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Made completely from scratch, my apple turnover recipe beats anything you’ll find at the store. Each turnover has a fresh, sweet-tart apple filling tucked inside a buttery crust. I recommend trying them at least once with my oh-so-flavorful homemade pie crust, but they can also be made with puff pastry for lighter, more traditional results. Recipe includes a how-to video tutorial!
Homemade Apple turnovers
My homemade apple turnover recipe is perfect for Fall baking (and using up your freshly picked apples!). Make them completely from scratch with my sweet-tart apple filling tucked inside either my flaky and flavorful easy pie crust recipe (my personal preference) or puff pastry.
These are very similar to my hand pies and a great way to use up leftover apples from apple picking. With their sweet caramelized apple filling and buttery crust in every bite, what’s not to love?!
Why this recipe works:
- Crisp, not soggy. The filling is precooked, which gives the apples time to soften and the juices to thicken to a caramel-esque sauce that doesn’t make the crust soggy.
- Choose your pastry. Use my homemade pie crust for a tender, buttery turnover (my preference), or use puff pastry for an airier, bakery-style result. My recipe includes instructions for both.
- Less leaking, less mess. A few minutes on the stovetop to precook the apples followed by a bit of patience to allow the filling to cool makes all the difference. This post includes plenty of simple, little steps that make a big difference.
Ingredients
Just a few ingredients come together to make this easy apple turnover recipe. Most importantly, you’ll need:
- Pie crust or puff pastry. You could use pre-made (store-bought) pie dough or puff pastry. You will need two standard pie crust doughs, a single batch of my homemade puff pastry, or two sheets of store-bought puff pastry. While puff pastry is traditionally used for apple turnovers, I honestly prefer my homemade pie crust. It yields buttery, flavorful, flaky, and a bit sturdier results, similar to apple hand pies. , but I really recommend making my homemade pie dough (linked in the recipe below).
- Apples. I recommend using a firm, fairly tart apple like Fuji, Gala (my favorites for my easy apple pie and apple butter), or Granny Smith (a more tart option!). Be sure to peel & core the apples before cutting them into small pieces (less than 1/2″).
- Brown sugar. I like using light brown sugar for the apple filling. Dark brown sugar can be substituted, but it will make your turnovers richer and sweeter in a way that can border on overbearing.
- Cornstarch. This thickens the juices released by the apples, making a thicker, caramel-y sauce that reduces the risk of having a loose filling that leaks out the edges.
- Coarse sugar. A light sprinkle of sugar adds a touch of sweetness, a slight sweet crunch and a sparkly surface. If you don’t have a coarse sugar (I use bakery sugar, organic sugar, or turbinado sugar), regular granulated will also work, it’s just finer.
- After baking, I like to take the sweetness factor a step further and drizzle the turnovers with my easy vanilla glaze, I also like to sprinkle them with coarse sugar for some added crunch and sparkle. If you’re less of a sugar fiend, you can just use sugar or the glaze–but I highly recommend both!
SAM’S TIP: It will seem like a lot of (maybe even too many) apples when you first add them to your pan, but they’ll cook down to be just enough to fill your crust. Make sure to let the filling cool before adding it to your dough, otherwise you run the risk of melting your pastry dough.
As always, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Apple Turnovers
- Combine apple filling ingredients in a saucepan and cook, stirring frequently.
- Once the butter melts, increase the heat and let the mixture simmer for 5 minutes. The apples will become tender and the sauce will thicken.
- Remove apple mixture from heat and stir in vanilla, then set aside to cool while you roll out your pie dough or puff pastry.
- Cut the dough into squares (I like to use a ruler to make mine even, but maybe you’re better at eyeballing this than I am!).
- Transfer the pastry squares to a parchment paper lined baking sheet and brush lightly with egg wash. Now scoop the cooled apple turnover filling onto prepared squares, placing them just off center.
- Fold the squares over the apple filling and use a fork to crimp and seal the edges.
- Brush the tops of the turnovers with egg wash and vent with a sharp knife before sprinkling with sugar (if using, which you should!).
- Bake for 25 minutes and let cool completely before drizzling with glaze.
SAM’S TIP: If you do find that your dough becomes too soft to manage, just return it to the refrigerator for a few minutes and it should quickly become firm enough to manage. You can also do this with the assembled turnovers if they seem too soft or melty before you pop them in the oven (this can easily happen on a warm day!).
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! These can be frozen before or after baking. If freezing before, I’d recommend freezing on a baking sheet first to firm up the exteriors before wrapping and storing in a ziploc bag or airtight container. When you’re ready to bake, you can do so from frozen; they’ll just need a few minutes longer in the oven.
Technically you can do whatever you’d like and apple pie filling will work, but homemade filling will taste so much better and gives you greater control over the end consistency. Pay attention to how thick the filling is, as well, as some are looser than others and a filling that is too watery could make the turnovers soggy.
I recommend a firm, tart or sweet-tart apple that will hold its shape as it cooks. Granny Smith is a classic choice, but Gala, Pink Lady, or Honeycrisp will also work well and yield slightly sweeter turnovers.
Avoid softer apples, like McIntosh or Red Delicious, which break down too quickly. While they’d be fine for an applesauce recipe they can leave you with a mushy or watery filling.
Tips for Perfect Apple Turnovers
- Dice your apples small and evenly. Keep your apple pieces around 1/2″. They’ll cook evenly and quickly this way, which gives you the best-textured filling possible.
- Don’t overfill. This recipe is written so that you should have exactly enough filling to fill each turnover evenly without overdoing it. Avoid the temptation to overfill each square, adding too much will make it difficult to seal the turnovers.
- Keep the edges clean when filling. Portion the filling just off-center of each square, but stay away from the edges. Sauce caught between the two edges when crimping can keep the turnovers from sealing properly and make them prone to leaking.
- Don’t skip the vents on top. This gives the steam a place to escape, rather than bursting through the seams and leaving you with soggy or leaky turnovers.
- Cool the filling. Give the apple filling a bit of time to cool before portioning it over the pastry. If it’s too hot, it will melt the crust and could make the turnovers soggy.
Enjoy!
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Preheat oven to 400F (205C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
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Begin preparing apple filling by combining chopped apples, brown sugar, butter, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt in a medium-sized saucepan over medium-low heat.
3 cups (350 g) cored, peeled, and diced apples, ⅔ cup (133 g) light brown sugar, 2 Tablespoons (30 g) unsalted butter, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon salt
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Cook, stirring frequently, until butter is melted. Increase heat to medium and continue to cook, bringing mixture to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mixture should thicken slightly.
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Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Allow mixture to cool until no longer warm to the touch before filling pie dough.
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
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Prepare the pastry: If using homemade pie crust or homemade puff pastry: divide the dough in half. Roll out one half onto a clean, lightly floured surface into a rectangle between ⅛”-¼” thick. If using store-bought puff pastry: unfold one sheet at a time and gently roll as needed to smooth the seams and create enough surface for your turnover squares.
2 batches pie dough or 2 sheets puff pastry
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Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, neatly cut dough into 4 ½” squares and transfer to a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining pastry (Note: you will need to gather the scraps and re-roll them out to make all 10 turnovers).
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Prepare egg wash by whisking together egg and water. Use a pastry brush to lightly brush the surface of each pastry square with egg wash.
1 large egg + 1 teaspoon water
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Portion about 1½ Tablespoons of filling just off center of each square. Gently fold over one corner to touch the other to envelope the apple filling. Use the tines of a fork to press and seal the turnovers. Repeat with remaining turnovers.
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Brush the outside of each turnover lightly with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar (or regular granulated sugar), if desired. Use a sharp knife to cut 2-3 small slits to vent.
2 Tablespoons coarse sugar
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Transfer to center rack of 400F (205C) oven and bake for 25 minutes, until pastry is beginning to turn golden brown.
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Allow to cool before topping with icing (if desired).
Vanilla Glaze
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Whisk together powdered sugar, 1 Tablespoon of milk, and vanilla extract. If mixture is too dry, add additional milk, a splash at a time, until mixture ribbons off the spoon.
1 cup (125 g) powdered sugar, 1-2 Tablespoons milk, ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
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Drizzle glaze over cooled turnovers, and enjoy.
Apples
I recommend using a tart or sweet-tart, firm apple like Gala, Fuji, or Granny Smith.
This is typically around 4 apples for me; you will need about 1.75lbs/795 grams of apples before peeling/coring/dicing).
Storing
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days. For longer storage, wrap each turnover tightly in plastic wrap and freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator (still wrapped) then reheat in a 350F (175C) oven for several minutes. While you could reheat in the microwave, this can make the turnover soggy.
Serving: 1turnover | Calories: 335kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 180mg | Potassium: 141mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 36g | Vitamin A: 136IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe was originally published October of 2017. I’ve made small edits to the flow of the recipe to make it easier to follow and have added new photos, a new video, and new text that I hope is helpful!