Quick, Easy, Healthy, and Delicious Apple Turnovers

If you've ever made puff pastry, you know it is made up of quite a bit of butter, and it takes time.  This involves rolling, folding, and refrigerating butter blocks a number of times. I had read about frozen puff pastry in Baking at Home with the Culinary Institute of America , one of my baking bibles, so I thought I would give it a try. 

I happened to be shopping at Whole Foods where I found, in the frozen section of course, Aussie's Puff Pastry, a frozen product made by a Seattle-area based bakery called Aussie's Bakery.  What a great find!  It turned out to be not only delicious but healthy as well!  Imagine that, a healthy puff pastry:

        While Angus Wood initially set out to replicate a taste of home, he ended up creating a relatively  health-conscious product as well. The company's puff pastry, for example, is made of wheat flour and contains no trans fat, no cholesterol and no artificial additives. Many of its products, except for the meat pies, are vegan friendly.  -- from an article in the Herald 

Check them out: http://www.aussiebakery.com/pg/about-herald.html

So recently, when I got a hankering for apple turnovers, I pulled my frozen puff pastry out of the freezer and got to work, or show I say play!  In a very short time, the kitchen smelled wonderful and my pastries were ready to be devoured. 

First things first:  Make the apple filling and set aside so it can cool before using. 

Apple Filling

2 ounces of butter
4 tart apples peeled and diced
1 cup brown sugar
pinch of salt
1 Tablespoon cornstarch (depending on apple season, if full storage apples use 2T)
1 Tablespoon water (depending on apple season, if full storage apples use 2T)

1. In a large saute pan, melt butter, add apples, and cook for 3 minutes.
2. Add sugar and salt. Simmer 2 minutes.
3. Combine cornstarch and water (this is called a cornstarch slurry) and add to apple mix and cook until sauce thickens. Cool before using.             

                                          

 (If too watery after cooled, strain apples, place juice in a small pan, add another cornstarch slurry, and stir until thickened, add to apples.  Let cool again.)

Puff Pastry

Thaw the puff pastry in the fridge for 8 hours, or if you're in a hurry, at room temperature (though once at room temp, it's a good idea to return to the fridge for 15-20 minutes to firm up). 

1. There are three sheets in the package,  Roll each one out on a floured surface. (Flour the rolling pin as well.)  Don't roll over the edges, just keep an even pressure  right up to the edge.
2. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut them into squares that will be folded diagonally to form a triangle once they are filled.  So make them whatever size you'd like.  Mine were probably about 6" squares.
3. Place apple filling in center, fold diagonally and press the edges together with your thumb or a fork. (Don't over fill.)
4. Brush with cream (or an egg wash) and sprinkle with sugar.
5. Place on a parchment covered baking sheet.
6. Bake at 350 - 400 F about 20-25 minutes until golden.  (I used 400 due to my high altitude location.)

        
I had some leftover chocolate ganache in the fridge, so I also made a few chocolate-filled puff pastries, and they were yummy too!

Have fun baking...and eating!

My Cakes to Date--Updated

1. First cake done at Cake Crumbs class

2. Fake cake done at Cake Crumbs class

3. First cake done on my own at home

4. Calla Lily cake.  My favorite so far.

5. Fondant cut outs

6. 4th of July

7.  Sunflower cupcakes

8. Yolande's birthday cake--August

9. Chuck's Who's Hunting Whom? birthday cake- September

10. Dean's Mighty Ducks Hockey birthday cake-October

 

                                       

11. Bruce's Lake Arrowhead cake:

Winter Wonderland / Summer Fishing on the Lake

November 

     

12. Claire's Sunflower birthday cake

February