Quick and Easy Dutch Apple Turnover Recipe

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I have always been a big fan of fruit—especially when stuffed inside a sugar-filled pastry. This quick and easy Dutch recipe will make your house smell like apple pie, but without locking you in your kitchen for hours. I loved making this cinnamony pastry with my grandma when I was younger. Back then I wasn’t a big fan of raisins, but they are much better after soaking them in rum!—and they bring that extra flavor to your cinnamon apples. This sweet dish is perfect for breakfast, an afternoon snack or for dessert.

INGREDIENTS (for four large apple turnovers)

  • 1 package (500 g) puff pastry rectangles (hojaldre) approx. 16 x 12 cm
  • 3 medium red apples
  • 4.5 tablespoons of sugar (separated)
  • 4 tablespoons of brown sugar (separated)
  • 5 tablespoons of cinnamon (separated)
  • 1 tablespoon of vanilla
  • 1 egg
  • handful of raisins
  • rum

METHOD

  1. Get the puff pastry out of the freezer to thaw while you prepare the apples; the pastry is easiest to handle when it’s at room temperature. In The Netherlands you can buy puffed pastry especially made for this Dutch apple treat—in Spain, it’s a bit more challenging to get the right size, but not impossible. Look for two uds. (unidades: units) of hojaldre in your local supermarket’s freezer section. This will give you two big slices of puffed pastry.
  2. Preheat the oven on 200°C (400°F) on fan mode.
  3. Put a handful of raisins in a thin layer of rum and let soak while you prepare the apples.
  4. Peel and core the apples and then chop them.
  5. Put the chopped apples in a large bowl and add 2.5 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 3 tablespoons cinnamon and vanilla. Mix until the apples are coated.
  6. Once your puff pastry is at room temperature, divide each slice into two rectangles (for a total of four). 
  7. For this recipe we need squares. Reshape the individual rectangles into squares of about 16 x 16 cm as you flatten out the pastry.
  8. Drain the rum off the raisins.
  9. Leaving about 2 cm around the edges, place a quarter of the apple mixture on each puff pastry square, making sure to place the mixture on just one half of the pastry in a triangle, then add some raisins.
  10. Fold the empty triangle half over the filling making the squares into triangles. Make sure you leave plenty of room along the edges. Crimp the top and bottom edges of the pastry together with a fork, then fold the edge over on itself and crimp again. This will both prevent the filling from spilling out while baking and give you a nice thick edge once the turnovers are baked.
  11. Line a tray with baking paper and place your apple turnovers on it.
  12. Whisk an egg and brush a thick layer on top of the pastries.
  13. Mix In a bowl the remaining sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon. I use two tablespoons of each because I like mine with lots of cinnamon and a nice layer of sugar! But, you can use less, depending on your taste. This will create a crunchy, delicious cinnamon-and-sugar crust on top.
  14. Sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar on top until you get a thin layer all across the pastries.
  15. Bake on the center rack for 20 minutes. I recommend checking them after 10 minutes; you may have to rotate the pan in the oven to make sure they bake evenly. Check again after 18 minutes to make sure they don’t burn.