Miso-Caramel Apple Turnovers Recipe

These particular person pastry pockets are bursting with the buttery, spiced flavors of heat apple pie. But not like an apple pie, these turnovers will be able to eat inside an hour — no ready half a day for a deep-dish pie to chill. In reality, the turnovers are greatest served heat from the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

For a salty-sweet shock, chopped apples are simmered in a miso-spiked caramel sauce. While miso has lengthy been a staple in Japanese cooking, pastry cooks and bakers all over the world have embraced the fermented soybean paste, utilizing it so as to add complexity and savory, nutty flavors to desserts and pastries. Stick to white miso for this recipe; it’s extra mellow and barely sweeter than longer-aged purple or yellow miso.

The key to ultra-flaky turnovers with a wonderfully tender apple filling comes down to 2 easy but necessary steps: Keep the puff pastry dough chilled, and precook the apples. As puff pastry bakes, the steam pockets created by the butter within the dough trigger the pastry to rise and type flaky layers. If the pastry is heat, the butter will soften out of the dough, and it gained’t puff. The different secret’s to simmer the apples, or precook them, earlier than they’re enveloped within the pastry. This not solely ensures the apples are tender, nevertheless it additionally cooks off the surplus moisture within the fruit. Too a lot moisture within the turnover filling causes steam, making the pastries burst open once they bake. With just a little approach, these golden, sugar-crusted apple turnovers might be your new go-to fall dessert.

What different forms of apples can be utilized?

Honeycrisp and Pink Lady apples fall into the class of crisp, sweet-tart apples. Other widespread apple varieties with related traits that can work effectively in these turnovers are Braeburn, Envy, or Jonagold.

If you favor a barely extra tart taste, substitute with Granny Smith apples. Avoid utilizing apples that break down and turn out to be mushy when cooked, like McIntosh, Golden Delicious, and Gala. These softer apples are greatest fitted to making dishes like apple sauce and apple butter.

How to maintain the turnovers from bursting open

Lightly brush the pastry edges with overwhelmed egg, after which press collectively to seal. Use a fork to crimp the perimeters, additional sealing the pastry edges collectively. It’s additionally necessary to fill the turnovers with simply the sautéed apples — keep away from including caramel sauce to the filling, as it can boil and pop the pastries open.

Freeze the turnovers for about 10 minutes earlier than baking. This step additionally helps to make sure that the perimeters of the pastries keep sealed collectively. Don’t overlook to chop three small slits within the tops of the turnovers to offer the steam an avenue to flee.

Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen

• Keep the remaining puff pastry squares chilled whilst you assemble the turnovers. It’s simpler to fill and fold chilled dough — if the dough warms up, it can soften and begin to keep on with the work floor.
• Spread the sautéed apples in a single layer on a big rimmed plate or small baking sheet so that they cool shortly.
• Opt for Dufour Pastry Kitchens’ puff pastry (obtainable at Whole Foods and different specialty grocery shops) for a wealthy and buttery taste.

The textual content and recipe have been written by Paige Grandjean.