Cherry Turnovers

Cherry Puff Pastry Turnovers with Bourbon Glaze

I love fresh cherries and I live in cherry country, but they’re not always convenient, and cherry pie filling has its own thing going on that isn’t always the thing I want. Sometimes it’s too sweet and tastes more like filling than cherries, and other times I want a cherry turnover without waiting for the three weeks of the year when perfect cherries are sitting on my counter.

That’s why I prefer using frozen dark sweet cherries for these turnovers. I can make them for brunch, a holiday, a random Sunday, or whenever I decide I need a cherry turnover, and the filling still tastes like cherries. Since I’m cooking the fruit down anyway, frozen cherries make a lot more sense to me than standing there pitting a pound and a half of fresh ones only to cook them for half an hour. I’m really only willing to do that for fresh cherry pie.

The filling ends up dark, concentrated and very cherry-forward, which is what I want inside a turnover with this much puff pastry anyway.

What Makes This Recipe Different

• I start with 1½ pounds of frozen dark cherries instead of canned cherry pie filling, and I cook them down for 25 to 30 minutes until a lot of the liquid is gone. I didn’t use cornstarch to thicken the filling. Instead, I let the excess liquid cook away until the cherries are thick enough to spoon into the pastry without bringing a bunch of juice with them.
• I use both granulated sugar and light brown sugar in the cherries because the brown sugar gives the filling a more molasses flavor, which I especially like once the bourbon goes in. I add the bourbon after the cherries have reduced rather than cooking it with them for the full 25 to 30 minutes.
• Then I use bourbon again in the glaze, where its flavor is more noticeable because it never gets heated. The cinnamon stays out of the cherry filling completely and goes into the glaze instead, which keeps the cherries tasting more cherry-like rather than turning it into a spiced fruit filling.
• The puff pastry gets egg wash and a decent coating of coarse sugar before baking, then the cinnamon-bourbon glaze goes over the top once the turnovers have cooled. I like having the crunchy sugar under the glaze instead of relying on the glaze to do everything.
• And I really did design these around frozen cherries on purpose. They release lots of juice as they cook, but that isn’t a problem because the long cooking time is meant to get rid of the excess. By the time the filling is ready, the cherries have gone from frozen fruit sitting in a lot of liquid to something concentrated enough to spoon into puff pastry.

Ingredients

• Puff pastry – You need two sheets, thawed but still cold. It’s best to thaw them in the fridge overnight. Once they’re pliable enough to unfold, keep them from getting warm while you assemble the turnovers.
• Frozen dark sweet cherries – These go into the saucepan straight from the freezer. I like their dark color and sweeter cherry flavor, and frozen works well since the fruit is being cooked down anyway.
• Granulated sugar and light brown sugar – Both sweeten the cherry filling, but the brown sugar adds molasses flavor that goes well with the bourbon. If you’re out, you can make your own homemade brown sugar.
• Fresh lemon juice – A tablespoon is enough to give the cooked cherries some acidity with both sugars.
• Bourbon – I use it in two places. It goes into the cooked cherry filling after the fruit has reduced, then again in the glaze, where its flavor is more obvious because it isn’t being cooked.
• Egg – Beaten egg helps the folded pastry edges stick together and goes over the tops for better browning in the oven.
• Coarse sugar – Sugar in the Raw or another coarse sugar goes over the egg-washed pastry before baking. It gives the tops a noticeable sugary crunch under the glaze.
• Confectioners’ sugar – This is the base of the glaze and gives it enough body to sit on top of the turnovers.
• Whole milk – Used to loosen the glaze to a consistency that will drizzle without becoming watery.
• Vanilla extract – Does what it always does.
• Ground cinnamon – This stays in the glaze instead of going into the cherry filling, so the cinnamon is part of the finish rather than the cooked fruit.

How to Make Cherry Turnovers

Find the complete printable recipe with measurements in the recipe card at the BOTTOM OF THE POST.

• Step One (make the cherry filling)
  Add the frozen cherries, both sugars and lemon juice to a large saucepan over medium heat. Let them cook for 25–30 minutes, stirring often and mashing the cherries as they soften, but don’t turn them into baby food. I want some pieces of cherry left in there. You’re looking for the filling to get thick and concentrated, with no watery juice pooling around the fruit. Stir in the bourbon, take the pan off the heat and let the filling cool completely. Completely. If you’re impatient, put it in the refrigerator and move things along.
• Step Two (get the puff pastry ready)
  Preheat the oven to 400°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Give each sheet of thawed puff pastry a light roll to even it out, then cut each one into four squares so you have eight altogether. If the pastry starts getting soft or floppy while you’re working, put it back in the refrigerator for a few minutes. Cold puff pastry is much easier to work with, and keeping it cold gives the butter sheets a better chance of producing the puff once they get in the hot oven.
• Step Three (fill and seal the turnovers)
  Put 1½–2 tablespoons of cherry filling on one half of each pastry square, leaving about a ½-inch border around the edges. It’s very tempting to add more filling, and this is where I tell you not to. Too much makes the turnovers harder to seal and gives the cherries a very convenient exit route once they’re in the oven. Brush the border lightly with beaten egg, fold the pastry diagonally over the filling and press the edges together with a fork.
• Step Four (add the sugar and bake)
  Cut 2–3 small slits across the top of each turnover, brush the pastry with more beaten egg and be liberal with the coarse sugar. Bake for 12–15 minutes, but look at the pastry instead of automatically pulling them the second the timer says 12. You want them well puffed with good golden color across the tops. Move them to a wire rack and let them cool before you even think about putting glaze on them.
• Step Five (make the cinnamon-bourbon glaze)
  Whisk the confectioners’ sugar, milk, vanilla, bourbon and cinnamon together until smooth. If the glaze is too thick to drizzle, add milk 1 teaspoon at a time until it falls off the spoon the way you want it to. Once the turnovers are cool, drizzle the glaze over the tops and let it set before serving.

Recipe Tips

• Use the spatula test before taking the cherry filling off the heat. When you pull a spatula through the saucepan, you should briefly see the bottom rather than watery juice immediately running back into the space.
• A shallow bowl will cool the cherry filling faster than leaving it in the saucepan. Refrigerate it if needed, but don’t assemble the turnovers until the filling is cold.
• Keep the puff pastry cold while you work with it. If it starts feeling soft, floppy or slightly sticky while you’re assembling the turnovers, put it back in the refrigerator for 10–15 minutes before continuing.
• If cherry filling gets onto the pastry border, wipe it away before brushing on the egg wash. A dry, filling-free border gives you a much better chance of keeping the seam closed in the oven.
• Don’t get ambitious with the amount of filling. The 1½–2 tablespoons may look like you’re holding back, but once the pastry expands around it, there is plenty of cherry filling in each turnover. More isn’t an improvement if half of it ends up on the baking sheet.
• Let the color tell you when they’re finished. Puff pastry should be well risen and properly golden across the top and around the sides, rather than pale because the timer reached 12 minutes. The exposed pastry sheets along the sides are a good place to check.

Storage and Reheating

• Once the turnovers are completely cool and the glaze has set, keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. The pastry will gradually soften as it sits, especially in the refrigerator, so I reheat them when I want some of the crispness back.
• For the best texture, reheat the turnovers in a 325°F oven for 5–8 minutes or in an air fryer at 325°F for 3–4 minutes. The microwave will warm them, but it also turns puff pastry soft, so that would be my last choice.
• The glaze will soften and may partially melt when the turnovers are reheated. If you already know you’re saving some for later, leave those unglazed and add the glaze after reheating.
• Leftover cherry filling can be kept separately in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days from the day it was made.

FAQs

• Do I need to thaw the frozen cherries first?
  No. Put them directly into the saucepan frozen. They’ll release lots of liquid as they heat, which is expected and is why the filling gets a fairly long cooking time.
• Can I use fresh cherries instead of frozen?
  Yes. Use the same weight of pitted dark sweet cherries, but watch the saucepan rather than assuming the cooking time will be identical. The amount of moisture in fresh cherries varies, so use the consistency of the filling rather than the clock to decide when it’s ready.
• Can I make the cherry filling ahead of time?
  Yes. Make the filling up to 4 days before you plan to bake the turnovers and keep it covered in the refrigerator. For brunch or a holiday morning, this is the part I would get out of the way ahead of time.
• Can I leave out the bourbon?
  Yes. Just leave it out. You don’t need to replace the small amount in either the filling or the glaze with another liquid for the recipe to work.
• Can I use canned cherry pie filling?
  Technically, yes, but then you’re making a different turnover. This recipe was developed around cherries that are cooked down until the fruit itself becomes the filling, so canned pie filling will give you a sweeter, softer and more gelled center.
• Why did my cherry turnovers leak?
  Usually, it comes down to too much filling, cherry filling getting onto the pastry border, filling that wasn’t reduced enough, or pastry edges that weren’t completely sealed. A little leakage can happen even when you do everything right, but there should still be plenty of filling inside the turnover.
• Why didn’t my puff pastry rise?
  Check the temperatures first. Puff pastry that got warm during assembly, cherry filling that wasn’t completely cold, or an oven that hadn’t fully preheated can all limit the rise. You want cold pastry going into a fully heated 400°F oven.
• Can I freeze cherry turnovers?
  I haven’t tested baking these turnovers from frozen, so I can’t give you a reliable baking time for that method. If I wanted to make them ahead, I’d make the cherry filling in advance and refrigerate it, then assemble and bake the turnovers when I wanted them.

From My Kitchen Notes

Small observations from the margins.

• The sweetest things aren’t always the ones that need the most sugar.
• Sometimes things only hold together because the corners were pressed hard enough.
• Management is sometimes only possible once something has cooled down.
• You can fold something over itself and still not hide what’s inside.
• What’s inside eventually finds the weakest seam.
• Sometimes the mess is proof there was something inside.
• Not everything that spills is a failure.
• There are times when breaking open is the only way to see what was really there.
• A good seal is not the same thing as permanence.
• There are things you can make neater, but not less true.

More Reasons to Keep Puff Pastry in the Freezer

• Blackberry Puff Pastry Galette – Blackberries, puff pastry, coarse sugar.
• Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Breakfast Pastries – Sausage, eggs, sharp cheddar.
• Carrot Tart with Pistachio Pesto and Ricotta – Honeyed carrots, ricotta, pistachio pesto.
• Strawberry Cream Cheese Danishes – Cream cheese, strawberry jam, puff pastry.
• Chicago Hot Dog Pigs in a Blanket – Hot dogs, mustard relish, puff pastry.
• Almond Cruffins – Almond filling, flaky pastry, muffin shape.