple Rolls

Time: Active time 25 minutes; Cook: 15 minutes, eggrolls in about 45 minutes

Hardware:  Measuring cups and spoons, peeler, knife and cutting board, wooden spoon, a large mixing bowl, 2 small bowls, sauce pot, a clean tea towel, a flat surface, a slotted spoon, a deep skillet, oil thermometer, tongs and a paper towel lined plate

Ingredients

• 3-4 large tart apples~ about 1.5 pounds (I like Granny Smiths)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• Pinch salt
• Eggroll wrappers
• Oil for skillet
• Eggroll wraps (I like Nasoya)
• Water
• Optional: Glaze or powdered sugar.

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Glaze

• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk (maybe more)
• ½ teaspoon vanilla

Place all the ingredients into a quart Ziploc and massage until thoroughly mixed. You can add a tiny bit more milk if needed. Snip off a corner of the bag and drizzle the finished Apple Rolls with glaze

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1. Peel, core and slice the apples. Try to make them the same thickness, so they will cook evenly. Toss them in the mixing bowl with the lemon juice. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt.  Lightly fold until the apples are covered.
2. Dissolve the cornstarch in one of the small bowls with 2 tablespoons of very cold water.
3. Place the apples and cornstarch-y water into the sauce pot. Cook over low heat until the apples are desired tenderness. I cook them for about 20 minutes. You can add another tablespoon of water if need, but you don’t want the apples to have too much liquid. Mix just enough to keep from sticking. When they are soft enough, remove the apples from the heat and allow them to cool.
4. Place the oil into the skillet and heat over medium. Use the thermometer to keep the oil around 370˚. While the oil is heating make the Apple Rolls.
5. Place some water in the other small bowl. Have the clean tea towel handy. Work with 1 wrapper at a time. Keep the other wrappers in their container or they will dry out. Place the wrapper with one corner closest to you as if you were looking at a diamond.
6. Using the slotted spoon, place about 2-3 tablespoons of the apple mixture in the center of the wrapper. Use the slotted spoon to remove as much liquid as possible. Don’t overfill the wrapper. Spread the mixture out evenly, so that the filling isn’t a big lump in the middle.
7. Fold the bottom corner over the filling. Tuck the wrapper in around the filling tightly. Be careful not to tear it. (See below)
8. Using your finger, brush water around the three remaining corners of the wrapper. Water will act as a glue.
9. Fold the side corners over the filling as if you were making an envelope.
10. Snugly roll up until it is closed. Press the edges to make sure it is sealed. Continue until you have used all the apple filling.
11. You can use water to seal any open places. You can also use little pieces of wet wrapper as patches if needed. Use the dry tea towel to clean the flat surface between rolls. If the surface is wet, your wrapper will stick.
12. Use the tongs to place the rolls, flap down, into the oil. Fry until the roll is golden brown and then flip. Don’t crowd them. You may need to cook them in batches. When they are done, place them on the paper towel lined plate. You can keep them warm in the oven on the lowest setting.
13. Serve warm or at room temperature. Either drizzle them with glaze or sift powdered sugar over them. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for an extra decedent dessert. These are better fresh, so don’t plan on leftovers.