Caramel Apple Turnovers – the easiest, most delicious seasonal treat! Loaded with fresh apples, cozy sugar and spices and of course, wrapped in a buttery puff pastry and drizzled with caramel. What more could you want?!
Thanksgiving is officially just a week away. Oh my goodness! Can you even believe that?! This year has truly flown by and I just don’t know if I’m ready for my favorite season to pass by so quickly.
But either way, it will come and go…so let’s enjoy it while it’s here, shall we?
And what better way to indulge during this holiday season than with these ultra delicious Caramel Apple Turnovers?!
These are the perfect dessert option for you if you might be like me and aren’t really interested in making an entire pie for Thanksgiving from scratch.
I’m all for a slice of homemade apple pie with vanilla ice cream but if you enjoy deliciously spiced apples, buttery pastry crust and caramel sauce, these will do the trick for you.
Why You’ll Love These Turnovers:
Oh where to begin, my friends!
First off – let’s just reiterate how EASY these are to make. Store-bought puff pastry, yes please!
Oh, and does anyone else love when they’re desserts are HAND HELD?! I’m all for multi-tasking and here for eating my desserts by hand! Ha!
The apples get cooked down to pure perfection where yes, you will be tempted to eat them with a spoon directly from the pan. How can anyone resist softened apples with cinnamon and brown sugar?! Definitely a weakness of mine!
And I mean you could probably just stop there and serve the apples as is…but let’s continue shall we?!
Like I mentioned above, you use store bought puff pastry for this recipe which makes everything SO easy. I always use Wewalka puff pastry (no this is not sponsored, just truly love them and their product) and it bakes up to golden brown perfection each time!
These turnovers are flaky, buttery and filled with gooey soft apples….just deliciousness.
And then of course, you could eat them as is, baked to perfection but I do love adding just a hint of extra indulgence with caramel sauce.
I used store-bought caramel sauce because once again – this recipe is all about simplicity! Add a generous drizzle of caramel as well as a sprinkle of flaky sea salt and you’re absolutely SET.
So let’s get into what you need to make these!
Ingredients You Need:
- Gala apples, diced (can use honeycrisp as well!)
- Salted butter
- Cornstarch
- Cinnamon
- Vanilla extract
- Brown sugar
- Store bought puff pastry
- Egg wash
- Raw sugar
- Store bought caramel sauce
- Flaky salt
Best Turnover Making Tips:
Let’s begin by making the apple filling aka the best part!
Chop your apples into small bite size pieces. You absolutely MUST melt butter on medium heat in a sauce pan and then add the apples, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon…all that good stuff.
Stir together and cook on medium heat for about 5-6 minutes, until they begin to get soft.
And like I said above, try to retain self control (unlike me, ha!) and not eat all of the filling. You may have some leftover you can snack on while they’re baking 😉
So, once the apples are cooked, remove them from the heat and let that mixture cool. This is a SUPER important step because you don’t want to put piping hot apples onto that refrigerated puff pastry crust. That would not be good!
While the apple filling is cooling, now is a good time to preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
The puff pastry I used was 13.2 oz, which yielded about 6 equal turnovers (with a little bit of dough leftover to make a couple of tiny cute ones)
Add the thawed puff pastry to a parchment paper lined baking sheet. I used a pizza cutter to carefully cut my puff pastry into 6 equal squares.
From there, you simply take the cooled apple filling and place about 1 and ½ to 2 tbsp worth of filling inside the pastry.
Carefully fold it over into a triangle, making sure none of the filling spills out.
Now it’s time to crimp the edges to ensure the filling really does stay inside! Crimp the edges with a fork.
Use the fork to poke a couple of holes in the top of the pastry to ensure that air can come out and it doesn’t explode!
Lastly – time to brush with egg wash! Super simple – just lightly beat an egg and then use a silicone brush to lightly top the pastries with it. This will ensure they come out golden brown!
And if you’re like me – you love a crunch on top…so I highly recommend to combine some raw sugar with cinnamon and generously sprinkle on top of these turnovers before you bake them.
Now it’s time to bake!
Bake these for 20-22 minutes, or until they are golden brown.
Let them cool for a few minutes but then feel free to drizzle them with warm caramel sauce, sprinkle with flaky sea salt and dig in!
Storing Leftovers:
To be honest, these are best eaten the day of! However, if you have any leftovers for this recipe, be sure to store them in a tightly sealed tupperware container at room temperature for up to 2 days. You can simply warm them up in the microwave for 10-12 seconds to get some warmth back into them 🙂
Not a fan of caramel? Here are a few other topping options:
Homemade whipped cream – who doesn’t love a gently whipped cream on top of anything apple related?!
Vanilla ice cream – a must have! It’s the perfect combination with the warm turnovers to have that delightfully cooling ice cream
Easy cinnamon vanilla drizzle – simply combine powdered sugar, a splash of vanilla extract, cinnamon and a splash of milk until your desired consistency is reach and generously drizzle on top of the turnovers!
Did you enjoy this recipe? Here are a few others you might like:
Strawberry and Cream Cheese Turnovers
Thank you so much for following along here, friends! Want to see more? Be sure to follow ourbalancedbowl on Instagram and tag me with your photo if you end up making a recipe! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the Our Balanced Bowl Facebook page! Like a recipe that you saw? Follow me on Pinterest here! I always love to see your re-creations! If you do make a recipe, it would make my whole day if you were to rate and comment so I can get your feedback! Lots of love! – Haylie
Caramel Apple Turnovers
Caramel Apple Turnovers - the easiest, most delicious seasonal treat! Loaded with fresh apples, cozy sugar and spices and of course, wrapped in a buttery puff pastry and drizzled with caramel. What more could you want?!
Ingredients
Apple Filling
- 1 and 1/2 medium gala apples, diced (about 2 cups)
- 2 tbsp salted butter
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
Turnovers
- 1 13.2 oz sheet store bought puff pastry
- 1 egg, lightly beaten for egg wash
- 2-3 tbsp raw sugar + 1/2 tsp cinnamon, mixed together
- store bought caramel sauce
- flaky sea salt for garnish (optional)
Instructions
-
Dice the apples into small bite size pieces. To a large pan, melt the butter on medium heat. Once melted, add in the diced apples, brown sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon. Mix together. Let these cook for 5-6 minutes or so to soften. Once they are done, set aside let this mixture cool for 15-20 minutes.
-
Once the apples are cooled off, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
-
Roll out your puff pastry onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
-
Slice the puff pastry into 6 equal squares.
-
To the middle of each square, add about 1.5-2 tbsp of cooked apples.
-
Gently fold over the pastry to make a triangle. Make sure that the edges line up and then crimp them with a fork to seal it. Make sure you crimp well to avoid the apple filling leaking!
-
Use the fork to poke a few holes in the tops of the turnovers.
-
Lightly beat an egg to make egg wash and brush it over top of the pastries.
-
In a small bowl, mix together the raw sugar and cinnamon. Generously sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over top of the puff pastry triangles.
-
Bake for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown.
-
Remove onto a wire rack to let cool.
-
Once the turnovers are fully cool, generously drizzle the store bought caramel sauce on top. If desired, add flaky sea salt on top! Enjoy!