CHERRY-CHEESE STRUDEL

Steps:

• Brush a large rimmed baking sheet with melted butter; set aside. Combine the cherries and their juice, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and cinnamon sticks in a medium high-sided skillet. Place over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil. Cook until juice is reduced to 1/4 cup, about 10 minutes. Transfer 2 tablespoons of juice to a small bowl; add the cornstarch, and whisk until combined. Return mixture to skillet and cook, stirring until thickened, about 2 minutes. Set aside to cool completely.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese, remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt on medium-high speed until very smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk, and beat to combine.
• Lay a large, clean cloth or sheet (at least 3 feet long and wide) on a work surface, and sprinkle well with flour. Place dough in center of cloth, and roll out to a 12-inch square. Cover with plastic wrap, and let stand for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Roll out dough again to about a 20-inch square, and lightly brush entire surface with oil. Slide both hands, with slightly curved palms facing down, under dough toward the center. Holding this position, lift the dough off the cloth with your knuckles, and begin stretching from the center out to the edges until it is too large to stretch easily with your hands. Carefully set dough back on cloth, spreading it to smooth out any wrinkles or folds. Starting in the center again, continue to stretch out the dough in all directions, maintaining a rectangular shape, until the dough is almost translucent everywhere except the edges,which should be thicker. Don't worry if the dough tears while stretching: Once you're done, you will be able to patch any holes with some of the excess stretched dough.
• Using a pizza wheel or kitchen scissors, trim all the thick edges until the dough is about 30 by 28 inches. Drizzle 4 tablespoons melted butter evenly over the dough. With a short side facing you, and starting about 6 inches from the top edge, spread the cream cheese mixture in a 6-inch-wide layer, horizontally, leaving a 3-inch border on each end. Arrange the cherry mixture evenly on top of the cream cheese. Using the cloth, lift up and flip the 6-inch top edge of the dough over the filling. Repeat lifting and folding once, leaving sides open. Then fold in sides of dough to enclose the filling. Continue lifting and folding until the dough is completely rolled into a flat log. If the ends are very thick, trim them as you work.
• Place the prepared baking sheet lengthwise next to the log. To transfer, gently flip one end of the log onto the baking sheet, seam side down, then flip the other end, curving to form a crescent shape. Brush the surface evenly with the remaining tablespoon butter, and generously sprinkle with sanding sugar. Using a wooden skewer, prick the surface of the dough to allow steam to escape.
• Bake until strudel is deep golden, about 1 hour. Transfer sheet to a wire rack to cool, 10 minutes. Using two large offset spatulas, release strudel from the sheet and slide it onto the rack. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream, as desired.
• Strudel Dough
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour and salt. Add oil and warm water; mix on medium-low speed until dough just comes together, about 1 minute. Switch to the dough hook; mix until dough is smooth and shiny and doesn't stick to your fingers, about 5 minutes.
• Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough, dusting with flour as you go and periodically slamming it against the work surface, until it is soft, smooth, and elastic. Leave dough on work surface; cover with an overturned bowl. Let rest at room temperature at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours.
• Strudel how-to
• A square of strudel dough is placed on a well-floured sheet on top of a large work surface.
• The dough is rolled and brushed with oil, then stretched into a very large, nearly translucent rectangle.
• If the dough tears, it can be easily patched with extra dough.
• Sweetened cream cheese is spread in a layer across the top of the dough, then covered with sour cherry filling.
• The cloth helps support the dough as it is folded around the filling.
• The flat log is transferred to a rimmed baking sheet, the ends curved to form a crescent. A skewer is used to prick holes in the surface.