I have a problem. See I bought 10 pounds of nectarines fully expecting Mr. Fantabulous to plow through them in like 3 days. Yeah… wrong. 2 weeks later I still had a bunch left which meant I HAD to use them in something. He had been craving turnovers but normally only likes apple turnovers. I don’t have apples, I have nectarines… lots and lots of nectarines. And that’s exactly what he got. Nectarine turnovers! Now I know they don’t seem conventional but coming from a person that doesn’t really care for nectarines (I’m a peach lover) these were really good. No, like REALLY good!
Plus they are just so beautiful! Well okay at least I think so…
Obviously anything with puff pastry dough is amazing. I mean ANYTHING! I made the filling a little on the tart side so when I sprinkle kissed it with confectioners’ sugar it would counter the tartness with some sweet love. Too much cheesiness? LOL No seriously, the addition of the sugar really balanced well with the tartness of the filling. They are tender and flaky and seriously, it’s hard to eat just one.
… trust me, I KNOW!
What I love the most about making turnovers with puff pastry is that you can make a whole bunch of these and then flash freeze them for a future bake.
What flash freeze means is to prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, assemble your pastries and get them placed on the baking sheet. However instead of putting them in the oven you literally put the entire tray in the freezer, uncovered. Let them freeze solid and then remove the tray from the freezer, wrap up the pastries in plastic wrap and them place in a plastic freezer bag. Mark the outside of the bag with baking times/temp and what exactly is in the bag (trust me, this helps!). So when you want a turnover but just don’t feel like making one from start to finish all you have to do is grab one of these from the freezer, plop on a baking sheet and bake away!
Ingenious, I know! I do this a lot with cookie dough around the holidays and when I have too much stuff on hand (like nectarines!). Right now I have a good 1-2 dozen of these frozen beauties in my freezer for when we want a dessert or for unexpected company.
Flaky Nectarine Turnovers
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Ingredients
- 3 firm, ripe nectarines
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon butter, unsalted
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon water mixed with 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- pinch freshly ground nutmeg
- 1/2 pound puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed
- 1 egg
- White Sanding Sugar
- confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- Cut nectarines into 1/4-in cubes or slices. You should have about 2 1/2 cups of nectarines.
- Place in a medium saucepan with sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, butter, salt and nutmeg.
- Cook over medium heat until mixture bubbles and nectarines are tender.
- Stir in 1 tablespoon water mixed with 1 teaspoon cornstarch and continue to cook until thick.
- Total cooking time, start to finish, should be about 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and cool completely. Filling can be prepared ahead of time and chilled.
- Preheat oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll out thawed puff pastry on a very lightly floured surface until pastry is a large square.
- Use a pizza cutter to slice into quarters.
- Spoon 1-2 tbsp of filling into each square and fold diagonally, keeping filling away from the edges.
- Use a fork to crimp edges and seal.
- Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining pastry.
- Stir egg with 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl.
- When all turnovers have been made, brush with egg wash and sprinkle generously with White Sanding Sugar .
- Bake for about 20 minutes, until dark golden brown.
- Dust with confectioners’ sugar.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
To Flash Freeze:
Line a baking sheet lined with parchment paperl, assemble your pastries and get them placed on the baking sheet. However instead of putting them in the oven you literally put the entire tray in the freezer, uncovered. Let them freeze solid and then remove the tray from the freezer, wrap up the pastries in plastic wrap and them place in a plastic freezer bag. Mark the outside of the bag with baking times/temp and what exactly is in the bag (trust me, this helps!). So when you want a turnover but just don’t feel like making one from start to finish all you have to do is grab one of these from the freezer, plop on a baking sheet and bake away!
If baking from frozen, bake for 10-15 minutes at 400F, then reduce the oven temperature to 350F and continue to bake until pastries are dark golden brown.
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