Cherry Cheese Turnovers

Cherry Cheese Turnovers

By: Ally from Ally’s Sweet & Savory Eats

 

I’ve often said one of my bucket list dream jobs would be to work in a bakery.  Maybe minus the 3 a.m. wake up calls….obviously.  My favorite part would be putting the finishing touches on the baked goods and sliding them into the glass case in the front for all the customers to see.

 

Ahhh!  I would just love it.

 

Oh, and I would not be decorating or icing cakes.  That is NOT my thing.  I’d be more of the “baker” if you will.  Do they have jobs just for that?

 

These turnovers would be selling like hotcakes every morning!  They remind me of the fresh turnovers we get every fall when my daughter’s preschool goes on their yearly trip to the apple orchard.  The aroma hits you as soon as you walk into their rustic barn store.  I’m usually “that mom” walking out holding two boxes worth.

 

Hey, they freeze well.

 

I wanted to replicate these turnovers at home.  I knew instantly I would use my simple pastry dough recipe.  Can you believe it only contains three ingredients?  It is very versatile.  I actually use it in my Buffalo Chicken Hand Pies!

Yes, it works wonders on savory recipes as well.  I mean, go ahead and stuff Nutella in it, of course, or stuff sausage, peppers and onions in it.  Heck, you could even stuff peanut butter and jelly in it and make the fanciest kid sandwich known to man.  You really can do anything with it.

 

But today, my friends I cooked down fresh cherries {that I picked from my friend’s tree last summer} and boiled them down until they were thick and syrupy.  

And because I cannot make any recipe without some form of cheese, mix it with a block of cream cheese and watch all the kids swoon.  My preschooler ate a whole one after school the day I made them and then asked for ANOTHER!

 

When asking her what her favorite part of them was, she said, “the cherries!”  “Wait, the crust!”  “Never mind, it’s the frosting!”

 

“Mom, I don’t know, I can’t pick.”

 

Oh the frustrations of loving desserts.  The poor girl was torn over what part was better.  I have set her up for pastry failure later in life.

Once you have these babies stuffed, pinched, baked and drizzled with glaze, take a moment to let them cool.  They are great at room temperature, or slightly warm if you can’t wait for them to cool.  And they are great pulled from the freezer a month later!  Yes, they freeze awesome.  

 

Or make a smart move like I did and give half of them away.  Three went to my daughter’s preschool teachers and a couple went to a friend.

I could not be trusted with these things hanging around!

If making for a crowd {a baby or wedding shower would be fun!}, you could also, make mini versions or bite-sized turnovers to stretch the recipe a bit.  People would flip out.  I’m sure of it.

 

Homemade pastries do not need to be intimidating.  You can do this!  Three ingredient dough and a simple filling, topped with a three ingredient glaze.  Super simple.

 

And people will love you forever.

Interested in other cherry recipes?  I personally think it is a fruit that sometimes gets a bad rap, but really they are easy to work with and people love the darn things.  Get cooking!

 

 

If you missed Ally’s recipe last month, do yourself a favor and hop over today to print off her Chicken Parmesan Meatball recipe!