I’m celebrating National food holidays this summer and apple turnovers was last week. But if you think apple turnovers are things us Americans made up, Bernard Clayton Jr. has something else to say about them in his The Complete Book of Pastry, Sweet and Savory:

While apple pie is wholly American, a close French cousin, chausson aux pommes, apple turnover, is a delicious in-hand dessert for a tailgate party, a stream-side picnic, an intimate buffet for a school lunch.

Turnovers can be filled with just about any filling you can think of, both sweet and savory. They are a good way to use up applesauce or very ripe fruit that isn’t quite enough for a full pie or even those half way filled jars of fancy preserves in the fridge that no one puts on toast and you are dying to use up. Turnover dough is typically some kind of pie dough, although any dough may be used if it can be rolled and cut out, and folded over and baked. Your favorite pie dough will do nicely here.

I’ve included three recipes to try below, each with very different doughs. The first uses a pie dough made with butter, shortening, and cold water. The second uses a unique cottage cheese pastry dough, and the third uses a yeast based dough that can be stored in the fridge for up to a week until you are ready to use it up.

The apple turnover picture above was the recipe using the cottage cheese in the dough. After you roll it out, the scraps can be rerolled without the dough getting too tough, a nice feature if you are doing circle cuts for rounded turnovers and have more dough leftover.

All the turnover recipes below are baked in the oven to cook (none are fried) although if you enjoy your turnovers fried by all means fry them up until browned.

Apple Tunovers (Chaussons aux Pommes)

ReneeShelton

This is a classic apple turnover recipe from Normandy, France. The filling is sweetened with just a bit of powdered sugar and some apricot jam. This recipe is adapted from The Complete Book of Pastry Sweet and Savory by Bernard Clayton Jr.

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Course Dessert

Servings 24 3-inch pastries

Ingredients

  

Apple Turnover Dough

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup shortening or lard
• 1/3 cup water ice cold

Apple Turnover Filling

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 12 apples peeled, cored, sliced
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon fresh grated lemon zest
• 1/4 cup apricot jam

Egg Wash

• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon milk

Instructions

 

• Prepare the dough: Cut in the butter and shortening into the flour and salt using a pastry blender until crumbly. Add in the ice water a tablespoon at a time until the mixture can form a ball (moist but not wet). Turn out onto a work surface and pat into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for an hour or longer.
• Prepare the filling: Melt the butter in a large skillet and add in the apples. Add in the sugar, cinnamon, and lemon zest. Cook over medium heat until the apples are tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, add in the jam, and let cool.
• Prepare the turnovers: Roll out the dough and cut out into circles. Place all the circles back into the fridge layered with foil or parchment paper until ready to use. Take a few out a time and fill with a couple teaspoons of filling (amount of filling will depend on size of turnover). Brush edges around the cicle with a small amount of egg wash and fold over and crimp edges to seal. Repeat. Place the turnovers on a parchment lined sheet pan and brush the tops with the egg wash. Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove them to a cooling rack to cool. Serve.

Keyword turnovers

Apple Turnovers (Cottage Cheese Dough)

ReneeShelton

This unusual apple turnover recipe calls for cottage cheese in the dough. The dough isn't homogenous and white cottage cheese flecks will still be seen in the dough. These turnovers call for creating triangle shapes and are filled with applesauce. This recipe is adapted from Favorite Recipes of Home Economics Teaches: Desserts from 1963.

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Course Dessert

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1 cup butter room temperature
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups applesauce
• Powdered sugar icing made with powdered sugar and a small amount of milk

Instructions

 

• Mix the cottage cheese, butter, flour and salt together in a mixing bowl with a pastry blender until crumbly. The curds of the cottage cheese will still be visible. Refrigerate the dough for several hours or overnight.
• Roll the dough out on a lightly floured work surface to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut the dough into 4 inch squares. Fill each square with a couple teaspoons of applesauce and sprinkle with a bit of cinnamon. Using your finger or a small brush, lightly moisten the edges with water and fold over to form a triangle. Crimp to seal the edges with a fork.
• Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes. When cooled, drizzle with powdered sugar icing.

Keyword turnovers

Apple Turnovers (Yeast Dough Recipe)

ReneeShelton

This recipe makes a large batch of dough that can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. It is adapted from The Beta Sigma Phi International Cookbook: Desserts from 1968. The recipe calls for "1 small can evaporated milk." I looked it up and the cans we now are more familiar with (12 ounces) are apparently large, and the small cans are 5 ounces.

Print Recipe

Course Dessert

Servings 40 servings

Ingredients

  

• 1 package dry yeast
• 1 cup warm milk
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 pound shortening or lard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1 small can evaporated milk about 5 ounces
• Sugar, for rolling out
• Apple pie filling, prepared

Instructions

 

• Dissolve the yeast in warm milk. Place the flour and salt in a mixing bowl and cut in the shortening until crumbly. Add in the yeast mixture. Stir in the eggs and evaporated milk. Turn out onto a lightly flowered work surface and form into two disks. Wrap well and chill overnight. The dough may be stored in the fridge for up to a week.
• When ready for turnovers, break off pieces of dough the size of an egg, and roll out on a work surface dusted with sugar. Add about a tablespoon of prepared pie filling, lightly moisten edges with water and fold over. Crimp edges to seal. Transfer turnovers to a parchment lined sheet pan.
• Bake turnovers in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until browned. Cool and serve.

Keyword turnovers

Photo credit: Renee Shelton

Books referenced, available through affiliates:

• The Complete Book of Pastry – Sweet and Savory by Bernard Clayton Jr. (Amazon link)
• The Beta Sigma Phi International Cookbook – Desserts (Amazon link)
• Favorite Recipes of Home Economics Teachers – Desserts Edition Including Party Beverages (Amazon link)