You can have a batch of caramel apple turnover pastries in the oven in 20 minutes. That’s easy, but we wanted to make them extra special using the best fresh apples of the season. You can do that too.

We wanted a carmel apple pie. We made a caramel apple turnover pastry using caramel ice cream topping. Along the way, we created a brown sugar apple turnover pastry, a cinnamon apple turnover pastry, and a sour cream cranapple turnover pastry. You can find the recipes below.

The Apple Pastry Filling: Premade vs. Homemade

Using a premade apple pastry filling is quick, easy, and convenient. And the apple pastry filling that we sell is very good and makes everything taste fresh from the bakery.

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The Trick to the Homeade Apple Filling

We love our premade pastry fillings, but this time we wanted to make apple turnover pastries using the best fresh apples we could find. We prepared the apples, added plenty of brown sugar and butter for the caramel, and made the pies. There was too much juice. You couldn’t pick them up and eat them without making a mess.

So we added starch. We used Instant Clearjel. It’s precooked and does not require further cooking. As long as you cook your pies all the way through, you can use cornstarch.

We used Granny Smith apples for these pies but you can use any good cooking apples.

What You’ll Need for the Apple Turnover Pastries

  • A Pie Crust Dough: With a premade pie dough or a pie crust mix, you can have the dough ready in less than four minutes. You’ll need enough to make six circles for the pastries.
  • A Dough Press: With our dough press, you can cut out perfect circles for the turnovers, create easy pockets for the filling, and crimp the edges just with one tool.
  • An Apple Corer and Peeler: Our nifty Apple Master can core, peel, and slice your apples all in one go with just a few twists of the handle, saving you lots of time and effort.
  • Good Baking Apples or Apple Pastry Filling: We used firm Granny Smith apples for the filling, but you can use whatever baking apples you like best. Or, if you decide to use a premade filling, you’ll need a great apple pastry filling.
  • Meringue Powder: Meringue powder is an essential ingredient to icing and frosting. It helps the icing set and stay firm much longer than most icings.

Our Favorite Apple Turnover Pastry Recipes

Choose from any of the four recipese below to make your apple turnover pastries. Don’t be afraid to mix and match your own flavors and fillings. And don’t forget to top your turnover pastries with flavored icing.

Caramel Apple Turnover Pastry Recipe

This is a very simple recipe to make. The filling is simply apples, caramel ice cream topping, and a little starch. We heated the ice cream topping so that it was easy to toss the apples in the topping. We used firm Granny Smith apples and no further ingredients were needed.

For this apple turnover pastry recipe, we added caramel flavor to the icing.

Ingredients:

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

  1. Roll out the pie crust until it is just less than 1/4-inch thick.
  2. Use a dough press to cut out six circles for the turnover pastries.
  3. Warm the caramel topping in the microwave just until it flows easily. Place the prepared apples in a large bowl. Sprinkle with Clearjel. Pour the caramel filling over the apples and toss the apples until coated.
  4. Place the circles in the press one at a time. Scoop about 1/3 cup filling into the center. Brush the edges with water and fold and crimp with press. Place the completed turnover pastry on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining five dough circles. Poke four sets of vent holes in each pastry to allow steam to escape as the pastries bake.
  5. Bake for about 12 minutes or until the turnover pastries begin to brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Brown Sugar Apple Turnover Pastry Recipe

This is a scrumptious apple turnover pastry. It’s simple to make. The filling is made with brown sugar and cream plus Instant Clearjel to thicken the sauce.

For this turnover pastry, we added caramel flavor to the icing.

Ingredients:

  • 1 pie crust dough for six turnovers
  • 1 tablespoon cold water
  • 2 cups baking apples peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon Instant Clearjel
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

  1. Roll out the pie crust until it is just less than 1/4-inch thick.
  2. Use a dough press to cut out six circles for the turnover pastries.
  3. Make the filling by mixing the brown sugar with the Instant Clearjel. Add the cream and stir until combined. You should have a thick sauce.
  4. Place the prepared apples in a large bowl. Pour the caramel filling over the apples and toss the apples until coated.
  5. Place the circles in the press one at a time. Scoop about 1/3 cup filling into the center. Brush the edges with water and fold and crimp with press. Place the completed turnover pastry on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining five dough circles. Poke four sets of vent holes in each pastry to allow steam to escape as the turnover pastries bake.
  6. Bake for about 12 minutes or until the turnover pastries begin to brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Cinnamon Apple Turnover Pastry Recipe

Cinnamon was made for apples. We love the bright, distinctive taste of Vietnamese cinnamon and highly recommend it. We first made these cinnamon apple turnover pastries with 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon and most of us thought it was just right. Some thought that it was too much cinnamon and we cut it back.

For these turnover pastries, we added orange flavor to the icing.

Ingredients:

  • 1 pie crust dough for six turnovers
  • 1 tablespoon cold water
  • 2 cups baking apples peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 teaspoon Vietnamese cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon Instant Clearjel
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

  1. Roll out the pie crust until it is just less than 1/4-inch thick.
  2. Use a dough press to cut out six circles for the turnover pastries.
  3. Make the filling by mixing the brown sugar and cinnamon with the Instant Clearjel. Add the cream and stir until combined. You should have a thick sauce.
  4. Place the prepared apples in a large bowl. Pour the cinnamon filling over the apples and toss the apples until coated.
  5. Place the circles in the press one at a time. Scoop about 1/3 cup filling into the center. Brush the edges with water and fold and crimp with press. Place the completed pastry on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining five dough circles. Poke four sets of vent holes in each pastry to allow steam to escape as the turnover pastries bake.
  6. Bake for about 12 minutes or until the turnover pastries begin to brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Sour Cream Cranapple Turnover Pastry Recipe

Sour cream in a apple pie makes for a rich, creamy pie. This one has tart, ruby-red cranberries poking through the filling. For these turnover pastries, we added lemon flavor to the icing.

Ingredients:

  • 1 pie crust dough for six turnovers
  • 1 tablespoon cold water
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons good quality Cassia cinnamon
  • 2 cups baking apples peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon Instant Clearjel
  • 1/3 cup dry cranberries
  • 1/3 cup sour cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

  1. Roll out the pie crust until it is just less than 1/4-inch thick.
  2. Use a dough press to cut out six circles for the turnover pastries.
  3. Make the filling by mixing the brown sugar and cinnamon with the Instant Clearjel. Add the cream and stir until combined. You should have a thick sauce.
  4. Place the prepared apples and cranberries in a large bowl. Pour the sour cream filling over the apples and toss the apples until coated.
  5. Place the circles in the press one at a time. Scoop about 1/3 cup filling into the center. Brush the edges with water and fold and crimp with press. Place the completed pastry on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining five dough circles. Poke four sets of vent holes in each pastry to allow steam to escape as the turnover pastries bake.
  6. Bake for about 12 minutes or until the turnover pastries begin to brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

To Make The Icing for Your Turnover Pastries

You may use whatever flavor you prefer: vanilla, brown sugar, caramel, orange, lemon, butter rum, butterscotch, or more.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoonsmeringue powder
  • 2-3 tablespoons water
  • 1/2 teaspoonflavor

Directions:

Make your icing by mixing the powdered sugar with the meringue powder. Add the water and the flavor. Mix until smooth and spreadable, adding more water as necessary. Do not make the icing too thin. Drizzle the icing over the completed turnovers, using a disposable pastry bag or a zipper-type plastic bag with the corner cut.

(Updated from May 13, 2014)

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