🍁Falling for these Apple Turnovers!🍎

 

🍁 FALL IS IN THE AIR!!

🍏Hey beautiful souls! On Labor Day, our kiddos had the day off from school, and us from work, and the weather had shifted to a cooler, 70 degree, Fall-like day! We knew we had to make a fun trip to visit our local apple orchard, Tuttles Farms! It was a sunny day with a cooler breeze, and immediately my daughter and son began skipping down the path between rows and rows of delicious red and green apples! Finn glanced behind his shoulder to make sure Mom was still there. haha! 

 

 

 

🍎Finn is autistic and mostly nonverbal, and one of his favorite apps on his iPad is a language learning app with adorable little monster that are so funny as they spell words and form sentences. Finn has learned and said so many new words thanks to this app, even sometimes in Spanish! A recent video he's been re-watching repeatedly is of one monster at an apple orchard, and he's collecting apples, while the narrator asks, "Will there be any apples left, after Brock shakes the tree?" So what does Finn do immediately after walking up to an apple tree? He shakes the branches, just like Brock the cute little monster! haha! We laughed and then showed Finn how to be gentle, and just pull the single apple from the tree. Little dude is so funny. We filled a huge bag full of yummy apples! 

 

 

 

 🍏We helped Finn pick a ton of big, juicy apples, reaching up high with the help of Sissy and Dad's shoulders, still plucking even while strolling back toward the entrance, apples rolling from the top of the bag, but caught before reaching the ground. We had plenty to munch on later, and to bake for some Fall treats! We spent the rest of our afternoon on the farm, swinging, sliding down huge tunnel slides, running through the corn maze, and all the things!

 

 

 🍎Now we bake!! My go to for desserts is usually something chocolate, or coffee flavored, Tiramisu always being my favorite dessert! I do love a blackberry cobbler, and made that this summer! That recipe is on this blog too! My husband has always been a huge apple dessert lover! I wanted to make something different, not just an apple pie. So I thought I'd make a handful of hand pies or turnovers! I knew I wanted to make caramel and inject the little pies with caramel to mix with the apples and all the Fall spices of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and brown sugar! YUMMMMMM!  

 

🍏INGREDIENTS:

 

Apple Filling:

4 apples chopped into small cubes

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp clove

1 tsp nutmeg

1/4 cup brown sugar  

 

Pie crust:

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup butter

4-5 TBSP cold water

 

Caramel:

 6 TBSP butter

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream

 

 

🍎DIRECTIONS:

1. Let's begin with the apples, chop them into cubes, and add them to a medium sized bowl, adding in the spices and tossing the apples so they're generously covered in the spices.

 

2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. 

 

3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

 

4. Start to slow cook the caramel by placing your double boiler onto the stove, filing the bottom pot with water, and the top slowly melting the butter. Careful to keep on low heat to prevent the butter burning. Once melted, add the sugar. Mix until well blended. Add in the heavy cream, mix well, and turn up the heat a little. When the mixture begins thickening, the end is near. Caramel is tricky, it needs to be babysat pretty well, constantly mixing, and once the color turns from yellow to a golden brown, turn off the heat to prevent burning. This process usually takes me 30 min give or take. 

 

5. For the pie crust, add the flour and salt to a large bowl and using a fork, blend well. Add in the butter, and continue to blend well using the fork. Little clumps will begin to form. Add in 1 TBSP of the cold water, and mix well. Continue to add in 1 TBSP of water, and mix, add water and mix, until all 5 TBSP of water have been added. Sprinkle flour onto the counter surface. Begin to knead the dough over and over into a ball, and roll out the dough onto the floured surface. This will make an approximately 10-12 inch size rectangular shape of dough. Try to keep the dough approximately 4-5 mm thick so apples don't puncture through. Using a pizza cutter or knife, slice the dough into 4 inch strips. 

 

6. Using a spoon, scoop the apples onto the end of a dough strip, and fold the opposite end over the apples, pinching along the open sides, and then followed by a fork to secure. Place pies onto the baking sheet, brush with butter, top with sprinkled brown sugar. 

 

7. I repeated this process another time, so I could fill the baking sheet with 6 apple turnovers. Repeat as needed. 

 

8. Bake turnovers for 40-45 minutes at 375 degrees in the oven.

 

9. When the turnovers are ready, remove baking sheet and place on trivet, and pour the caramel over the turnovers, and allow to cool. 

 

10. Enjoy as is, or add a few scoops of yummy vanilla ice cream, and DIVE IN!! They're delicious!!