These Easy Puff Pastry Cherry Turnovers feature a tender, flaky puff pastry crust filled with a bright, tart cherry filling. Once cooled, they are finished with a simple vanilla glaze. Perfect for breakfast or dessert.
Tart red cherries become irresistibly jammy when cooked briefly with sugar and a touch of cornstarch. In about five minutes you’ll have a thick, syrupy cherry filling that tastes like the best part of cherry pie. The perfect vessel for that filling is flaky puff pastry — lots of thin layers that bake up golden and crisp, hiding a spoonful of cherry goodness inside. These turnovers are straightforward, forgiving, and impressive.
Puff pastry is one of the easiest doughs to work with when you keep it cold and handle it gently. With a little attention to temperature and simple assembly steps, you can have bakery-style turnovers at home.
Here’s how easy these are to make…
- Simmer red tart cherries with sugar and cornstarch over medium heat until the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes.
- Roll out thawed puff pastry on a floured surface and cut into squares.
- Brush the edges of each square with egg wash to help seal them.
- Place a spoonful of cherry filling in the center, fold, and crimp the edges. Chill briefly, then bake until puffed and golden.
Tips for making perfect puff pastry turnovers
- Work only with cold dough. If it softens, chill it in the refrigerator or freezer for a few minutes.
- After shaping the turnovers, refrigerate or freeze them until they’re cold again before baking. Cold dough gives the best rise and flakiness.
- Don’t stretch the dough by pulling — use a rolling pin to enlarge it gently.
- If the dough cracks while unfolding, sprinkle a little water on the crack and press the dough back together with your fingers.
- Brush the edges with egg wash — it acts as the “glue” to seal the turnovers. Crimping helps too, but the egg wash is essential for a tight seal.
One last tip…
- Wait until the turnovers are completely cool before drizzling the glaze. Applying glaze while they are warm will cause it to soak in and make the pastry lose its crisp, flaky texture.
More red tart cherry recipes you might like…
Soft Crust Cherry Cobbler
Cherry Vanilla Cream Pie
Red Tart Cherry Fritters
Homemade Tart Cherry Pie
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Easy Puff Pastry Cherry Turnovers
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- Author: Cindy Gibbs @ My Country Table
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8
- Category: Breakfast/Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
These cherry turnovers are quick to assemble and delicious warm or at room temperature. They make a great breakfast treat or a simple dessert that everyone will enjoy.
Ingredients
FOR THE TURNOVERS
- 1 box (2 sleeves) puff pastry sheets, thawed
- 1 bag (16 ounces) frozen red tart cherries, thawed
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 drop red food coloring (optional)
- 1 large egg yolk
- Turbinado sugar for sprinkling
FOR THE GLAZE
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 to 3 1/2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
FOR THE TURNOVERS
- Drain the thawed cherries, reserving 1/4 cup of the juice. Whisk the cornstarch into the reserved juice until smooth. In a medium saucepan combine the cherries, sugar, and the cornstarch mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the filling thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, add a drop of red food coloring if desired, and chill the filling until cool.
- Work with one puff pastry sheet at a time and keep the other refrigerated. On a well-floured surface, roll the pastry into a square and cut into four equal squares. Brush the edges of each square with the egg wash.
- Spoon about 2 tablespoons of cherry filling onto the center of each square. Fold one corner over to meet the opposite corner to form a triangle, then crimp the edges with a fork to seal. A little filling may oozes out and that’s fine.
- Place the turnovers on the prepared baking sheet, brush the tops with egg wash, and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
- Repeat with the second sheet of pastry. Chill the assembled turnovers in the refrigerator or freezer until very cold before baking.
- Bake the turnovers until puffed and lightly golden, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature.
FOR THE GLAZE
- In a small bowl whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk until smooth. Once the turnovers are completely cool, drizzle the glaze over the tops with a spoon.
- Serve at room temperature or slightly warmed.
Notes
Store turnovers in an airtight container. They are best the day they are made and will stay reasonably fresh for up to two days, though they may lose some puff after the first day.
Keep the dough cold while working. If it warms, chill it in the freezer for a few minutes. After shaping, chill the turnovers again before baking to ensure maximum flakiness and rise.
Refer to the tips above the recipe for additional guidance on perfect turnovers.