Chocolate Glazed Cherry Turnovers

My little ones and I made a special Father's Day breakfast for my husband this morning, and I wanted to make some sort of pastry to go along with his meal. When we had our girls' baking day a while back, I left some of my apple turnovers at my friend Christy's house. Her husband commented on how good he thought they would be with cherry filling also. . . so I really need to say, "Thanks, Marty!" for this idea. I kept the crust as is because it had such a nice, flakey texture the first time through and I was really happy with the final product. I used a can of cherry pie filling for these and decided that instead of using the traditional sugar glaze on top, I would play with a chocolate ganache-- using some of the pie filling glaze to give it a hint of cherry flavor. My husband and I both really loved these (my son did, too, though he really only ate the chocolate off the top)!

Chocolate Glazed Cherry Turnovers
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 large can cherry pie filling
1 large egg

For chocolate glaze:
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon cherry glaze (from pie filling-- do not add the actual cherries)

Prepare pastry dough: In medium bowl, with fork, stir flour and salt. With pastry blender, cut 1/2 cup butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle 1/2 cup cold water, a tablespoon at a time, into the mixture, mixing lightly with a fork after each addition until the dough is just moist enough to hold together. With hands, shape dough into a ball. On a lightly floured surface, with floured rolling pin, roll out the dough into an 18" by 8" rectangle. Cut 4 tablespoons of butter into thin slices. Starting at one of the 8" sides, place butter slices over two-thirds of the rectangle to about 1/2 inch from the edge of the dough. Fold the unbuttered third of the dough over the middle third. Fold the opposite end of the dough over to make a 8" by 6" rectangle. Roll out the dough again into an 18" by 8" rectangle. Slice the remaining butter; place slices on dough and fold as before. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Roll out the folded dough into an 18" by 8" rectangle. Fold rectangle lengthwise then crosswise; wrap and refrigerate for one hour.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut dough crosswise in half. On a lightly floured surface, with floured rolling pin, roll out half into a 12 inch square. Keep the remaining dough refrigerated. Cut the square into 6 inch squares. In cup, with fork, beat egg and 1 tablespoon of water. Brush the egg mixture over the dough squares. Spoon 1-2 tablespoons of cherry pie filling in the center of each square. Fold diagonally in half and press edges to seal. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Refrigerate. Repeat with remaining dough and cherry pie filling. Brush the turnovers with the egg mixture. Bake for 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden. Cool on wire rack.

To prepare the chocolate, heat the semi-sweet chocolate and heavy cream in a double boiler over medium heat. Once melted, add the butter and cherry glaze, stirring until shiny and smooth. Let cool slightly before drizzling on top of the cooled turnovers.

Apple Turnovers

Many of the recipes that I have found for Apple Turnovers use Puff Pastry as the crust. I've been looking for one made completely from scratch, but was a bit intimidated by the process involved. With this particular one, while I did plenty of complaining during the time-consuming dough making process, I have to say that it was well worth every minute spent! The only thing better than the taste of this pastry was the smell as they came out of the oven. I've already been thinking about all of the great options for different fillings that I can't wait to try! Each recipe does make eight turnovers, but if you choose to make more than that, they do reheat well as long as you keep them in the refrigerator.

Apple Turnovers

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

2 large cooking apples

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 large egg

For glaze:

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

1 tablespoon water

Prepare pastry dough: In medium bowl, with fork, stir flour and salt. With pastry blender, cut 1/2 cup butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle 1/2 cup cold water, a tablespoon at a time, into the mixture, mixing lightly with a fork after each addition until the dough is just moist enough to hold together. With hands, shape dough into a ball. On a lightly floured surface, with floured rolling pin, roll out the dough into an 18" by 8" rectangle. Cut 4 tablespoons of butter into thin slices. Starting at one of the 8" sides, place butter slices over two-thirds of the rectangle to about 1/2 inch from the edge of the dough. Fold the unbuttered third of the dough over the middle third. Fold the opposite end of the dough over to make a 8" by 6" rectangle. Roll out the dough again into an 18" by 8" rectangle. Slice the remaining butter; place slices on dough and fold as before. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Roll out the folded dough into an 18" by 8" rectangle. Fold rectangle lengthwise then crosswise; wrap and refrigerate for one hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Peel, core, and slice apples. In a one quart saucepan over low heat, cook apples with sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and cinnamon, stirring frequently, until apples are tender. Refrigerate until cool.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut dough crosswise in half. On a lightly floured surface, with floured rolling pin, roll out half into a 12 inch square. Keep the remaining dough refrigerated. Cut the square into 6 inch squares. In cup, with fork, beat egg and 1 tablespoon of water. Brush the egg mixture over the dough squares. Spoon one-eighth of the apple mixture in the center of each square. Fold diagonally in half and press edges to seal. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Refrigerate. Repeat with remaining dough and apple mixture. Brush the turnovers with the egg mixture. Bake for 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden. Cool on wire rack.

Prepare glaze, mixing the confectioners sugar with the water. With a spoon, drizzle it over the turnovers. Allow the glaze to set before serving.