Warm spiced apple filling meets flaky, crunchy pastry dough in these delicious puff pastry apple turnovers. These homemade pastries are perfect for an easy sweet treat that you'll hardly believe can be both gluten free and dairy free!
One bite of these flaky homemade apple turnovers will take you back to the before days, sipping coffee with a fresh pastry at a cozy coffee shop. And since we are using store bought puff pastry sheets, the only labor involved is with making the apple filling. You're going to love this sweet little treat!
Ingredient Notes
These delicious apple turnovers use just a handful of common ingredients that can be found in most grocery stores. The majority of the ingredients are used to make a homemade apple filling, but you can save time with canned apple pie filling if you prefer.
- Apples - Granny Smith apples are my favorite type of apple for this recipe. They hold up well during cooking and are tart enough to balance the sweetness of the brown sugar.
- Store-bought puff pastry - I tested this recipe with both the Sweet Loren's puff pastry and the Schar puff pastry - both are gluten free and dairy free. I prefer the Sweet Loren's puff pastry. Although the Schar puff pastry puffs really well and turns a nice golden color, it had a bit of a greasy mouth feel in my opinion and it was harder to use since it comes frozen and tends to break when you roll it out. As always, feel free to use whatever brand you prefer. And if you're not gluten free, use regular puff pastry. The amount of apple filling in this recipe is enough for one sheet of puff pastry.
See recipe card for full ingredient list and quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- Not Dairy Free - use dairy butter and heavy cream in place of the dairy free ingredients.
- Not Gluten Free - Use your favorite brand of puff pastry. This recipe will only need one sheet.
- No Cornstarch - Replace the cornstarch with an equal measure of tapioca starch or arrowroot powder.
- Use Canned Pie Filling - Save time by replacing the homemade apple filling with canned apple pie filling (swap it with cherry pie filling or blueberry pie filling for a different flavor). Lucky Leaf brand is gluten free!
- Homemade Puff Pastry - If you want to try your hand at homemade puff pastry, it will work just fine in place of the store-bought dough.
How to Make Apple Turnovers with Puff Pastry
This recipe is very easy to prepare. The bulk of the work involved is for cooking the apple filling. Make sure to allow enough time for your filling to cool before putting it inside the puff pastry.
STEP 1: Add the butter to a skillet over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add in the diced apples, brown sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Cook for 5-10 minutes until the apples are fork tender.
STEP 2: Combine the water and cornstarch to create a slurry. Stir it into the apple mixture and continue to cook until the sauce thickens.
Remove from heat and allow the filling to cool for about 30 minutes before assembling the pastries.
STEP 3: Roll out the puff pastry. Use a sharp knife to trim it to a square shape and cut into 4 equal pieces for larger turnovers, or leave as a rectangle and cut into 6 pieces for smaller turnovers.
STEP 4: Place about 2 Tablespoons of apple filling on the square of puff pastry, as shown above.
STEP 5: Press the edges of the pastry together to form a triangle. Use a fork to seal the edges. Then brush the tops with egg wash (optional) and cut a small slit in the top of each turnover for the steam to escape.
Now you're ready to bake until they are golden brown and puffed.
STEP 6: Once the turnovers are fully baked, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack. Mix together the powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla to make the icing while the turnovers cool.
Drizzle the sweet glaze over the turnovers and serve.
Expert Tip
Egg wash gives you a shiny, golden exterior on your pastry. If you're egg free, you can omit it without any other adjustments.
Make sure you don't get egg wash on the edges of the pastry or else the layers will seal and it won't puff as well.
Storage
These apple turnovers store quite well for 1-2 days at room temperature.
More apple recipes to try:
If you try this recipe, please leave a 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the comments below.
Recipe
Puff Pastry Apple Turnovers
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Vegan Butter
- 1 Cup Granny Smith Apple about 1 apple peeled and diced into ½ inch cubes
- ¼ Cup Light Brown Sugar
- ½ teaspoon Lemon Juice
- ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ⅛ teaspoon Nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons Cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons Cool Water
- 9 ounces Gluten Free Puff Pastry
- Egg Wash (1 egg + 1 tablespoon water + ⅛ teaspoon salt beaten)
For the icing
- ½ Cup Powdered Sugar sifted
- 1 ½ teaspoons Plant Based Cream
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla
Instructions
- Add the butter to a medium skillet or saucepan over medium heat.2 Tablespoons Vegan Butter
- Once the butter has melted, add in the diced apples, brown sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Stir together and cook until the apples are fork tender, about 5-10 minutes.1 Cup Granny Smith Apple, ¼ Cup Light Brown Sugar, ½ teaspoon Lemon Juice, ½ teaspoon Cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon Salt, ⅛ teaspoon Nutmeg
- Combine the cornstarch and cool water to create a slurry. Add it to the cooked apples and continue to cook and stir until the sauce thickens.2 teaspoons Cornstarch, 2 teaspoons Cool Water
- Remove the pan from heat and allow the apples to cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400 °F (204 °C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll out your puff pastry. If making 4 larger turnovers, trim the pastry to a square shape then cut it into 4 equal squares. For smaller turnovers, cut the rectangle pastry into 6 small squares.9 ounces Gluten Free Puff Pastry
- Place the squares of puff pastry on the prepared baking sheet.
- Add 2 Tablespoons of apple filling to each pastry, slightly offset from the center and leaving a clean edge for sealing the pastry. (see photos above)
- Fold the square over forming a triangle. Use a fork to press the edges together.
- Carefully brush the tops of the pastry with egg wash, if using. Make sure not to egg wash the edges or they won't puff. Cut a small slit in the top of each pastry to allow steam to escape.Egg Wash
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and flaky.
- Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving to a wire cooling rack.
Prepare the icing
- Combine the powdered sugar, cream and vanilla in a small bowl and mix well.½ Cup Powdered Sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons Plant Based Cream, ½ teaspoon Vanilla
- Drizzle the icing over the slightly cooled turnovers. You can allow it to rest so the icing can harden or serve immediately while warm.
Notes
Tiffany is the recipe developer, stylist and food photographer behind Well Fed Baker. As a lifelong baker who had to go gluten free and dairy free in 2016, Tiffany strives to share allergen friendly recipes that never feel like they are free from anything.
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