Berry Puff Turnovers from King Arthur Flour

By Foodiewife

As a kid, I used to love Pepperidge Farm Fruit Turnovers. King Arthur Flour posted their recipe using a "Blitz" Puff Pastry dough. It's much less labor intensive than making authentic puff pastry-- but the end result? I'm in-love. The pastry is so tender and flaky! Love, love, LOVE this recipe!

To see how I made these, with lots of tips, please visit my blog at: http://foodiewife-kitchen.blogspot.com/2010/03/berry-puff-turnovers-from-king-arthur.html

Ingredients

• DOUGH:
• 1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup cold butter
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• FILLING:
• 3 tablespoons Instant ClearJel® or cornstarch
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3 cups raspberries, fresh or frozen
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon**
• NOTE: I omitted the cinnamon and added 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract
• 1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, to seal pastries (optional)
• If you use cornstarch, you'll want to dissolve it in cold water, rather than stir it into the sugar.

Details

Servings 14
Preparation time 50mins
Cooking time 85mins
Adapted from foodiewife-kitchen.blogspot.com

Preparation

Step 1

To make the crust: Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder.

Cut the cold butter into pats, and work it into the flour mixture till it's unevenly crumbly, with larger bits of butter remaining intact.*
NOTE: I used a food processor, and simply pulsed the cold butter.

Stir* in the sour cream. The dough will be craggy, but cohesive.
*I pulsed the sour cream, until the dough became cohesive.

Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface, and bring it together, if necessary, with a few quick kneads.

Pat the dough into a rough square, then roll it into an 8" x 10" rectangle.

Dust both sides of the dough with flour. Starting with one of the shorter (8") ends, fold it in thirds like a business letter, flip it over (so the open flap is on the bottom), and turn it 90°.

Roll the dough into an 8" x 10" rectangle again. Fold it in thirds, wrap in plastic, and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes (or overnight) before using.
NOTE: This is a very important step, to get puffy and tender dough.

While the dough is chilling, make the filling. Mix the sugar and ClearJel** till well combined. If you're using cornstarch, mix it with enough cold water to dissolve.
**ClearJel is a product sold on King Arthur's website. I prefer it over cornstarch, because it doesn't "muddy" the look of fruit fillings. Cornstarch still works.

Add the sugar mixture to the raspberries, tossing to combine. Stir in the vanilla and cinnamon (or omit and add almond extract, which I prefer) (and the cornstarch/water mixture, if you're using cornstarch).

Heat the mixture in a saucepan over very low heat, stirring, till the berries soften and fall apart. The mixture will be thick and jam-like, even though it doesn't really warm up much; this will take under 5 minutes. If you use cornstarch, cook and stir till the mixture bubbles and thickens. You can prepare the filling up to several days before; cover and refrigerate till you're ready to use it.

You can also do this in a microwave; heat till the berries soften, then stir till they fall apart and the mixture thickens, like jam.

When you're ready to assemble the turnovers, preheat the oven to 400°F.

NOTE: I have a marble pastry board, which I chill in my freezer. It's a great tool to keep pastry cold!

Roll the chilled dough into a 16inch square. Cut sixteen 4-inch squares, for small, triangular turnovers. For round turnovers, use a turnover press** to cut nine 4 1/2" rounds. Re-roll the dough scraps, and cut 4 or 5 additional rounds, as many as you can get out of the scraps.

**I bought a turnover press kit, which took some practice. I show you how to use it on my blog. It's a gadget that's fun (once you get the hang of it) but not necessary.

If desired, for a tighter seal, brush two adjoining edges of each square (or half of each circle) with 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water.

Place about 2 teaspoons filling slightly off-center in each square. Or about 4 teaspoons** slightly off-center of each round; a level tablespoon cookie scoop works well here.
**with a turnover press, I could only fill 1 teaspoon of filling, or it would overflow.

Fold the turnovers in half. If you've cut the dough in squares, fold in half diagonally, to create triangular turnovers. Press the edges with a fork to seal.

NOTE: At this point, you could freeze the pastries to bake later. KAF and I don't recommend freezing them after baking. Don't thaw before baking, just add 5 extra minutes to the baking time.

Place the turnovers on a baking sheet, preferably one lined with parchment to catch any spills. Bake in the preheated 400°F oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until they're a deep, golden brown; you may see some of the filling beginning to ooze out.

Remove the turnovers from the oven, and cool on a rack. Serve warm, or at room temperature.

Tips from our bakers:

For a pretty, glittery top crust, brush turnovers with milk, and sprinkle with coarse (sparkling) white sugar just before baking.