Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Apple Turnovers

First of all, I apologize for the long break between posts.  I was sick and my family was depending on the kindness of strangers, as well as meals that come in a paper bag and have fries on the side.  I am better now, and back in the kitchen, so let's get cooking!

I have been looking for good apple recipes for the fall, and boy, did I find one.  This one came from AllRecipes.com and was a real keeper.  I was amazed at how easy it was to make very good (seriously, these are better than some that I have had in restaurants) apple turnovers.




For a printer-friendly copy of the recipe, click here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/15VVsM_saXDyxFz6hoUHQuktefESWtAoe7wN07y9r380/edit?hl=en_US

(Thanks to my friend Marina Shannon for the excellent suggestion of providing a printer-friendly copy of the recipe).

Ingredients:

4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp water
1 (17.25 ounce) package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

First of all, prepare your apples.  If you are a REALLY slow apple peeler and/or chopper, you can always put 2 tbsp of lemon juice into 4 cups of water and drop your apple slices in as you go.  That will prevent them from turning brown.  But you know what?  These are going to cook in brown sugar and cinnamon, so they will already look brown anyway, so who cares?  Just don't peel the apples then head to the grocery store, because that would be silly.


Melt your butter in a big skillet on medium heat.  As soon as the butter is melted, drop in your apples.  Cook and stir, cook and stir, for 2 minutes.  This will let the apples start to soften up a bit.  Now add your brown sugar and cinnamon and stir it in, too.  Cook it for 2 more minutes.  


At this point, the sugar will have pulled some of the apple juices out, making a nice, but runny, sauce.  Obviously we don't want it to be this juicy, or we will have to change our shirts every time we eat a turnover.  Take the 1 tbsp of water and mix the 1 tbsp of cornstarch in with it, then add it to the apples.  Let it cook for 1 more minute.  The cornstarch will thicken up the sauce a bit.  When that minute is up, remove your apples from the heat and let them cool down.  The next stage will involve your hands, so you probably want to make sure that the apples are good and cool or you will regret it.

While your apples are cooling, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Now take your thawed puff pastry sheets out of the fridge.  Do not make the mistake that I once did by just leaving them on the counter all morning to thaw.  They passed right on by "thawed" and went to "impossible to unfold because they are sticking together".  Follow the directions on the box and you will be fine.  Unfold both sheets (there are two sheets per box, and they are each folded into thirds).  This will give you 2 rectangles of puff pastry.  Take your handy-dandy pizza cutter and trim off a bit to make them two squares, then cut each big square into 4 little squares (8 in all, 4 from each sheet).

Word to the wise #2:  move your little puff pastry squares to a greased cookie sheet at this point.  Trying to assemble these on the counter and then move them is a bad idea.  Juice everywhere.  You get the idea.

Once you have them all transferred, ladle some of the apples onto the center of each.  Add enough so that it looks plump but not so much that you can't fold it over.  Trial and error, my friends.  Now fold each square over, corner-to-corner, giving you 8 little triangles.  Crimp the edges with a fork to keep it somewhat closed (they may open as they cook, but that's no big deal).


Slide them into the warm oven and bake them for about 25 minutes, or however long it takes to make them puffy and golden-colored.  Leave them on the pan and let them cool completely before you glaze them.



When they are cool, make the glaze, which takes about 10 seconds.  Just combine the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla in a small bowl and stir it up.  I had to add more milk because mine was way, way too thick, but just judge by the consistency.  If your is uber-runny (or if you tried to make it thinner but added too much milk), just add more sugar.  Take a spoon, dip it in, and whip it back and forth over the top of the turnovers to drizzle them with the glaze.



And yes, the extra glaze that runs off is very yummy.  Feel free to lick the pan.

I was very, very happy with this recipe, as was my husband.  I was so surprised at how fast and easy this was.  I am thinking about throwing in a batch the next time we bring a meal for a new baby or when family is over for Thanksgiving.  I guarantee that if you give it a try, you will never pay $5.00 for a fancy turnover in a cafe again.


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