These Apple Cherry Turnovers are made with a light and flaky yeasted pastry, filled with a perfectly spiced mixture of juicy apples and tart dried cherries. Perfect for breakfast or a sweet snack!
Today is the kind of chilly autumn day that makes you take stock of your tea cupboard and requires a cozy cinnamon-spiced treat. I’m all for a repeat of these apple-cherry turnovers I made a couple of weeks ago. They are totally scratch-made with firm granny smith apples, dried cherries and an all-butter puffy crust that turns golden as it bakes.
Pastry
The crust I use for turnovers is akin to puff pastry, but yeasted. It’s a quick(ish) danish pasty that I love using for buns, braids and kringles, too. You may already be acquainted with it because I shared it previously in this bear claw recipe. Begin by pulsing a flour mixture with butter in a food processor until kidney bean-sized pieces of butter form. This creates a flaky texture, and there’s no denying the buttery flavor in the end result!
A bloomed yeast mixture is added to the dry ingredients and stirred until just incorporated.
Plan ahead because this dough needs to take a rest in the refrigerator for at least four hours, but overnight is preferred.
Roll the Dough
Pound the cold dough flat and roll to about 1/4-inch thickness.
Roll to about 16×20, fold into thirds. Roll again and fold into thirds. Now the dough rests one more time for 30 minutes.
Fill with the spiced apple and dried cherry mixture and brush the edges with egg wash. Seal with the tines of a fork.
Sprinkle, sprinkle! Add sugar to sweeten the crust and add crunch.
I recommend making these over the course of two days. Prepare the dough on the first day. Then roll the dough, prepare the filling, and bake on the second day. It’s a bit of a project. But the payoff is well worth it. I re-rolled all my dough scraps, so my end total was 16 pastries. So be prepared to share!
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Apple-Cherry Turnovers
Ingredients
Pastry
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 1/2 cups cold unsalted butter
- 4 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast 2 packets
- 1/2 cup warm water (105-115°F)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
Filling
- 1/2 cup dried cherries
- 4 granny smith apples peeled, cored and diced
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Assembly
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
Pastry
- To make the pastry, add flour to bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Cut butter into 1/4-inch slices and add to flour. Pulse until butter is about the size of kidney beans. If you don’t have a food processor you can cut the butter into the flour with a pastry blender or other cutting tool.
- In large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir in cream, salt, eggs and sugar. Turn the flour-butter mixture into liquid ingredients and mix using a rubber spatula until the dry ingredients are just moistened. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 4 hours, or overnight (preferred) or up to 4 days.
Filling
- To make the filling, toss cherries, apples, both sugars and cinnamon in medium bowl. Cover and allow mixture to stand at room temperature while you prepare the pastry.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Dust dough with flour. Roll out to make a 16×20-inch rectangle. Fold into thirds making three layers. Turn dough and roll out again. Fold again into thirds. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400°F. On a lightly floured surface, roll chilled pastry to 1/4-inch thickness. Trim edges to square and cut as many 5×5-inch squares from pastry as possible. Re-roll dough scraps and cut more squares.
- Place about 2 tablespoons of filling in center of each square. Combine egg and water in small bowl. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat edges of each square with egg wash. Pull one corner over the mixture to meet the opposite corner to form a triangle. Use the tines of a fork to seal the edges.
- Place the pastries on parchment-lined baking sheets. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with additional granulated sugar. Bake the turnovers 18-20 minutes, or until pastries are golden brown. Serve warm.
Notes
- Before Baking: After assembling the turnovers (but before applying the egg wash and sugar), place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a single layer. Freeze until solid, about 1-2 hours. Then transfer the frozen turnovers to an airtight container or freezer bag, separating layers with parchment paper. Store for up to 3 months.
- To Bake from Frozen: When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400°F. Brush the frozen turnovers with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar, and bake for 22-25 minutes, until golden brown. No need to thaw!
I've made yoru bear claws. I will be trying the pies.
What a delicious rustic recipe.