Apple Turnovers (Naturally Sweetened)

When we were little and my parents worked in Manhattan each day, they'd bring us little treats often: street vendor popcorn (the only popcorn I like), Irish soda bread on St. Patrick's Day, Au Bon Pain cranberry nut muffins from mom, and Halal Guys' chicken/gyro platters, cheese danishes, tuna melts from Eisenberg's, and apple turnovers from dad. What a wonderful childhood, am I right? ;)

My parents no longer commute to Manhattan, so over the past few years, whenever apple turnovers enter this house, they tend to be from Sam's Club. Now I'm all for indulging in life's treats and pleasures, but you have to do it right -- mass produced, wholesale store stuff don't always cut it (not an attack on Sam's, I promise).

So for last Father's Day, I decided to make apple turnovers at home to go with breakfast. Granted, I used generic, store-bought puff pastry, which includes not so great ingredients, but there weren't any alternatives, and I was not about to labor over homemade puff pastry. I opted not to add any sugar to the filling because the apples were sweet enough, and the rest of breakfast seemed pretty rich, so we didn't need any additional sweetness.

While I made this during the summer, what's more appropriate for the fall than an apple related treat? What's great about this recipe is that it's also very simple -- get your kids in the kitchen!

Recipe: Apple Turnovers
By: Hannah Claudia
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for the filling: (helpful to make it ahead of time!)
3-4 apples, finely chopped
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
generous splash of water or apple juice + 1 tablespoon of cornstarch

2 sheets of store-bought puff pastry (I used 1 whole package of Pepperidge Farm's)
1 egg, beaten + 1 tablespoon of water (egg wash)

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1. In a large pot, toss the apples in the cinnamon. Place the pot over medium heat and let the apples cook down.
2. Once the apples have begun to release their own juices, add the cornstarch/liquid mixture.
3. Cook the apples down until they have softened and the liquid has thickened.
4. Remove from the heat and let the apples cool completely.

5. Cut each puff pastry sheet into 4 squares (do not roll the puff pastry out -- this will not leave you with flake-y, layered pastries that hold their shape. You will end up with thin, falling apart baked goods instead).
6. Brush egg wash on the outer edges of a puff pastry square. Add a spoonful of the apple filling to one half of the square and fold one corner of the puff pastry over the filling, to the opposite corner. Use a fork to seal and crimp the edges. Cut 3 small holes on the top of each turnover.
7. Repeat this process, working quickly. Transfer all of the apple turnovers to a baking sheet lined with wax paper.
8. Refrigerate the turnovers on the baking sheet (this helps the butter in the puff pastry to set up again, allowing for the flake-y layers to be super flake-y when being baked.)
9. Preheat your oven to 400*F.
10. Once your oven is at 400*F, take the turnovers out of the refrigerator and quickly brush the leftover egg wash onto the tops/sides of each turnover.
11. Bake the turnovers for 25 minutes, or until the turnovers are golden brown and have puffed up.





xoxo, han