Apple Turnovers...a taste of Fall

Sugar & Honey Apple Turnovers

Beautiful Fall Saturday. What does that put me in the mood for? I'm talking food here....come on....Apples of course. I love making these apple turnovers in the fall. They're quick, easy and so tasty. I used store bought frozen puff pastry this time and they turned out great. If you have time to make your own puff pastry...well then have at it...but I see nothing wrong with taking advantage of pre-made items as long as you put a little homemade in there, too.

Avesta's Sugar n Honey Apple turnovers:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

For filling:
4 large apples, peeled, cored & cut into small chunks

Buy one of these apple corers. They're not expensive and it's great to have to make apple desserts and just to serve apple slices for a snack.

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 sugar
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 lemon


In a bowl, toss the apples with the sugars, vanilla, lemon juice and honey.

The honey adds a rich, warm flavor to the apples.

Use fresh squeezed lemon juice. Bottled lemon juice has too harsh a flavor for this recipe.

In a nonstick pan, melt the butter until it just starts to turn golden then add the apple mixture and saute until the apples caramelize.

Turn the heat down to low and saute for another 5 minutes until the apples are soft but not mushy. Cool the apple mixture by putting it in a chilled bowl.

Letting the butter turn golden before adding the apples helps create a caramel flavor in this filling.


Meanwhile, roll out your puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface.
Once your pastry is about 1/4 inch thick, cut out even squares, about 4 inches each. Begin assembling your turnovers by placing a spoonful of the apple mixture across the middle of each pastry square.

Fold over one corner of the pastry to form a triangle. If your mixture is a bit high, just lightly push the pastry & filling down so the corners can meet. Fold the edges up and using a fork, press the edges together to seal the turnover. Don't worry about the turnovers looking perfect. They will once they bake!

For a little twist, I made some of the turnovers with pecans. I folded these differently so that my guests could tell which ones had nuts in them. I folded these into rectangles instead.

Once all your turnovers are assembled, put them on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Make an egg wash by whisking one egg with 1 tablespoon of water. Using a pastry brush, lightly spread egg wash on the tops of all your turnovers. Finish them off by sprinkling a little sugar on top. This will help you get that nice golden crusty flavor and look of professional pastry.

Bake the turnovers on 400 degrees for about 8-10 minutes. After 8-10 minutes, rotate your cookie sheet so you can evenly cook the turnovers and bake for another 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees. The turnovers are done when they are fully puffed and are nice and golden brown.

Perfect!

You can serve the turnovers on a platter just plain or you can serve them individually with some ice cream drizzled with caramel sauce.

They are delicious warm, at room temperature or chilled. If you want to store them make sure to store in an airtight container.