{"id":18143,"date":"2019-10-21T15:48:54","date_gmt":"2019-10-21T20:48:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cupcakeproject.com\/?p=18143"},"modified":"2020-07-23T11:46:08","modified_gmt":"2020-07-23T16:46:08","slug":"mini-cherry-turnover-cookies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cupcakeproject.com\/mini-cherry-turnover-cookies\/","title":{"rendered":"Cherry Turnovers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cherry turnovers are delicious little triangular pastries filled with homemade cherry pie filling. They are often made with pie dough or puff pastry; I make mine with an easy-to-make, rich, and tangy cream cheese dough and fill them with homemade cherry pie filling<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"Cherry<\/p>\n

Turnovers are made by putting filling in the centers of dough squares and then folding the squares over themselves diagonally from corner to corner prior to baking baked. (If made with pie dough, turnovers and hand pies<\/a> are virtually identical.)<\/em><\/p>\n

The easiest turnovers are made with store-bought puff pastry dough. You can go that route and use my filling if you’d like, but I find that making my cream cheese-based dough (the same one that I use for rugelach<\/a>) is totally worth the extra effort<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Cherry Turnover Baking Tips<\/h2>\n

You will have to both make both the filling and the dough to make turnovers. You’ll want to make the dough first since it needs to chill prior to using it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Turnover Dough<\/h3>\n

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy (about three minutes on high speed). It is very important that both of these ingredients be at room temperature.<\/strong> If they’re cold, they won’t mix well into the recipe.<\/p>\n

\"MixingMix in the sugar, salt, and vanilla.<\/p>\n

\"Adding<\/p>\n

Mix in the flour until just combined.<\/p>\n

Place the dough on a floured board and form it into a ball. Divide into two roughly equal pieces, wrap each in plastic, and refrigerate for at least one hour<\/em> to make it easier to roll out.<\/p>\n

Filling<\/h3>\n

To make the cherry filling, start with cherries that have been pitted and had their stems removed.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Boil them with water, lemon juice, sugar, orange zest, and cornstarch. The cornstarch is what will thicken the filling so it isn’t a runny liquid.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cool the mixture to room temperature so it’s ready to be used.<\/p>\n

Assembly<\/h3>\n

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll out each ball to a roughly 10 inch square. The dough is sticky, so be sure to flour your surface and your rolling pin really well.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Rolling
\nCut the rolled dough into 25 2″ squares and place approximately one teaspoon of cherry pie filling in the center of each square<\/strong>. If you want larger turnovers, you can double the size and double the filling! While you may be tempted to add more filling, resist. If you add too much filling, the turnovers may burst during baking.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fold the squares diagonally<\/strong> to create little triangles and use a fork to crimp the edges of the triangles<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Cut a tiny slice in the top of each triangle<\/strong>. This lets the steam out during baking and also makes the turnovers look pretty because there will be a little cherry filling peeking through the top.<\/p>\n

Chill the formed turnovers in the freezer<\/strong> for about 10 minutes. This keeps them from spreading during baking.<\/p>\n

Bake until the turnovers are golden brown<\/strong>, about 20 minutes. It may take longer than 20 minutes if your turnovers are particularly cold. Although you can eat them before they brown (you won’t get sick), they are so much better when they have time to get a little crispy.<\/p>\n

Storage<\/h2>\n

Turnovers last for about three days at room temperature<\/strong>. You can also freeze them in an airtight container for several months.<\/p>\n

Other Turnover Flavor Ideas<\/h2>\n

This same turnover dough can be used to make all kinds of turnover flavors!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here are some filling ideas:<\/p>\n