It all started with some leftover Galette dough a couple of days ago, and now we are not even stopping by the bakery anymore on the way home from school, "because Mommy makes these yummy apple turnovers." Four out of the past five days we had Apple Turnovers. I just can't make enough of them! We had them for breakfast, dessert, snack, and in lunch boxes. Can there be too much of good thing? I wonder when my family will finally get tired of them.

We may have reached a turning point tonight. Speaking for myself, I am not quite as enthusiastic about Apple Turnovers as I was three days ago. And tonight's batch didn't come out as nice as the previous ones. I had just made the dough and it wasn't quite cold enough yet. I let the girls "help" and they put in too much filling and didn't press the edges together tight enough so there was a bit of oozing. But most crucially, I forgot to sprinkle the sugar on before they went into the oven. I remembered about two thirds through the baking, and tried my best, but couldn't distribute the sugar evenly.

I talked to my father-in-law tonight and he got very excited when he heard about Apple Turnovers. He asked if I fried them. He said that Apple Turnovers are usually deep-fried. I said, no way, I just bake them in the oven. He asked me where I found the recipe. I said nowhere, I just make the dough I always make and use some of my canned apples for filling. He said, I need to send him the recipe. He said that several times. I think I heard him salivate.

I looked up "Turnovers" in the Joy of Cooking and learnt that they are usually baked. If they are fried, they are called "Fried Pies." I also learnt that they are usually made from a circle rather than a square. I'll stick with the square because I can do that freehand, sort of.

Apple Turnovers

The dough is your basic Galette dough. I have seen pretty much the same recipe in various cookbooks, a.o. Deborah Madison, Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone and Alice Waters, Chez Panisse: Fruit. It has become a standard of mine. I use it for both sweet and savory fillings and always make a double batch to keep some in the freezer. As for the name, "Galette" simply is a generic term for any flat round pie, tart, or cake, usually on the rustic side.

For a filling, I used the apple slices I had canned last summer mixed with some of the apple topping that had not turned out the way I had expected (too sweet and I did not like the consistency). But when I added some of the topping to the filling, my spouse, the resident food critic, told me filling was just right. It was a good thing I could open those jars because there is no way I would have cooked up a new batch of filling every day.
To make a small batch of filling, peel and core some apples, cut in slices, and cook with some apple juice or cider, grated lemon zest, cinnamon and a bit of nutmeg, some raisins and/or dried cherries. Add sugar to taste. Simmer until apples are tender but not mushy. Let cool.

2 cups flour (I use half whole-wheat pastry flour)
salt
1-2 Tbsp. sugar
1.5 sticks of cold butter (=12 Tbsp)
ca. 1/2 cup ice water

Mix flour salt and sugar in bowl. Add one third of the butter, cutting it first with a knife, then with a dough cutter until it has the consistency of rough cornmeal. Add the rest of the butter and cut first with a knife, then with the dough cutter until the pieces of butter are about pea-size. Sprinkle some of the water over the flour mixture and mix it in with your hands. Work quickly and gently and rather than kneading, let the mixture fall through your fingers until it starts forming larger lumps and comes together. Use as much water as you need and don't forget to work in the flour that tends to gather at the bottom of the bowl. When the dough holds together, shape it into a ball. It will still be raggedy at this point and you may see little lumps of butter and patches of flour. Don't worry about that.
Divide the dough into two balls and press them into small disks. Wrap in wax paper and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface, ca. 1/8 inch thick and cut into squares (size depends on how large you want the Turnovers to be). Imagine a diagonal line through the square and spoon some filling just below the diagonal, take care not to overfill. Fold one half of the square over the filling, overlapping with the rest of the square and forming a triangle. Press down the edges and fold them up slightly (as if you would make a hem). Press down firmly, first with your fingers, then with a fork.

Put Turnovers on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. With a pastry brush, dab with some water and quickly sprinkle with Turbinado sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool and eat before they are gone.

(If you have dough leftover you can form little sticks, brush with some eggyolk mixed with a bit of water and sprinkle with some seeds (poppy, sesame etc.). Or you can roll it out and make butter cookies.
If there is extra filling left, have it with pancakes, oatmeal, ice cream or... enjoy it by itself!  11:41:52 PM    
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