Today’s extra flaky handheld apple turnovers come together with homemade puff pastry dough, gooey rich apple filling, and a drizzle of homemade caramel sauce on top. You can skip the from-scratch dough and use store-bought puff pastry if desired.
Have you ever tried making apple turnovers before? If not, let me encourage you. They’re much easier than a full apple pie, but with all the same apple and cinnamon goodness. These make a great dessert, or an indulgent breakfast—you can prep them ahead and bake fresh in the morning!
Consider these the fall version of fresh berry turnovers.
Why You’ll Love These Caramel Apple Turnovers, Too:
- Like apple hand pies, but with a crispy, airy rough puff pastry dough instead of pie crust
- An extra special breakfast treat, perfect for crisp fall mornings
- Can use homemade or store-bought puff pastry dough
- Easy 5-ingredient filling
- Delicious for dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and salted caramel sauce
Start With the Puff Pastry
You can absolutely use store-bought puff pastry dough. Be sure to thaw it before using. I encourage you, however, to try from-scratch puff pastry dough. I use a simpler “rough puff” method to make it. Hundreds of readers have tried it and have been pleasantly surprised with its ease. If you have a few hours (that can be broken up over a couple days!), try the homemade dough. It’s so flaky, and so worth it. 😉
Make the rough puff pastry dough ahead of time, because it needs to chill for a while before it’s ready to use in a recipe. I always make it the day before.
5-Ingredient Apple Filling for Turnovers
You’ll cook down the apples with the other ingredients on the stove. In just a few minutes, the apples will soften, and the juices will transform into a gooey, cinnamon-y sauce. YUM. Set the filling aside to slightly cool while you roll out your puff pastry dough.
How to Assemble Apple Turnovers
Once you have your store-bought dough thawed, or the homemade dough refrigerated (after the second refrigeration as detailed in the rough puff pastry post), it’s time to shape it. For the homemade dough, roll it into a square that’s about 12×12 inches in size. Cut 9 squares, about 4×4 inches each. I always use a pizza cutter to do this. For the store-bought dough, cut each sheet into 4 squares.
Spoon the filling into the center of each square. Fold one corner diagonally across over top of the filling, to make a triangle. Crimp the edges with a fork to seal in the filling.
At this point, I strongly recommend refrigerating the shaped pastries for 15 minutes to help them hold shape in the oven. Brush the chilled pastries with egg wash, so that they bake up beautiful and shiny. Be sure to cut a couple small vents into the top, so steam can escape and allow the pastry dough to puff up perfectly.
Don’t be surprised if some of the filling’s juices seep out on the baking sheet—that’s normal and expected.
Drizzle each with caramel sauce as the topping. You can reduce the salt to 1/2 teaspoon to make regular caramel sauce, or stick with 1 teaspoon for the salted variety. Instead of caramel, you could lightly dust them with confectioners’ sugar, drizzle with vanilla icing, or enjoy plain.
Here are the turnovers made with store-bought puff pastry. If you’re short on time, they’re extremely quick and easy this way!
Apple Turnovers Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
Instructions
- Prepare homemade rough puff pastry dough through 2nd refrigeration. If using store-bought frozen puff pastry, make sure it’s thawed. Keep either dough in the refrigerator until step 4 below.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook the apples, cornstarch, vanilla, cinnamon, and sugar. Stir constantly for 5 minutes. Reduce to low heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for 20 minutes.
- Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- If using homemade dough (makes 9): On a lightly floured work surface using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the puff pastry dough to a 12-inch square. Using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife, cut nine 4-inch squares. Transfer squares to prepared baking sheets (4 on one, 5 on the other). If using store-bought dough (makes 8): Unroll the puff pastry sheets onto a lightly floured surface. Using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife, cut each into 4 squares. Transfer squares to prepared baking sheets (4 on each).
- Spoon about 2–3 Tablespoons of apple filling onto the center of each square. Fold one corner of the square over the filling to make a triangle. Crimp the edges with a fork to seal.. Some apple juices may leak out; that’s OK. Chill the shaped turnovers in the refrigerator, covered or uncovered, for at least 15 minutes and up to 1 hour (or freeze, see freezing instructions below). You can preheat the oven and make the egg wash (next steps) as they finish up chilling.
- Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Whisk the egg and milk together. Using a pastry brush, brush on each chilled turnover. Cut 2 or 3 small steam vents in the tops of each to allow steam to escape.
- Bake for 23–25 minutes, or until the turnovers are golden brown. Some butter may leak from the homemade dough, that’s completely normal and expected. Rotate the pans halfway through bake time to avoid uneven browning.
- Cool the turnovers on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. If desired, drizzle each with caramel sauce before serving.
- Cover leftover turnovers and store at room temperature for 1 day or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Store-bought frozen puff pastry usually comes with 2 sheets, and you'll use both. Thaw the puff pastry for about 2 hours at room temperature. Do not let it get too warm, or it will be hard to work with. An easy way to do this is to put the frozen puff pastry in the refrigerator the night before.
Chopped pecans or walnuts make a wonderful addition to this filling; I love the extra texture they give to the gooey filling. Raisins are a common inclusion in apple strudel, and work just as well in these turnovers. Feel free to add about 1/4 cup of add-ins.
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