Easy Faux Cherry Strudel

Last summer, I made Cherry Strudel using phyllo dough. While I enjoyed making them then, I was not in the mood to priss around with the fragile phyllo now. Yet I had some fresh, beautiful cherries and wanted to make some little pies. I was day dreaming about dough/pastry options--did I want a biscuity crust like my aunts back in Alabama used for those wonderful fried pies? Or I could go with a more standard pie crust. Or puff pastry. As these thoughts were rolling around inside my head, I remembered I still had some egg roll wrappers in the fridge. Why not? These little strudels turned out surprisingly delicious.

The most time consuming part of making them is pitting the cherries. But I always fall into a sort of reverie while I'm doing it, thinking of bygone summers, most especially of sitting up in the cherry tree at my uncle's house, in Ohio, eating my fill of ripe, juicy cherries, and of all the things going on with my five male cousins, on the ground, from my vantage point in the tree.

Easy Faux Cherry Strudel

Approx. 1 pound fresh cherries, minus the ones I ate while pitting, halved

2 Tbsp. brown sugar, adjust to your taste and the sweetness of the cherries

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

10 - 12 egg roll wrappers

1 egg, lightly beaten

Turbinado sugar

Powdered sugar for serving, if desired

Mix together the pitted and halved cherries, the sugar, and the cornstarch. Let the mixture sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, to macerate.

Put a mound of cherries onto the center of an egg roll wrapper and roll up into a little envelope. Place seam down on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Brush with the beaten egg and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake in preheated 375 oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove to a baking rack to cool.