Perfectly cooked apples are lightly spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, then wrapped up in puff pastry and baked, resulting in golden, crisp Apple Turnovers with a cinnamon cider glaze.
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Similar to a hand pie but a bit lighter and flakier, these Cinnamon Cider Glazed Apple Turnovers feature a homemade "quick" puff pastry and a sweet and juicy spiced apple filling. Or, use store-bought puff pastry if that is what you prefer. The apple filling is made quickly on the stovetop and is all about the apple flavor, with just a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg. After the turnovers are baked, a quick cinnamon and apple cider glaze is whisked together and drizzled over the top. It's the perfect finishing touch.
Best Apples to Use for Turnovers
The best baking apples can hold their shape and have a nuanced flavor and a slight tartness to balance the sweetness of added and natural sugar. Using a combination of apples is helpful because it introduces a few different types of flavors and textures to the pie.
For this recipe, the combination of Gala and Granny Smith is ideal because they have a good texture after the double cook (on the stove and in the oven), they have a sweet and tart flavor to them, and they are readily available in nearly every grocery store. If you stray from this combination, here are some other suggestions:
- Cortland
- Yellow Delicious
- Braeburn
- Pink Lady
- Ginger Gold
- Jonagold
About the Puff Pastry
This apple turnover recipe calls for homemade rough puff pastry, but if you wanted to make the classic puff pastry, you certainly could! The recipe makes six turnovers and uses only half the rough puff batch. Save the other half for another pastry, different flavors of turnovers, or double the batch and make 12 apple turnovers.
Can you buy puff pastry at the store? YES. However, the turnovers will be a little smaller than those you can make with homemade rough puff. And, depending on the type of puff pastry you buy, the instructions for cutting the pastry squares might differ slightly.
Purchased puff pastry typically comes in one folded 14-ounce sheet or two folded 8-ounce sheets, or possibly some other combination. The measurements listed in this recipe correspond to my homemade rough puff recipe. If you have purchased puff pastry with 1 sheet, try to roll it out slightly thinner to an 8"x12 rectangle and cut out 4" squares. If you are using puff pastry with two sheets, I suggest rolling each sheet a little thinner and cutting it into 4 squares, which will give you 8 turnovers.
How to Make Them
Turnovers bake relatively quickly, so there wouldn't be enough time for the apple filling inside to cook by the time the puff pastry finishes cooking. For this reason, the filling must be precooked on the stove top. Luckily, the filling is a very simple recipe.
Here is a visual overview of the recipe, with the complete detailed recipe at the end of this tutorial.
Step 1: Prepare the apple filling and let cool completely.
Step 2: Prepare the homemade rough puff pastry (or purchase it). Cut out 4.5" (or similar) squares.
Step 3: Brush a bit of water on the edges of two sides of the pastry. Place about 2 tablespoons of chilled apple filling in the center.
Step 4: Fold one corner of the pastry over the filling to make a triangle.
Step 5: Press down on the edges to seal the two pieces together. Use a fork to press and seal the edges further and for a decorative touch.
Step 6: Using a sharp knife to cut off just the very edges of the pastry.
Step 7: Add the turnovers to a parchment-lined baking sheet and chill them in a freezer for 20 minutes, or in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Step 8: Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the turnovers are lightly golden all over and puff up.
Kelli's Best Tips
Let me just start this off by sharing the golden rule when it comes to working with puff pastry: if at any point your pastry is getting too warm, simply place it in the refrigerator or freezer to chill.
Here are a few more tips I've picked up for successfully filling turnovers:
- Make sure your pastry and filling are well chilled. They should also be chilled before baking to ensure they bake up flaky!
- Filling the turnovers is a delicate balance of not overfilling them and not under-filling them. If you are having trouble closing the turnovers without the filling leaking out everywhere, then use less filling.
- Puff pastry is delicate and can be sticky. Use a small piece of parchment to help move around the pastry, so you don't have to handle it. Shape the turnover on the parchment, and then when transferring the filled turnover to the sheet tray, do so on the parchment, so you don't have to hold it with your own hands. This prevents the pastry from tearing which can compromise the seal on the filling.
- Use these three methods of sealing the turnovers: first press together the corners that firm the triangle, then seal it with a flour-dusted fork, and finally cut off the very edge of the sealed pieces with a sharp knife. That final cut helps the puff pastry bake up properly, as well as helps it stay sealed.
- Bake the turnovers in the middle of the oven to ensure the puff pastry bakes throughout, but doesn't brown too much on the bottom. The apple turnovers are done when they have puffed up, are golden brown all over, and the filling has started to peek out on some of them. If baking the turnovers from a very cold or frozen state, you may need to bake them for slightly longer than the instructions call for.
How to Store Them
Apple turnovers keep for 2 days at room temperature or up to 4 days in the refrigerator. Like all pastry, they’re best reheated before serving to crisp up the layers. If you plan to reheat them, wait to add the cider glaze until just before serving.
Apple turnovers can be frozen before baking, for up to 3 months. Assemble them and freeze flat on a sheet tray until firm, then transfer to a bag and remove as much air as possible. The turnovers can also be baked from frozen. Bake them as directed, plus an extra 10 additional minutes or so.
More Apple Recipes:
More Puff Pastry Recipes
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Full Recipe
Cinnamon Cider Glazed Apple Turnovers
Perfectly cooked apples are lightly spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, then wrapped up in puff pastry and baked, resulting in golden, crisp Apple Turnovers with a cinnamon cider glaze.
- Prep Time: 00:40
- Cook Time: 00:25
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 6 turnovers
- Category: Pastry
- Method: Bake
Ingredients
- Rough Puff Pastry, prepared, or (1) 14-ounce package puff pastry (see notes for guidance)
- 1-½ pounds (about 3-4 apples) baking apples, peeled, cored and diced to ½”
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ cup (50 grams) packed light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Big pinch kosher salt
- Pinch grated nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon (7 grams) cornstarch
- ⅓ cup + 2 tablespoons fresh apple cider, divided
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
For Cider Glaze:
- 2 tablespoons cider
- ½ cup (60 grams) powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Prepare rough puff pastry or defrost frozen puff pastry. If you make it, you will only need half a batch. The remaining half can be frozen. Or you can double the filling for this recipe, and make 12 turnovers.
- Make the filling: Add apples, lemon juice, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg to a heavy bottom pot. Stir together. Add ⅓ cup of apple cider to the pot, and stir the apples one more time.
- Turn the heat to medium and begin to cook the apples. Stir occasionally to make sure the apples cook evenly. Cook until the apples have softened, about 6 minutes, making sure not to cook off all of the liquid. If the liquid does cook off quickly, add a splash more apple cider to the pot.
- In a small bowl, create a slurry by whisking together the cornstarch and the remaining 2 tablespoons of apple cider together.
- Pour the cornstarch slurry into the apples and stir together until dissolved. Continue cooking until the mixture is thickened, about 1-2 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and butter. Let the apple mixture cool completely, preferably overnight.
- Fill a small container with cool water and set aside.
- Line a 12x18” sheet pan with a piece of parchment.
- Roll out the puff pastry on a floured surface (remember, you are only using half of the batch if you've made this rough puff recipe) to about ⅛” thickness, or about a 10” by 15” rectangle. Cut out six 4.5” squares. (See note about using store-bought puff pastry)
- Brush (or use your finger) a small amount of water on two sides of the dough. This helps it stick (if your dough is already super sticky, skip this step). Place about 2 tablespoons of chilled apple filling in the center. Fold one corner of the pastry over the filling to make a triangle. Press down on the edges to seal the two pieces together. Use a fork to press and seal the edges further and to add a decorative touch. Finally, using a sharp knife, cut off just the very edges of the pastry. This helps ensure the puff pastry bakes up properly (see the section for shaping puff pastry for more information).
- Chill the turnovers in a freezer for 20 minutes, or in the refrigerator for 1 hour. This helps the turnovers keep their shape while they bake.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Remove the turnovers from the freezer and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the turnovers are lightly golden all over and puff up.
- Remove them from the oven, and let them cool slightly before transferring to a cooling rack.
- Meanwhile, make the optional glaze. Add powdered sugar, apple cider and cinnamon to a bowl and whisk together until smooth. Drizzle over the tops of the apple turnovers as desired.
Notes
This recipe was developed using half a recipe of homemade rough puff, which is roughly equivalent of one store-bought box of puff pastry. It was tested with store-bought puff pastry, too. Purchased puff pastry typically either comes in one folded 14 ounce sheet, or it comes in two folded 8 ounce sheets. The measurements listed in this recipe correspond with the use of my homemade rough puff recipe. If you are using store-bought puff pastry, the measurements might not work out exactly. If you have purchased puff pastry with 1 sheet, try to roll it out to 8" by 12" and cut out 4" squares. If you are using puff pastry with two sheets, I suggest rolling out each sheet a little thinner and cutting them into 4 squares each, which will mean you will get 8 turnovers. Fill them a little less than directed in the instructions above.
The apple filling must be completely cooled before filling the turnovers. Steaming hot filling in butter pastry always equals a disaster. So be sure to plan ahead of time. You likely will have some leftover filling. You can enjoy any leftovers over ice cream or yogurt. It also freezes well. Or you can make additional turnovers!
Making a glaze can sometimes be a bit of trial and error, unless you are using a scale to measure your ingredients. If your glaze is too thin, simply add in a tablespoon more powdered sugar at a time. If it’s too thick, add in more cider.
The golden rule when making pastry: if at any point it gets too warm, simply place it in the refrigerator or freezer to chill before moving on.
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Kate Wilkinson
I made these for Christmas Eve last year and my wife's grandmother ate 3 in one sitting! Thankfully, I doubled the recipe but I still had no leftovers - they were scrumptious! I had already made rough puff for other Christmas savories but I used Kelli's recipe for the filling and it was delicious and a perfect consistency. I threw in a splash of boiled cider in both the filling and glaze; not needed but I like to do that for apple-centric recipes (plus I have a huge bottle I barely use). I wish I had made a third batch to keep in the freezer - I'll know for next year!
Kelli Avila
Love the tip on the boiled cider! I have some I bought in my fridge I've been wanting to use but haven't done so yet!
Karen
I just found your site recently and love, love, love it!! Pies are my jam and your pies look amazing! Can't wait to try these turnovers!
I hurt my foot recently so I can't be up baking right now. 😭 so I'm getting my fix watching your videos and reading your recipes. 😍 thank you!!