The patisseries (bakeries) in France have the most wonderful pastries. Many of them are different than we have here. This one is similar to our apple turnovers, only better! Since Jim’s favorite is the apple version and my son-in-law, Mike’s, favorite is cherry, I had to figure out how to make them both. It took several tries to get them just right, but I finally nailed it. I hope you like them as much as we do!
2 good sized Granny Smith apples
2 good sized Golden Delicious apples
3 T. water
¼ c. (scant) sugar
½ t. fresh lemon juice
1-9 oz. or ½-17.3 oz. pkg frozen puff pastry, thawed per package instructions
1 egg, beaten
C & H Professional™ Ultrafine Baker’s Sugar™
Peel, core, and cut apples into 1-inch pieces. Place apples in medium saucepan; add water, sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Cover; reduce heat to a simmer and cook until apples are very tender, stirring frequently, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat. Mash apples with a potato masher until mixture is partially smooth and partially chunky. Cool completely.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
On a lightly floured surface roll out pastry to a 14 inch square. Cut 9 circles using a 4 ½ inch round cutter. Gather scraps together, press into a smooth ball, and re-roll. Cut 3 more 4 ½ inch circles. Roll each circle into an approximate 4 x 7 inch oval. Using a #50 scoop or tablespoon, place filling onto one half of each of the 12 ovals, using all the filling. Take care to keep it away from the edges. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush edges of the unfilled half of each oval with beaten egg. Fold unfilled side over filling until edges meet, pressing lightly to seal. Brush each pastry with the remaining beaten egg. Sprinkle each with Baker’s Sugar™. With a sharp knife, cut 3 diagonal small slits on top of each pastry, and 3 crosscuts on each. Take care not to cut completely through the pastry. Refrigerate 15 minutes.
Bake turnovers for 15 minutes. Rotate sheets and trade places from top to bottom. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake 10 -15 minutes longer, checking after 10 minutes. The finished color should be very golden. It’s better to bake until very golden rather than underbake to a pale golden color as the center will fall. If some pastries reach the appropriate color sooner than others, remove them and bake the lighter ones 2 minutes at a time until very golden.
Variation Chausson aux Cerise (Cherry Turnovers)
½ c. + 1 T. sugar
2 T. cornstarch
4 c. cherries, pitted and halved if large
½ c. + 1 T. water
1 ½ t. fresh lemon juice
¼ t. almond extract
1 T. unsalted butter
Mix sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Add cherries, water and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in extract and butter. Cool completely. Proceed as above.
Note To be more authentic, use a scallop edged round cutter.
The patisseries (bakeries) in France have the most wonderful pastries. Many of them are different than we have here. This one is similar to our apple turnovers, only better! Since Jim’s favorite is the apple version and my son-in-law, Mike’s, favorite is cherry, I had to figure out how to make them both. It took several tries to get them just right, but I finally nailed it. I hope you like them as much as we do!
On a lightly floured surface roll out pastry to a 14 inch square. Cut 9 circles using a 4 ½ inch round cutter. Gather scraps together, press into a smooth ball, and re-roll. Cut 3 more 4 ½ inch circles. Roll each circle into an approximate 4 x 7 inch oval. Using a #50 scoop or tablespoon, place filling onto one half of each of the 12 ovals, using all the filling. Take care to keep it away from the edges. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush edges of the unfilled half of each oval with beaten egg. Fold unfilled side over filling until edges meet, pressing lightly to seal. Brush each pastry with the remaining beaten egg. Sprinkle each with Baker’s Sugar™. With a sharp knife, cut 3 diagonal small slits on top of each pastry, and 3 crosscuts on each. Take care not to cut completely through the pastry. Refrigerate 15 minutes. 
Mix sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Add cherries, water and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in extract and butter. Cool completely. Proceed as above. 