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Preppy Kitchen

Easy Apple Turnovers

Flaky store-bought puff pastry wrapped around a buttery, cinnamon-spiced Granny Smith apple filling, baked until golden and finished with a bright lemon glaze. All the cozy flavor of apple pie in a fraction of the time.

⏱ 60 min8 turnoversFrench-Americanappleturnoverspuff pastrydessertfall

Ingredients

For the apple filling

  • 4 cupsGranny Smith apples, peeled and diced · about 3-4 apples, roughly 500g; any favorite baking apple works
  • 2 tablespoonsbutter · salted or unsalted
  • 1/2 cupbrown sugar · 110g; light or dark
  • 1/4 teaspoonsalt
  • 1 teaspooncinnamon · optional: add 1/4 tsp nutmeg, ginger, allspice, or cardamom
  • 2 teaspoonscornstarch

For assembly

  • 2 sheetsstore-bought puff pastry · thawed 5-10 minutes until cool but not hard
  • 1egg · for egg wash
  • 1 teaspoonwater · for egg wash
  • —Sanding, granulated, or turbinado sugar · for sprinkling

For the glaze

  • 3/4 cuppowdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoonlemon juice · or milk; plus more as needed. Vanilla, cinnamon, or cardamom optional

Steps

  1. 1

    Peel and dice the apples until you have 4 cups of diced apple flesh (about 500g).

  2. 2

    Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat, then add the diced apples and cook a few minutes, stirring frequently, until slightly softened.

  3. 3

    Stir in the brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon until well combined. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, until the apples are softened and the mixture looks syrupy.

  4. 4

    Reduce the heat to low, sprinkle in the cornstarch, and stir. Cook about 1 minute, until the juices thicken and bubble, then remove from the heat.

  5. 5

    Transfer the filling and all its juices to a bowl. Cool for 15 minutes, then refrigerate for 30 minutes. Spreading it into a thin layer speeds up cooling.

  6. 6

    Toward the end of the chill time, preheat the oven to 400°F and pull the puff pastry out of the freezer to thaw for 5 to 10 minutes, until cool but not hard.

  7. 7

    Unfold one sheet of puff pastry and roll it into roughly a 12-inch square. Cut it down the middle in both directions to make 4 equal squares.

  8. 8

    Whisk the egg with 1 teaspoon of water to make an egg wash.

  9. 9

    Transfer a pastry square to a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and brush the edges with egg wash. Spoon a few tablespoons of apple filling just off center, fold the pastry over into a triangle, press gently to seal, and crimp the edge with a fork or spoon.

  10. 10

    Repeat with the remaining squares, then roll, cut, fill, and fold the second sheet of pastry for 8 turnovers total. Divide the filling evenly among them.

  11. 11

    Brush the tops of the turnovers with egg wash for full, even coverage, sprinkle with sanding sugar, and cut three small slits in each top for venting.

  12. 12

    Bake at 400°F for 18 to 20 minutes, until golden and puffed.

  13. 13

    While the turnovers bake, whisk the powdered sugar with the lemon juice, adding the liquid a little at a time until the glaze is smooth and drizzleable.

  14. 14

    Drizzle the glaze over the baked turnovers and serve.

Creator's notes

Granny Smith apples hold their shape and won't get mushy. The filling must be fully chilled before it goes into the pastry or it will melt the puff pastry. The filling is also great on its own over ice cream. Baked turnovers keep about 4 days in the fridge or up to a month in the freezer; unbaked turnovers can be frozen up to 3 months and baked from frozen, adding 5 to 10 minutes to the bake time.

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