Apple season means apple desserts. This recipe is a thin, but very flavorful Apple Pecan Phyllo Crisp. Apple slices, pecan, sugar and cinnamon between every sheet of phyllo dough.

Phyllo dough is a very interesting dough. It is very very thin, feels very dry and is made from just a few ingredients. Flour, water, a small amount of oil, and white vinegar. Sometimes you see lemon juice added. I have never tried to make this dough myself, but I am sure there are people who do. For this Apple Pecan Phyllo Crisp, I adapted a recipe from Martha Stewart.

Key Ingredients in This Recipe

You’ll find the complete list of ingredients and exact quantities in the recipe below.

Phyllo dough – cut 14 x 9 sheets in half and you have a size for two. When working with phyllo dough, be prepared to work fast as phyllo dough can quickly dry and tear. Unroll the phyllo sheets and lay them flat on a dry surface and cover immediately with a damp towel.
Butter
Pecans – roasted or roast them yourself
Breadcrumbs – plain
Sugar
Cinnamon
Apple – any apple you like

How to Make Apple Pecan Phyllo Crisp

Step 1 – Prepare ingredients to assemble crisp easily. This is called ‘Mise en Place’ in French. Literal translation is put in place or set-up.
- Thaw the phyllo dough by following instructions on the packaging. It takes a couple of hours. Keep it moist.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F.
- Roast pecans on a baking sheet and toast for about 7-10 minutes. Omit oil, there will be enough fat in the crisp. You can also buy roasted pecans instead.
- Chop pecans finely and mix with bread crumbs, sugar and cinnamon.
- Peel the apple, take the core out and slice is super thin, making use of a mandoline slicer. You need the slices thinner than you can slice with a knife. Not all the slices will be perfect, but that’s OK, just reserve the beautiful slices for the top and use the rest for in between the phyllo sheets.
- Melt butter.

Step 2 – Assembling the Apple Pecan Phyllo Crisp and increase oven to 375 degrees F.

Place the first sheet of phyllo dough on the parchment paper. Thinly brush the phyllo dough with melted butter and place the next sheet on top and brush with butter again.

Baking sheet with 2 sheets of phyllo dough, each brushed with butter.

Butter covered with pecan mixture of finely chopped pecans, breadcrumbs, cinnamon and sugar.

Sprinkle with pecan-bread crumb mixture over the butter. Leave about 1/2 inch border. Cover with phyllo sheet and brush with melted butter.

Cover with two layers of apple slices.

Sheet of phyllo dough and apple slices on top.

Repeat: Cover apple with phyllo sheet – brush with melted butter – phyllo sheet – brush with melted butter – pecan mixture – phyllo sheet – brush with melted butter – last layer of apple – brush apple slices with butter. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over apple slices.
Bake Crisp in oven for approx. 30 minutes, rotate baking sheet half way through. When baked, the phyllo dough will be golden brown and apple will be soft. Keep an eye on this crisp, you don’t want the edges of the dough to burn.
Cool slightly and cut in 6 pieces and serve.

Image from top down of the Apple pecan phyllo crisp cut in 6 pieces.

The result is a phyllo pie, served as dessert, a breakfast or a welcome sweet snack with tea or coffee. The edges are crisp and you can see the individual layers. I could image that phyllo dough with just a little butter and sugar would already be a nice treat.

Apple pecan phyllo crisp cut and one piece in hand to show the layers.

The middle part is soft and crispy. I know that sounds like a contradiction, but I don’t know how else to describe it. Soft when you eat the fruity part, but there are the pecan crumbs and you have the crispy edges of the phyllo dough.

ENJOY!

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