Sunday, June 6, 2010

UNSUPERVISED GROCERY SHOPPING YIELDS DELICIOUS RESULTS : PART II



Ok ok. I know I said that this blog was all about healthy, delicious meals. And I know that my last few (or so) posts have been deep fried or dessert-oriented. And you are right. I'm deviating from the plan. But not for long. I just had a long and exciting day of baking and when I get fresh and delicious fruits all I can think is.. DESSERT!

But fret not. Tomorrow, I make dinner. It's gonna be great.

More to the point, these Aldi cherries were uncharacteristically good. I mean. awesome delicious. And I have been meaning to get on it in the cherry dessert world lately.

It took me about 2 minutes to find this Cherry Turnover Recipe from FlamingoBear.



Her recipe is for sour cherries and I tend to take the sweet route more often than the sour one, so I went with my gut. I happened to have exactly the right amount of cream cheese left after the frosting for my lime cupcakes was made, so I decided to halve this recipe as well and opt for mini turnovers. After all, there aren't enough mouths that need feeding for this bakefest to take place. I have quite a few cherries left over, -even after snacking on them all day before the baking began - so I'm going to make these again tomorrow, hopefully prettier this time around. I kind of panicked in the last 15 minutes of forming these things, as I had a couple of antsy people to feed and it resulted in some pretty ugly turnovers. Delicious, but hideous. So hopefully, more pictures of those to come.


CHERRY TURNOVERS
ADAPTED FROM FLAMINGOBEAR



makes 9 (I halved it and ended up with about 9 mini turnovers)

Cream Cheese Crust

1½ cups (7½ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon sugar
pinch of salt
1 stick (4 ounces) cold unsalted butter, diced
1 (8-ounce) package cold cream cheese, cut into 8 pieces

Cherry Filling

¼ cup (1¾ ounces) sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
pinch of salt
2½ cups (14½ ounces) unpitted cherries (to end up with 2¼ cups or 12 ounces once pitted)
squeeze of lemon juice
splash of vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar

1. Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of the food processor and process until blended. Add the diced cold butter and process for 8-10 seconds, until the mixture looks like bread crumbs. Add the cream cheese and pulse until large, shaggy clumps of dough form.

(after adding the butter but before the cream cheese)

2. Turn the shaggy dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead gently 2 or 3 times to create a cohesive dough. Flatten into a 7-inch square (about ¾-inch think) and wrap in plastic. Chill for 30 minutes.

3. Place the dough back onto a lightly floured board and roll into a square about 1/8-inch thick. Trim to a 15-inch square. Using a ruler, lightly score 5-inch increments along all sides of the dough. Cut the dough into 9 (5-inch) squares and chill them while preparing the filling.

4. Pit the cherries. You may use your fingers only, a knife, a cherry pitter, or my personal favorite tool for this task (I feel the need to mention that this is way trickier than it sounds. It is also very time-consuming. Flamingobear suggests using a paperclip but it did not work for at all. I ended up cutting the cherries in half around the pit and twisted them apart, like you would with an avocado, removing the pit with my finger. It worked just fine, but I'd still like to perfect this paperclip business.)

5. Whisk the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a small bowl to blend. Stir in cherries, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Toss until the cherries are evenly coated.


6. Retrieve the crusts from the chill chest and divide the filling evenly among one-half of each of the squares, leaving a narrow border along the edges.

7. In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg yolk with the milk to create an egg wash. Brush a thin coat of egg wash on the outside border around the fruit. Fold the dough in half over the fruit and press the edges with the tines of a fork to seal. Trim with a bench scraper or knife to make the edges nice and neat.

8. Transfer all the turnovers to a baking sheet lined with parchment or a Silpat and refrigerate for 20 minutes before baking.

9. While turnovers are chilling, preheat oven to 375°F.

10. Brush the top of each turnover with a thin coat of egg wash and sprinkle generously with turbinado sugar. Use the tip of a paring knife to cut several slits in the top of each to allow steam to escape during baking.

11. Bake for 15 minutes, rotate front to back, and bake 10-15 minutes longer, until the pastry is golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack. Serve the turnovers warm or at room temperature.

I glazed them with THIS glaze recipe from Cooks.com


Storing: The turnovers keep at room temperature, wrapped in plastic or in an airtight container, for 2 days. To recrisp and rewarm, heat in a 375°F oven for 10 minutes. For longer storage, wrap airtight and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Reheat before serving.

Make Ahead Options:

-Through step 2 – The dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or slipped inside a freezer bag and frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling.
-Through step 3 – Place rolled-out squares between sheets of parchment or wax paper on a baking sheet, and refrigerate for up to 2 days. You may also freeze them, layered between sheets of parchment, wrapped in plastic and sealed in a freezer bag or airtight container for up to 2 months.
-Through step 8 – The turnovers may be chilled for up to 1 hour before baking. Any longer and the sugar melts and blends in with the cherry juice, causing the dough to become soggy. (And who likes a turnover with a soggy bottom?) Or they may be frozen, double wrapped in plastic, for up to 1 month. Apply the egg wash and sugar just before baking. No need to thaw – just bake the frozen turnovers as directed, adding 5-10 minutes to the baking time.


Recipe Soundtrack: "Tout Doucement" By Feist.

1 comment:

  1. i enjoy you posted something on fresh cherries. - i love them!

    ReplyDelete