Chrystal here and it’s my first recipe on Girls on Food! I just want to start by sharing a recipe perfect for summer. Since pineapples and cherries are superb this time of the year, I thought I’d turn them into some beautiful turnovers. I love these pastries because they’re simple and great if you’re busy traveling and need a quick breakfast, spending a day at the beach or just want something to satisfy that sweet tooth. These turnovers are also fun to bake with your friends!

Cherry Pineapple Turnovers

Recipe makes about 1 dozen large turnovers

Preheat oven to 350º

For the dough:

1 package store bought pastry sheets

1 egg with a TBL of water for egg wash

For the filling:

½ Pineapple

1 cup cherries

1 TBL unsalted butter

½ cup light brown sugar

1 TBL orange juice

1 TBL Cornstarch

Pinch of nutmeg

Pinch of cinnamon

Directions:

The first step is to make the filling then let cool.

Here’s how to make the filling: Wash, rinse, and cut your fruit into small pieces think ¼ inch to ½ inch size. Set those aside and gather the rest of your ingredients.

Start by heating a small sauce pot and melting a tablespoon of butter on a med/low heat. Once melted, add your sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and all your fruit.

Using a spatula mix all the ingredients so that the sugar is coating the fruit and all the spices meld together.

Whisk your cornstarch with orange juice in a small bowl (this will make your filling thick). Once the ingredients are mixed and have been on heat for a couple of minutes, the sugar and the juice from the fruit combined should make a soupy like a compote, this is when you can add that orange juice and cornstarch mixture.

Once you add that, again continue to stir for a couple more minutes, and you will see the fruit and all its juices become thick, it might look a little like jam. As soon as this occurs, turn off the heat and transfer into another bowl to chill. Place in fridge until the turnovers are ready to be assembled.

To assemble you will need a few more things:

A rolling pin

A flat board or work surface

Flour for dusting

A pastry brush for egg wash

A fork to close seams on turnovers

Sheet trays and parchment or aluminum foil for baking

Cooking spray or baking spray

Preheated oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure you have everything, a preheated oven, fruit filling and egg wash (whisk an egg with some water in a small bowl, this is to close the turnovers).

Now let’s get started, I use the Pepperidge Farms Puff Pastry Sheets, which come two to a box.  Flour your work surface and then place one of those sheets on top. With a floured rolling pin, slowly apply pressure to the dough by rolling back and forth until it becomes a wider rectangle on all sides. Roll until you have a half inch wider on all sides, then cut your dough in half, then in thirds so that you have six even squares.

Spoon your filling in the middle of each square; one generous spoonful should be fine.

Next, using a pastry brush, brush egg wash on all sides of each square, then take the bottom left corner of each square and pull the dough over to the right corner forming a triangle. Do this to all six squares. Then take a fork, flour it, and press that fork along all sides of each triangle creating a closed seam and a lovely design.

Place each triangle on a sprayed baking sheet. Clean your surface a bit then do the same steps with the other sheet of dough. Once all the turnovers are on the baking sheets, egg wash them and make a couple of tiny slits on the surface to let some steam out while baking. Bake for 20-25 min till they have a nice golden brown color. Let cool for a few minutes and then enjoy!