Flaky Sour Cherry Turnovers
These delicious homemade turnovers are filled with tart and sweet cherries, plus a little cream cheese. Wrapped with the butter and richness of puff pastry to balance each bite.
Servings 8 turnovers
Ingredients
Cherry Filling
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup [50 g] granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups [200 g] sweet cherries, pitted and chopped, fresh or frozen,
- 1/2 cup [67 g] sour cherries, pitted and chopped, fresh or frozen
Cream Cheese Filling
- 4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Assembly
- all-purpose flour, for dusting
- 1 pound puff pastry, store bought or homemade, see notes
- water, for brushing
- granulated sugar, for sprinkling
- ice cream, for serving, optional
Instructions
For the cherry filling
- Place the butter in a large saucepan and heat over medium heat until melted. Add the granulated sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, salt, and cinnamon and heat until the sugar has dissolved, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cherries and cook until the cherries are broken down and the mixture has turned glossy, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat, transfer the mixture to a bowl, and let the mixture cool to room temperature.
For the cream cheese filling
- In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar, and lemon juice until fully combined.
To assemble
- Line a sheet with parchment paper.
- Generously flour your work surface. Roll one piece of the pastry dough into a 10 in [12 cm] square, see notes. Cut into four 5 in [12 cm] squares. Repeat with the second piece of dough, for a total of eight squares. Place a scant tablespoon of both the cooled cherry filling and the cream cheese filling on each square. Brush the edges of each square lightly with water, fold the dough to make a triangle, and crimp the edges with a fork to seal.
- Transfer the triangles to the prepared sheet pan and place in the freezer while the oven preheats.
- Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 400F [200C].
- Brush the tops of the hand pies lightly with water and and generously sprinkle with granulated sugar. Slide another sheet pan underneath so the pans are double stacked (this helps keep the bottoms from over-browning). Bake the turnovers until golden brown, rotating the pan halfway through baking, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and use a spatula to transfer the pies to a wire rack to cool slightly. Serve warm, and with ice cream, if desired.
Notes
The turnovers may leak a bit in the oven – this is normal, and nothing to worry about.
You can play with the sweet to sour cherry ratio here - I use more sweet than sour because my family prefers it that way, but you can do equal parts of both if you want your turnovers to be even more sweet-tart.
I used my rough puff pastry recipe to make them. If using this recipe you will need to cut the dough into two equal pieces. This recipe weighs a little more than one pound, but I still use it as directed and the turnovers turn out gorgeous.
You can use store-bought to make things quick and easy. If you are going to use store-bought puff pastry, use a brand that uses butter instead of oil if possible. In the directions, I’m assuming you are using store-bought, which usually comes in two 1/2 pound pieces. If you are using homemade, you will need to cut your puff pastry into two 1/2 pound pieces to roll and shape the turnovers.
I find less is more in the turnover filling – shoving too much filling into them can cause a lot of leakage during baking, and I love the flaky crust as much as the center. You are welcome to add a little more filling, but be warned that it can cause them to overflow.
To freeze the turnovers: Shape the turnovers as directed, then line the on a baking sheet and freeze until firm, about 1 hour. Transfer the turnovers to a freezer-safe bag or container and freeze up to two weeks. When ready to bake, bake as directed, adding a few minutes to the bake time.