Pear and Cranberry Turnovers
ACTIVE: 25 MIN
TOTAL TIME: 1 HR 30 MIN
SERVINGS: MAKES 8 TURNOVERS
Ingredients
2 Bosc pears (1 pound), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1/3 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
3/4 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
Pinch each of ground cloves, cinnamon and salt
One 14-ounce package cold all-butter puff pastry
1 egg, beaten
Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, for serving
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400°. In a medium bowl, toss the pears with 1/3 cup of the sugar, 1 tablespoon of the flour and the cranberries, cloves, cinnamon and salt.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the puff pastry to a 14 1/2-inch square about 1/8 inch thick. Using a sharp knife, cut the pastry into 8 squares. Spoon the pear filling onto a corner of each square, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Fold the pastry over the filling to make a triangle and firmly press the edges to seal. Crimp the edges with a fork. Prick each triangle once with the fork to allow steam to escape during baking. Transfer the turnovers to a baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, until chilled.
Brush the tops of the turnovers with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar. Bake the turnovers for 30 minutes, until golden brown. Let the turnovers cool for at least 5 minutes. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.
Before this recipe, I do not believe I had ever purchased a bag of fresh cranberries. I was also never a huge fan of jellied cranberry sauce when I was a kid, but someone once made some fresh cranberry sauce that was delicious. I have this weird aversion to meat and fruit combinations, so while I didn't apply said sauce to my turkey, I did taste it separately and it was really good. So from here on out, fresh cranberries are the way to go. Also, fresh cranberries aren't really something you can just eat out of the bag. Whoo-boy, those suckers are tart! I don't know what I expected when I crunched on one, but I just about turned inside out. Thankfully, cooking cranberries lessens the tart and brings in just the right amount of sweet.
With the pears peeled and cubed, cranberries washed and sugar/spices added in the bowl, it makes a whole lot of filling. The recipe calls for one sheet of pastry dough that you roll out to make it larger. My dough could have used a few more once-overs with my rolling pin because I had trouble getting eight exact squares. They were more like lopsided rectangles and the end pieces were a tad on the small side. There was some creative stretching going on to get the dough to the right size. Plus, with the unbaked cranberries and all that sugar, the filling really isn't something you can eat out of the bowl if there is still some left over. So I just added it all and really pulled that dough so it covered everything and sealed.
I highly recommend putting down a sheet of parchment paper under the turnovers. As you will see in the "after" photo, the sugary sauce that results will become a little burned (or maybe it's just my oven) and will stick to your baking sheet. Parchment paper will lift right off and you can throw it away with minimal cleaning needed to your baking sheet. You also don't have to use a non-stick cooking spray with the parchment paper.
The finished product was really good, with the exception of the slightly crispy edges. The cranberries mellowed out significantly and any residual tartness was covered by the copious amounts of sugar that went into the filling. The pastry was light and flaky, and the egg wash gave it a nice sheen on top.
Even with just the Husband and myself here at the house, we polished all eight of these off in short order. They're easily reheatable in the microwave and lasted about a week in the fridge. The Husband also gives his approval for these: "Oh, those are tasty." Sweet.
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