We bake apple turnovers, a delicious and comforting treat from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.
We’ll share our results, our recipes, and a little bit about our chosen stories on this blog.
AND we invite YOU to bake along with us.
Share what you make by tagging us with #DPPLBakes, send us your favorite recipes, or just enjoy reading our entries.
The Book:
‘There was a momentary lull, broken by Hannah, who stalked in, laid two hot turnovers on the table, and stalked out again. These turnovers were an institution, and the girls called them ‘muffs’, for they had no others and found the hot pies very comforting to their hands on cold mornings.
Hannah never forgot to make them, no matter how busy or grumpy she might be, for the walk was long and bleak. The poor things got no other lunch and were seldom home before two.’
From the universal lessons to the relatable, well-rounded characters, Little Women will always be a relevant and amazing piece of literature.
The story has stuck with me every since I read it, and I'm not ashamed to say I've seen the recent movie adaption three times.
It's just such a powerful coming-of-age story that emphasizes the importance of love, family, and following your true passions.
The Bake:
While the March sisters don't grow up with much, they make the most of what they have.
They always cherish the flavorful food their housekeeper Hannah prepares, especially her warm apple turnovers.
This perfect fall treat uses minimal ingredients and is super easy to make (and yes, you can buy store-bought puff pastry. Trust me, you'll want to).
For this bake, I used this recipe from Natasha's Kitchen. She also has a video to go along with the recipe so you can see firsthand how it's made.
Ingredients
Turnovers:
2 sheets of thawed store-bought puff pastry
3 medium granny-smith apples (peeled, cored, and diced)
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1 egg + 1 tbsp water for egg wash
Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1-2 tbsp heavy whipping cream
INSTRUCTIONS
Melt butter in a pot on medium heat. Add diced apples and stir occassionally for 5 minutes.
Turn heat down and brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Simmer for 3 minutes until apples are soft. Remove from heat and let cool.
Use rolling pin to roll first sheet of puff pastry into an 11 inch square. Use a pizza cutter to cut into 4 equal squares. Place apple mixture in the middle of each square, leaving at least a 1/2" border.
Beat together egg and water for egg wash. Brush mixture lightly on edges of pastry and bring the edges together, crimping tightly to seal.
Move turnovers to baking sheet and cut 2-3 small slits on the top of each. Stick in fridge for 20 minutes and preheat oven to 400.
Remove from fridge and brush the tops with more egg wash. Bake for 20-23 minutes.
Mix powdered sugar and cream to create glaze and drizzle over warm turnovers.
Enjoy!
Some things to note:
1. You CANNOT substitute phyllo dough for puff pastry. I learned that the hard way when I opened the package and saw how flimsy and hard to work with it is.
2. If you don't stick the turnovers in the fridge for 20 minutes, the filling is more likely to leak out while baking.
3. Don't add too much filling. You want to be able to close and crimp the edges easily. If you have some filling leftover the apples are delicious on their own too.
Overall the turnovers puffed up a lot while baking but the apples didn't leak.
They were flaky and delicious and perfect with the glaze!
We hope you enjoyed this edition of The Great DPPL Bake-Along.
Check back in two weeks for another delicious installment!
