Easy Apple Turnovers

Submitted by senseicheryl

"From Cooks Illustrated: Crisp-crusted, juicy turnovers capture all the flavor of apple pie in convenient, fun-to-eat, individual pastries. The sweet crust is the perfect foil for the juicy apples. Most turnovers, however, take a long time to make, requiring a difficult-to-make pastry and a cooked filling. Perhaps we were asking too much, but we wanted a turnover that would take minutes to prepare (we were willing to use store-bought dough). Here’s what we discovered: Test Kitchen Discoveries Frozen puff pastry makes a quick and easy-to-prepare turnover dough. Allow the dough to thaw overnight in the refrigerator to avoid cracking. Blend applesauce and fresh Granny Smith apples for a quick, complex-tasting filling. Process the fresh apples with sugar and drain them to remove excess liquid that would make the turnovers soggy. Use the sticky, sugary juice shed by the apples to “glue” the seams of the turnovers together. Use the same juice to brush the tops of the turnovers for a shiny, crackly top. Cook the turnovers in a hot (400-degree) oven for the best results. Puff pastry relies on high temperatures to lift the numerous, individual layers apart for its crisp texture. If you don’t have a food processor, grate the peeled and cored apples on the coarse side of a box grater before mixing them with the lemon juice, sugar, and salt. This recipe is easily cut in half."

 

• Ready In: 40mins
• Ingredients: 8
• Yields: 8 turnovers
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• 3⁄4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and chopped coarse
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1⁄8 teaspoon table salt
• 1⁄2 cup applesauce
• 2 sheets frozen puff pastry (9 by 9 1/2 inches)
• flour, for dusting work surface

directions

1. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon in small bowl.
2. Pulse apples, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, lemon juice, and salt in food processor until chopped into pieces no larger than 1/2 inch. Allow to sit for 5 minutes, then drain in fine-mesh strainer set over bowl. Reserve juices. Transfer apple mixture to medium bowl and stir in applesauce.
3. Unfold 1 sheet puff pastry onto lightly floured work surface and roll into 10-inch square. Cut into four 5-inch squares and fill each turnover with 2 tablespoons apple mixture, brush edges with reserved apple juice, then fold and crimp. Place turnovers on plate and freeze until firm, about 15 minutes. Repeat with remaining sheet puff pastry and filling.
4. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. With turnovers still on large plate, brush tops with reserved apple juice and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Place 4 turnovers on each baking sheet and bake until well browned, 20 to 26 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through baking time. Transfer turnovers to wire rack and let cool slightly. Turnovers can be served warm or at room temperature.
5. Make Ahead: You can fill, fold, and freeze the unbaked turnovers up to 1 month in advance. Freeze them on a baking sheet, then transfer to a zipper-lock freezer bag. Before baking, allow the turnovers to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes, then proceed with the recipe as directed.