Apple Turnovers With Gluten Free Cream Cheese Pie Crust

Apple Turnovers
With Gluten Free Cream Cheese Pie Crust

Did you ever test a recipe not really expecting it to be very good?  That’s how I felt about the cream cheese crust I used in these turnovers.  I’m usually a butter girl and that crust is delectable but knowing that this recipe doesn't call for any water had me intrigued.  I thought it may produce an even more tender flaky result since water can toughen the dough.  I also wondered if the cream cheese might ruin the flavor but there was only one way to find out.

There are a lot of recipes out there for cream cheese crust.  My version is a happy medium between a recipe I saw at William Sanoma's site which uses a less flour than I used and a version from Noreen’s Kitchen on Youtube which uses less butter.

When all was said and done I was extremely happy with the results.  The dough is easy to work with and even easier if you watch my video tutorial.  The end result here is the most tender, flaky buttery pastry you can imagine.

Folks, I've found myself a new pie crust recipe.

Apple Turnovers with Gluten Free Cream Cheese Pie Crust

Prep time: 45 min

Bake Time: 25-30 min

Servings: 4

Crust Ingredients (for 4 turnovers or a single pie crust)

• 1 ¼ cups gluten free flour (I used 185 grams of Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking Flour)
• 4 oz cold diced cream cheese (1/2 block)
• 4 oz cold diced butter  (1 stick)

Filling Ingredients

• 2 large pink lady apples (peeled and diced)
• 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
• large sprinkle of cinnamon
• light sprinkle of nutmeg
• 2 tsp corn starch
• 1 tbsp butter diced

Video Tutorial: 

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (or 190 °C) and line a baking sheet with parchment.
2. Load the bowl of a food processor by alternating layers of flour,  butter and cream cheese then pulse the ingredients until the large chunks break down into a bread crumb consistency then the crumbs come together to form a crumbly ball of dough.  (You don’t need to add any water whatsoever)
3. Knead the dough enough to bring it together into a large ball then divide it into four sections.
4. For the filling stir together the list of filling ingredients and set aside while you roll out the dough.  (see note #2)
5. To roll out the dough sandwich each disc between two small sheets of plastic wrap and roll from the center outward and as the edges get ragged you can lift the top sheet and straighten up the edges and continue to roll until you have a 7 inch round.
6. When they’re all done  add about ½ cup of the apple filling trying to arrange them as best as you can not to pierce the pastry.
7. Slip your hand under the plastic to help you fold over the pastry.  There will be about a one inch gap between the top and bottom layers but the pastry sticks to itself well so place your hand under the plastic and push the bottom up to meet the top layer and if you get a few small cracks in the top layer it will be ok since we’re going to put in vent holes anyway. (see video tutorial)
8. To transfer the turnover to the baking sheet, slide one hand under the plastic on the rounded edge, place the other hand next to the straight side gently flip it onto the palm of your hand then flip it back onto the parchment lined baking sheet.
9. Brush them with an egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar if you want then bake for 25-30 minutes.
10. When they come out let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then use a spatula to transfer to a baking rack to cool completely.
11. To dress them up even more once they've cooled, drizzle with a white glaze made with ½ cup of confectioner’s sugar and a tablespoon of cream or milk.  Let the glaze dry and set for 30 minutes and serve.

Notes:

1.  In the video tutorial, I made a double crust recipe then divided the dough in half. The recipe listed above represents half the recipe in the video which is enough for 4 turnovers.  To make the full double crust batch use the ingredients listed below:

-2 ½ cups gluten free flour (370 grams)

-8 oz cream cheese

-8 oz butter

2. For the filling, it is easier to work with a cooked filling since the apples have a softer almost jam-like texture so if you want to go that route sauté the filling ingredients with a few tablespoons of water until they cook down a bit but make sure to chill the filling before making the turnovers.