Tuesday, September 15, 2009

TWD: Flaky Apple Turnovers

This week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe for Flaky Apple Turnovers was chosen by Julie of Someone's in the Kitchen. For whatever reason I did not get my act together and make these over the weekend, when the timing and lighting conditions would have been more favorable. So I found myself scrambling to get these done and photographed on Tuesday, which (fair warning) will be obvious from the quality of the photos and the post.


Dorie calls the sour cream turnover pastry a "miracle," because it is rolled, chilled, and folded in a way that encourages it to gently puff. Sadly, I tend to be a miracle killer when it comes to pastry, but I was very intrigued by this dough and hoped for the best.

I read the recipe and saw that the dough calls for three (3) sticks of butter.

[QUIZ: How annoying is it to watch someone who voluntarily signed up for a weekly baking group act horrified by the quantity of butter that she is using on a weekly basis? ___ kinda ___ really ___ really really.]

I decided to quarter the recipe, because my family of five (and only three sure-bet turnover eaters) did not need 16 turnovers, and because somehow three ounces of butter seemed less menacing than three sticks, even though the per-turnover butter quantity would be exactly the same as if I went with the full three stick version. Nope, deep down, I wasn't fooled. But I used light sour cream because I had a fridge full of it, thanks to a 3 for $5 special at Western. I didn't need three 16 oz containers of light sour cream (who does?) but I couldn't afford not to buy it at that price. I wasn't sure how light sour cream would work in the recipe, but decided to have faith that all the butter would carry me home in the turnover fat department.

The dough is a simple mixture of sour cream, sugar, flour, salt and, of course, butter. The butter gets cut into the flour with a pastry blender, two knives, or your fingers. I do not have a pastry blender, and even one knife at a time is plenty dangerous for me, so I decided to follow Dorie's lead and use my fingers. Worked like a charm! I achieved that coarse meal consistency, although there were still a few large gobs of butter in there. Dorie's instructions suggested that that was preferable to over mixing, so I left them, and then added the sour cream/sugar mixture.

After a couple of rounds of chilling, rolling, and folding like a business letter, my turnovers were filled and ready to bake:



I didn't expect to see anything as dramatic as puff pastry, but I was hoping to get flaky dough with some decent puffage* (*probably not a word).

Verdict?

Success!!! We LOVED these! They were puffingly* (*actual word) flaky:



The dough was wonderful - it is indeed miraculous; Dorie is not kidding. The texture was perfect, and it was not overly sweet, so it complemented the apple/sugar/cinnamon mixture very well. My hubs raved about these and said that they reminded him of a fried pie (that's a compliment) but without the grease. As expected, David, Caroline and I were the only ones who ate these. Someday, perhaps my older two children will look back with regret on those days when mom baked crazy delicious things multiple times a week, only to be rebuffed in favor of Transformers fruit snacks. Until then, more for the rest of us!



Thank you for this fabulous fall pick, Julie! And thank you Dorie for yet another incredible dessert.

42 comments:

Kayte said...

Oh, you are right, this is an excellent dough and your flaky turnover looks really really good. I ate one and gave the rest to the guys very quickly or I would have definitely had five more. They were that good. Yours look beautiful. Also, gotta love a gal who can round up greenery at a moment's notice for a photo shoot, very nice! You have moved up a notch in the Totally Amazing category.

Engineer Baker said...

Puffingly flaky? How funny! But you're right - those look absolutely fantastic! (I was disturbed by the amount of butter in them too - seriously, three sticks *and* sour cream?)

Mary Ann said...

I think your turnovers look beautiful. Kids are so finicky- I am sure they will look back in regret, but at least your baby knows what is good.
And I don't think it is annoying at all that you were shocked by the butter. I was too and I didn't even make these!

The Food Librarian said...

This is so Puff Daddy Puffy. They look yummy! And one day your kids will want these instead of Transformer food-like food. :) - mary

Unknown said...

Well, Cathy, you've really made these turnovers look and sound amazingly delicious and convinced me that I need to try them again since my first attempt was not very successful! If you still lived in CT I'd drive to your house so you could teach me how to do these properly :) I was appalled by the amount of butter too and I made 1/4 recipe so I wouldn't have to use my whole supply of butter on one recipe!

Jules Someone said...

Yeah! More for you! Glad these were (mostly) enjoyed at your house. I can't wait to make these again. Thanks for baking with me!

Flourchild said...

Puffingly flaky works for me! Im glad you enjoyed them and they turned out so good for you! They sure look pretty and puffingly:)! Hopefully someday your kiddos will replace the fruit snacks with your yummy baked goods!!

Nancy/n.o.e said...

I had zero butter in the house, so this recipe got put off for days. And when I bought the new butter my level of being appalled at the butter quantity drove me to make 1/4 recipe also. But we have to thank the butter for the puffage and the flakage. I wanted more drama from my filling, though. Glad to see you're alive!!

mike said...

Wow Cathy - yours really rose! They look so wonderful. Mine were flaky, but not as puffy I think... hm... I loved the dough too! Have another batch in the fridge! It's neat that you were able to quarter the recipe - I always screw something up doing that! Maybe it's the math! Nicely done - they look marvelous!

Katrina said...

Your posts are so great. The suspense was killing me on this one. Did she like them? Did she not. Verdict? Awesome.
I halved the recipe, simply because I just couldn't bring myself to use 3 sticks of butta for something.
There does seem to be many possibilities for this dough!

Deb in Hawaii said...

Apple turnovers are my favorite. These look amazing and I love the"puffingly flaky" crusts. If you ever want to mail any extras your kids won't eat to Hawaii feel free! ;-)

NKP said...

Perfectly puffy, flaky and delicious!
*We always have night photoshoots, as dinner is quite late here for my commuters. I use a gooseneck desk lamp for lighting, and a piece of cardboard wrapped in tin foil for a reflector. Works like a charm!

Audrey said...

quiz answer: not at all. (was that one of the choices?)You're just saying what I'm thinking, my friend!

Now that I know this pastry is puffingly puffable, I will definitely go back and make them! btw, I've had pretty good luck using light sour cream in recipes that call for 77 sticks of butter...it makes them lighter, somehow! :)

Lady Baker said...

we loved them too!!! I just had one for breakfast..

La Bella Cooks said...

My husband is a huge fan of all types of turnovers so it is my go-to recipe to win him over. Not hard to do! lol. Yours look absolutely delicious and you did a beautiful job.

Jennifer said...

Oh YUM! These look awesome!

spike. said...

Those look great! I am feeling like a slacker for missing this week but after hearing about the butter content, my waist line is thanking me.

Anonymous said...

Wow, they look so good and flaky in the cross-section photo! I'm sorry I missed this one, but I may need to go back to it. I know my husband would love these (especially if they're anything like a fried pie!).

I too am horrified by the butter. It's not annoying.

Maria said...

Lovely fall treat!

the southern hostess said...

These look perfect! Yum!

The Blonde Duck said...

I would have made the whole recipe and eaten the whole thing myself, then done my penance on the treadmill.

I'm so ashamed. I just drooled on myself.

I need to learn to quarter recipes. I always cook far too much.

betty geek said...

Yours look incredibly flaky and super delicious!

I want a couple of those, please!

YUM YUM YUM

MacDuff said...

This is awesome! I didn't make any, but your photos make me rethink that...

natalia said...

Ciao ! I actually liked the photos ! And I halved the recipe for the dame scare... (and gave the turnovers away). I have the same problem with my kids... we'll use the blog to show them what they missed !!

Teanna said...

I thirded (is that a word?) the recipe for the SAME reason! I know it was all the same in the end, but I couldn't bring myself to use three sticks of butter in one siting! Your pastries look perfectly puffy! Gorgeous!

Unknown said...

These were a pleasant surprise - glad they worked so well for you, even if your littlest ones didn't appreciate them. My 4 year old announced, after chomping one bite out of hers, "I don't really like pie. Too much crust." So I took the rest of hers and ate it.

Di said...

Nice job, Cathy! Your turnovers look fantastic. I know what you mean about the older kids. As usualy, Gillian polished off all of hers, while Brianna ate part of the filling out of hers and left most of the crust. *sigh* At least she liked the crumb cake I made recently. =) Glad to know these work with light sour cream, too.

Liz said...

Yaaaay, flaky pastry success! So glad you guys loved it and had major flakage. I know I'll be making this again and again.

Jacque said...

It looks like congrats are in order... for that awesome pastry crust!

They look delish :)

Anonymous said...

I was taken aback by the butter in this recipe, too, and ended up making a half batch. I tend to keep my head in the sand and assume that all fruit-based desserts are low in fat and calories. Not exactly....

I'm glad these were such a huge hit around your house!

Aggie said...

3 sticks of butter! :) aaaahhhh! I would faint.

But look how flaky and yummy they look, one day I may get brave enough to try something like this...it is making me get a craving actually.

I've missed you! Such a busy summer...I'm barely keeping afloat. I'm hoping to start catching up, I miss my blogging buddies! :)

Bella Baker said...

Looks like your turnovers came out perfectly!!!!! They look incredible!!

TeaLady said...

Look how flaky those are. They look incredible. And with the sugar sparkle on top. Perfect!!

Anonymous said...

Your flaky apple turnovers are beautiful! I love the photo of the cut piece - it shows off the flakiness and the yummy filling! I loved these too and can't wait to try these again! =)

AmyRuth said...

Me too Cathy, I've never attempted the arduous task of making puff pastry, watched, but I suspect it takes a lot of butter as well. Ah well a little here and there doesn't hurt as long as we moderate right! As beautiful as your look it would be hard for me to turn down your fresh, hot out of the oven turnover. I am so glad you liked them. I have some pastry in the frig and I'm going to pack them up and freeze them.....I hope. I don't know if I can make it to the freezer with them. he he Hope you and yours are feeling well.
AmyRuth

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

They look like they taste awesome. Even though you had to hustle to get this together you did a fantastic job!

Jeannette said...

yum-o! these look great!

Steph said...

I know exactly what you mean. I can never pass off a good deal! Those look really flaky and delicious. You did a great job!

Leslie said...

These look fantastic! I cringe all the time when a recipe calls for unwrapping multiple sticks of butter. I'd be much happier if it could be added in secret by some kitchen helper and I could pretend I didn't know about it.

Pamela said...

Damn that Optimus Prime and his fruit flavored friends! :o) Nice job, Cathy. The butter totally scared me on this recipe, too. But the pastry was really delicious and worth it. This was a good one! I like that top picture, very pretty!

Barbara Bakes said...

Your turnovers look fabulous! I feel the same when I read a recipe with tons of butter!

Tia said...

awesome description and photos and write up. congrats on a successful bake.

 
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