Apple Turnovers

As much as I love apple pie, sometimes I just want the easy way out. So what's the solution? Apple Turnovers! These are so easy to make..and to eat! This recipe is absolutely fool-proof. The secret lies in the pie crust. It is beautiful, buttery, and flaky. As it bakes, it forms a gorgeous golden brown crust that is crunchy and soft at the same time!

For the butter crust pastry:

Ingredients:

1. 256 g plain flour
2. 113 g unsalted butter (cut into small cubes and frozen for 1 hour at least)
3. 1 tbsp sugar
4. 1 tsp salt
5. 6 tbsp ice water

Method:

1. In your food processor, add in half the flour, then the frozen cubes of butter. Now add in the remaining flour, sugar and salt. 
2. Pulse on and off for a few seconds. Do this for about a minute.
3. Now add in your ice water.
4. Pulse on and off again until you have something that resembles fine bread crumbs. 
5. If you take a some of the mixture and press it between your thumb and index finger, it should come together. 
6. Tip the breadcrumbs on to your work surface, and press them together to form a disk of dough. 
7. The dough needs to cool in the refrigerator for 1 hour at least.

Tips:

1. Make sure the butter and water are ice cold, as the frozen butter is what gives the dough its amazing texture.
2. Don't pulse the dough for too long, or it will become too wet. 
3. You can make this dough the night before and place it in the fridge over night. 

For the apple filling:

Ingredients:

1. 2-3 apples (cored, peeled, and cut into cubes of about 2cmx2cm)
2. 2 tbsp butter
3. 1/4 tsp salt
4. 32 g sugar
5. 2 tbsp brown sugar
6. 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
7. 1-2 tsp water

Method:

1. In a non stick saucepan, melt the butter until it starts bubbling. 
2. Add in your apples, salt, sugar, and cinnamon.
3. Cook for as long as you like. I cook mine for about 5-6 minutes. 
4. Add a few spoons of water to deglaze the pan. 
5. Set aside the mixture to cool.
6. Divide your dough into 12 parts. Roll out circular shapes about 1/8th of an inch thick. 
7. Spoon the apple mixture on to one half of the circle, leaving some space around the edge. 
8. Now, fold over the dough to form a semi circular shape. Make sure you leave about half an inch of space between the top and bottom dough. 
9. Tuck the extra half inch of dough from the bottom to the top. This will seal your little pies. 
10. To be extra careful, you can also crimp the edges. I always do (although I'm not very good). 
11. Make 3 small ventilation holes at the top of each turnover. This is very important, or your oven could explode. 
12. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees for 25-30 minutes.