Cheddar Apple Turnovers-Memorable Culinary Find
Fall brings the height of apple picking season and I love finding new ways to use apples. Traditionally, my go- to is always apple pie and apple cobbler which are two of my all time favorite apple recipes. However, I decided to try a cheddar apple combination in a delicious Cheddar Apple Turnovers.
Cheddar Apple Inspiration
My inspiration for this was a trip to Krog Street Market in Atlanta. This place is awesome, you walk in and there are like 7-8 mini food eateries under one roof. One stop culinary deliciousness!
Many of the things we ate that day were fantastic, but one item was quite memorable…..
Ironically, we were at a Inman Park Food Tour upon discovering this culinary find. Once you walk into the market there is “Little Tart Bake Shop” Of course, I immediately make a B-line over there to check out all the delicious pastries. I wanted to try everything!
As part of our tour, we sampled the Apple Cheese Turnover. Wow, it was absolutely outstanding! As you can tell, they were pretty large and I didn’t think I would eat all of it. Well, I had no problem finishing this because after each bite it just got better and better. Simply divine.
The pastry was so flakey and delicious. Also, the apple filling was perfectly placed and you get that great taste of cheddar amongst the flakey pastry and sweet filling. Am I making your mouth water?
They were so delicious, I bought a few extra for the trip home. Even ate another one in the airport waiting for my flight home. Fabulous.
So with that, this fall I decided to try to come up with my own recipe for this outstanding turnover.
Creating My Version
Starting off, I use my favorite pie dough recipe and add cheddar to it. I love seeing the orange streaks throughout the dough and couldn’t wait to taste it.
Cheddar Pie Crust
Here is a simple Cheddar Pie Crust Dough and its super simple and delicious.
- 1 1/3 cup flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2-1 cup cheddar ( I use around 3/4 cup)
- 4 TBS butter, cold
- 4 TBS shortening, cold
- 3 TBS ice water
- 1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
In a food processor, place the flour and salt and pulse till mixed. Add cheddar. Add the cold butter and shortening pieces. Pulse in the water and vinegar till the dough just comes together. Bring the dough together and shape into a disc and wrap in saran wrap. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
Preparing the Pastry
Once the pastry is ready, I roll it out and cut with a round cutter for a medium size turnover and refrigerate till ready to fill.
It’s All About the Apples
For the filling, I just chop up some golden delicious apples and place in sauté pan in melted butter with some sprinkles of sugar, brown sugar, splash of water ,and cinnamon and cook till just tender. Not too soft.
Golden Delicious and Granny Smith are the two most apples I use to bake with. They are well equipped structually to hold up to the baking process without getting soggy.
Assembling the Cheddar Apple Turnovers
After the apples are cooled, they are ready for the pastry.
- The filling gets spooned down the center of each turnover
- Leaving space around the edges of the dough
- Egg wash is brushed around the edges
- Pastry is folded over the filling
- Turnovers are sealed with a fork
- Turnovers are brushed with egg wash
- Cheddar is sprinkled on the top
- A small slit is placed in the top for steam to escape
These are now ready for the oven. They go into a 375 oven for about 10-15 minutes till lightly golden.
One good tip is I use the end of a cake tester to put 2 small holes into the top of the pastry before baking.
Thoughts and Conclusions
You are probably guessing, yes I couldn’t wait to dive into them and had to exercise a bit of patience! It was tough….
I really loved them and they were delicious! The cheddar and flakiness of the dough really came shinning through. The sweetness of the apple filling was perfectly matched with the crust. As well as, a big thumbs up from my hubby who is a big apple pie lover.
I’m not sure they match the amazing turnovers at Krog Street Market, but they could be a close second.
All in all, it was a fun journey in the kitchen and there is nothing like a little inspiration to create something fun and delicious!
More great pie creations:
