I am not used to being in Wyoming so early in June. I’m more used to early July, when cherry season has started over in Idaho. I can usually drive over Teton Pass and find several farmers selling their fresh-picked cherries from the back of their trucks along the road. Given the weather they’ve had this winter and spring, I’m not sure when the cherries will be ripe this year — August?
However, I quickly copied this recipe from my Breakfast Comforts cookbook by Williams-Sonoma (which is a lovely breakfast/brunch cookbook) and stuffed it in my folder before I left, hoping to find some fresh cherries to make them with. Alas there were no Idaho cherries to be found, but there were some lovely ones at the grocers, so I decided to give them a try. They were light and delicious and the filling was perfect. Not too sweet, and the cherries still had some firmness to them as they are only cooked briefly. They were really easy to put together and I froze the leftovers for our next trip out there.
Please excuse the photo quality here. I am not quite as well set-up for food photography in Wyoming as I am in Connecticut.
Flaky Cherry Turnovers
Original recipe from Breakfast Comforts by Williams-Sonoma
Yield: 9 turnovers. Note: The original recipe called for the books’ Quick Puff Pastry. I decided to use ready-made puff pastry, which yielded 8 turnovers.
- 1 box prepared frozen puff pastry, thawed overnight in the refrigerator
- 2 1/2 cups Bing cherries, pitted and halved
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- flour for rolling out the dough
- 1 large egg, beaten
- Turbinado sugar for sprinkling
Have ready a stainless steel bowl set in a larger bowl of ice water. In a heavy, medium saucepan, combine the cherries, sugar, and lemon juice.
Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the cherries give off their juices and are tender, about 5 minutes. Taste and add more sugar, if desired (I added another tablespoon to mine).
In a small bowl, sprinkle the cornstarch over 1 tablespoon of cold water and stir to dissolve. Stir in to the simmering cherry mixture and cook until thickened, about 30 seconds.
Transfer to the stanless steel bowl set in the bowl of ice water and let stand until chilled, about 20 minutes.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out the puff pastry, one sheet at a time, to approximately 10″ x 10″ square. Cut this into 4 equal 5″ squares, evening edges if necessary. Using a pastry brush, brush water lightly around the edge of the square. Place about 2 tablespoons of the chilled filling just off the center of a pastry square.
Fold the square in half diagonally so two points meet and enclose the filling. Using a fork, press and seal the edges closed.
Place on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining pastry squares and filling. Refrigerate, uncovered, for 15-30 minutes. Repeat with remaining puff pastry sheet.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Brush the tops of the pastries with some of the beaten egg. Sprinkle the tops with the turbinado sugar.
Bake until the turnovers are puffed and golden brown with no signs of uncooked dough, 20-25 minutes. Let cook on the baking sheet for 10-15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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