I had a lot of fun making the cherry turnovers, but they weren’t quite as pretty as I would have liked. The dough was too sticky and it took forever to make all of them. There were also some problems with filling and crimping when shaping them into triangles. Next time I’ll try rolling out easier-to-work dough for these delicious treats!.
The “cherry turnover recipe” is a sweet pastry that can be made with any type of fruit. It’s usually made with cherries, but other fruits may also be used. The pastry is typically filled with a mixture of cream cheese and sugar, but it can also be filled with custard or jam.
Cherry Turnovers are quite simple to prepare at home. These turnovers are the ideal dessert or rich breakfast treat, created with puff pastry and homemade pie filling and topped with a simple glaze.
My friend Stephie was just reminiscing about how her family used to bake Pillsbury cherry turnovers for breakfast on Christmas and Thanksgiving mornings.
I hadn’t thought about them in years, but hearing about them made me need them instantly.
Pillsbury no longer seems to make such turnovers, but that’s OK. Turns out, we can create turnovers just as simply and with much better results at home!
WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF A CHERRY TURNOVER?
Let me explain why turnovers are so fantastic if you didn’t grow up eating them as a nostalgic special-occasion breakfast.
Turnovers are essentially small pies that may be eaten for dessert or breakfast. After all, although small pecan pies and mini pumpkin pies are gorgeous, they’re not exactly suitable for breakfast.
Maybe that’s oversimplifying things a little, but it’s one of the many reasons why I believe Cherry Turnovers are fantastic.
Turnovers are just a flaky pastry, often puff pastry, filled with a sweet or savory filling, folded over, and baked. These are similar to cherry hand pies in that the filling is encapsulated inside the crust.
Sweet turnovers are usually covered with a simple frosting, however coarse sugar may also be used.
TO MAKE CHERRY TURNOVERS, FOLLOW THESE Instructions
You may be shocked to find how simple it is to create Cherry Turnovers at home if you’ve never done it before!
You’ll Need the Following Ingredients
There are just two items that are necessary to make these turnovers:
If you want to use an egg wash to help seal your turnovers, you’ll need the following Ingredients:
If you want to top the turnovers with a simple frosting, you’ll also need:
- a third of a cup of powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon of milk
- a quarter teaspoon of vanilla extract
You’ll Need These Tools
This cherry turnover recipe has a simple ingredient list and doesn’t need a lot of equipment. You’ll need the following items:
- a cookie sheet
- Paper made with parchment
- Pin for rolling dough
- Knife with a good edge
- Brush for pastry
Creating the Recipe
Preheat the oven to 400°F if you’re making your Cherry Turnovers straight immediately.
When dealing with puff pastry, it’s important to keep it cool. Because this recipe calls for two sheets of puff pastry, just work with one at a time. Refrigerate the second sheet until you’re ready to use it.
Unfold the puff pastry onto a lightly floured surface and use your fingers or a Pin for rolling dough to gently pinch together the seams. If your puff pastry is not quite a square, use the Pin for rolling dough to gently shape the dough into a square.
Use a Knife with a good edge or even a pizza cutter to cut each sheet of puff pastry into 4 equal squares. Add 1-2 spoonfuls of the cherry pie filling to the center of each square. You may not use all of the filling – that’s ok.
To prevent the turnovers from popping open in the oven, I suggest applying an egg wash to help seal the edges. Brush a tiny bit of the egg wash around two sides of the dough after whisking together the egg and water.
Fold the square in half to form a triangle and press the corners together gently. Crimp the edges with a fork – it not only looks nice, but it also helps to seal the edges together!
Move the completed turnovers to a parchment-lined baking sheet, then use a Knife with a good edge to cut a small slit into the top of each one. If you’d like, gently brush the tops of each one with some more of the egg wash for a lovely golden-brown finish.
Bake the turnovers until both the tops and bottoms are puffed and golden.
Allow 10 minutes for the turnovers to cool before whisking together the icing Ingredients and spreading the glaze over them.
Instructions FOR FREEZING
Making a batch of Cherry Turnovers and freezing them for later is one of my favorite things to do. That way, if I get a taste for turnovers, I can make one or two.
To freeze these Cherry Turnovers, place the assembled turnovers on a cookie sheet lined with Paper made with parchment. Cut a small slit into the top of each turnover but do not brush them with the egg wash.
Freeze the baking sheet containing the turnovers until they are firm. Place the frozen turnovers in a freezer bag with a zip-top closure and freeze for up to one month.
Frozen Turnovers in the Oven
The best part about saving handmade turnovers is that they don’t need to be thawed before baking!
Place as many frozen turnovers as you’d like on a parchment-lined baking sheet when ready to bake. You may either brush them with egg wash or not.
Preheat the oven to 400°F and bake the turnovers for 20 minutes. Because the filling is quite hot immediately out of the oven, wait at least 10 minutes before diving in!
WHERE DO YOU KEEP YOUR TURNOVERS?
If you have any leftover turnovers, keep them at room temperature in an airtight container. They’ll keep for up to three days, however the pastry won’t be as flaky as it was the first day.
VARIATIONS ON THE RECIPE
You know how much I like a recipe that can be changed up depending on what you have in your cupboard or your particular preferences!
Fillings
Don’t have any cherry pie filling on hand, or don’t want to make some? Don’t be concerned! In these turnovers, you may use any canned cherry pie filling.
You don’t care for cherries? Instead, try Apple Turnovers! Alternatively, you may use your favorite pie filling in place of the cherry pie filling – peach pie filling would be fantastic!
Toppings
A simple glaze, in my opinion, is the best way to finish these Cherry Turnovers. That’s how the Pillsbury ones were, after all!
However, instead of the glaze, you may sprinkle coarse sugar or turbinado sugar on top, or leave them plain. There’s no incorrect way to eat a cherry turnover, to be honest!
Ingredients
To make the egg wash, combine the following ingredients in a bowl.
- a single huge egg
- 1 teaspoon of water
To make the icing:
- a third of a cup of powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon of milk
- a quarter teaspoon of vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a cookie sheet with Paper made with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
- Working with one sheet of thawed puff pastry at a time will keep it cool, so put the remainder in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it.
- Unfold the puff pastry sheets and place on a floured surface. Use a Pin for rolling dough to gently pinch the seams together and shape the dough into a square as needed. If dough gets warm while working with it, set it back in the refrigerator for a few minutes – you want the dough to stay cool.
- Each sheet of puff pastry should be cut into four smaller pieces. Fill the middle of each square with 1-2 spoonfuls of pie filling (you may not use all of the pie filling). Brush a tiny bit of the egg wash around two sides of the dough after whisking together the egg and water. Fold the dough in half, corner to corner, and press the sides together gently. Crimp the edges with a fork and place the formed turnover on the prepared baking sheet. Continue with the remaining dough squares.
- Cut a tiny slit in the top of each turnover using a knife. Brush the egg wash on the tops of the turnovers gently. Preheat oven to 350°F and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden and puffy.
- Allow for a 10-minute cooling period. While the turnovers are cooling, make the frosting. Drizzle the dressing over the turnovers. Warm the dish before serving.
Notes
- To freeze the turnovers, place the assembled turnovers on a cookie sheet lined with Paper made with parchment. Cut a small slit into the top of each turnover but do not brush with the egg wash.
- Freeze the baking sheet containing the turnovers until they are firm. Frozen turnovers may be kept for up to a month in a zip-top freezer bag.
- Place the frozen turnovers on a prepared baking sheet when ready to bake; brush with egg wash before baking if desired. Preheat oven to 400°F and bake for 20 minutes.
- If you don’t want to frost your turnovers, putting coarse sugar or turbinado sugar on top just after brushing with the egg wash before baking will suffice.
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