Turnovers: Just Like Mom Used to Buy

It was the late 1950s when my friend June and I discovered frozen turnovers. Her mother kept an ample stock of them in their freezer, and we’d frequently pop the solid, flat triangles into a hot oven.

Despite the short time it took the pastries to puff and turn golden brown, more than once our teen-age impatience rewarded us with burned tongues when we bit into the hot fruit filling too soon. Undaunted, we simply began cooling the turnovers more quickly with ice cream.

Recently I noticed the same brand in the supermarket and couldn’t resist trying them again. When they didn’t taste as good as I remembered, I decided to make some from scratch.

The frozen variety is made with puff pastry, but cookbooks I checked advised turnovers be made with a basic short-crust dough--the same type used for pies and tarts--that is strong enough to be folded. One source also suggested incorporating cream cheese into the dough to add strength and give it a flavorful tang.

To make the pastry, cold unsalted butter and the cream cheese are cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender. These fats coat some of the flour particles and produce a baked crust that is crisp and flaky. The dough is absorbent, however, so fillings should not have too much liquid.

Spreadable fruit, sold in the jams and jellies section of the supermarket, has a consistency thick enough to reduce the chance of seepage during baking. It’s sweetened with fruit juice concentrate and has lots of fruit flavor but is lower in calories.

Chilling the dough for at least a half hour makes it easier to roll out. (It may be stored up to two days.) Wrap the dough well in plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out while in the refrigerator.

Turnovers are free-form pastries. Depending on personal preference, the dough may be shaped into triangles, rectangles or semicircles of varying sizes.

Working on a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled dough into a 16-inch square (Step 1). Cut this into smaller, 5-inch squares using a ruler as a guide and a sharp knife (Step 2).

Spoon a heaping teaspoon of spreadable fruit onto each square, near the center but slightly toward one corner (Step 3). Fold the opposite corner up over the filling (Step 4), forming a triangle.

Seal the edges by pressing first with your fingers, then the tines of a fork (Step 5). To create a scalloped edge, draw in the sealed edges at 1/2-inch intervals with the dull edge of a small knife blade (Step 6).

Place the formed turnovers on a baking sheet and chill until firm. At this stage the pastries may also be frozen, then transferred to freezer-weight plastic food bags and stored up to three months.

Before baking, brush each turnover with beaten egg (Step 7) and cut two small slits in the top for steam to vent (Step 8). Bake until deep golden brown, then remove and cool on a wire rack.

Add the final touch by combining powdered sugar with enough milk to reach drizzling consistency, then spooning it over the turnovers (Step 9).

FRUIT TURNOVERS 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup cake flour 1 teaspoon granulated sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup cold unsalted butter 4 ounces cold cream cheese 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten 3 to 4 tablespoons ice water 3 to 4 tablespoons prepared spreadable fruit 1 egg, lightly beaten 1/2 cup powdered sugar Milk

Combine all-purpose flour, cake flour, granulated sugar and salt in mixing bowl. Cut butter and cream cheese into small pieces and use pastry blender to cut into dry ingredients until size of small peas and coated with flour.

Combine egg yolk (reserve egg white for another use) and 3 tablespoons ice water. Stir in until dough just begins to clump together. If dough seems too dry, add remaining 1 tablespoon ice water, small amount at time.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and pat into ball with floured hands. Press into 6x4-inch rectangle, about 1 1/2 inches thick. Dust dough lightly with flour and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Roll out chilled dough to 16-inch square on lightly floured surface. Cut dough with sharp knife into 9 (5-inch) squares, eliminating irregular edges.

Spoon 1 heaping teaspoon spreadable fruit on each square, near center but slightly closer to 1 corner. Fold opposite corner up over filling, forming triangle.

Press edges with fingers, then tines of fork to seal. Use dull side of small sharp knife blade to draw in sealed edges at 1/2-inch intervals to form scallops. Place turnovers on baking sheet and chill until firm.

Brush turnovers with beaten egg. Cut 2 small slits in top of each to vent steam. Bake at 425 degrees about 20 minutes, until deep golden brown. Remove and cool on wire rack.

Combine powdered sugar with enough milk to reach drizzling consistency. Drizzle over turnovers. Makes 9 turnovers.

Food Processor Method:

Combine all-purpose flour, cake flour, granulated sugar and salt in food processor fitted with metal blade. Process until blended.

Cut butter and cream cheese into small pieces. Add to processor and pulse 10 to 12 times, until coated with flour and size of small peas.

Combine egg yolk and 3 tablespoons ice water. Pour through feed tube while pulsing several times, until dough just begins to clump together. If dough seems too dry, add remaining 1 tablespoon ice water, small amount at time.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and continue as previously directed.