Flaky puff pastry pockets filled with spiced pears are baked until golden then coated in cinnamon sugar for the perfect Fall recipe. These pear turnovers will have you swooning! When you bite into these handheld beauties you sink into the sweet crunch of cinnamon sugar and a hint of melted butter with airy pastry and a cardamom pear fruit compote. These are small in size but so big in flavor!
Once Fall season arrives the delicious inspiration and fall recipe ideas start flowing. There doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day to create every recipe buzzing through my baking brain. When I developed the recipe for these spiced pear turnovers I had been in the middle of making rough puff for napoleons. But I had some Bosc pears that were calling my name and I knew I had to make the most Fall inspired dish out of them. Spiced pear turnovers came to my mind immediately and these are now one of my favorite pear recipes ever! They have warm baking spices and vanilla bean paste that infused the tender pears and will fill your home with the scent of Fall magic.
Pear Turnovers
Turnovers are simply puff pastry that is filled with a fruit compote then folded over, usually as a big triangle, then baked until puffed and golden. They can be savory or sweet and often times, the sweet ones have a drizzle of icing. Turnovers are fried or baked. They are crisp and light while also having a richness to them. Turnovers are much like a pastry version of a hand pie. They are handheld and so tasty! They really do make the best fall recipe!
These turnovers are mini, and rather than having an icing, they are brushed in melted butter right out of the oven and then dusted in cinnamon sugar. I mean, why should apple cider donuts have all the cinnamon sugar coating fun?
Puff Pastry For Turnovers
The rough puff pastry recipe for these pear turnovers can be found here. And you can always use frozen then thawed store bought puff pastry as well. That recipe will give you more puff pastry than you will need for these mini turnovers. So you can slice up the scraps, bake them, and then toss them in butter and remaining cinnamon sugar for a sweet puff pastry chips! That’s a very tasty snack! Or, feel free to bake more classic turnovers by slicing the entire rolled out rectangle of puff pastry into equal squares so then you would use all of it. The sky is the limit with these delicious pear turnovers! And it’s also an easy fall recipe if you use store-bought puff pastry.
Pear Turnover filling
This fruit filling recipe makes pears the Fall ingredient you need to be baking with! Pears are diced and tossed in lemon juice to prevent browning. Then, the pears are cooked with melted butter, brown sugar, vanilla bean paste, ground cinnamon, and ground cardamom. A touch of cornstarch thickens it all up for a pie filling texture that won’t leak out during baking. I have found the flavor and filling texture caramelizes and is much better when you do a quick cooking of the filling prior to baking.
Assembling the pear turnovers is easy. You just cut the turnovers into either squares or rounds. Then you put a tablespoon of pear filling onto one side, fold the pastry over, use a fork to seal it all up, brush with egg wash, and you bake!
Thanks for baking my hand crafted recipe for the best turnovers.
I hope you enjoy these Pear Turnovers as much as we did! For more free recipes join me on Instagram. Happy Fall baking!
Pear Turnovers
Flaky puff pastry is filled with buttery spiced pears, baked until golden brown, then brushed with butter and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.
Ingredients
- 1 Batch puff pastry homemade or storebought
- 4 Bosc pears peeled and diced
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1-2 tablespoons warm water
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar for cinnamon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon for cinnamon sugar
- 1 egg yolk for egg wash
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream for egg wash
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
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Peel and slice and dice pears into small chunks. Toss in lemon juice to prevent browning.
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Use a large saucepan to melt butter on medium heat until sizzling. Then add pears and cook for two minutes, coating them with butter.
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Add brown sugar, spices, and vanilla and stir to coat pears.
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Lower heat to medium low- Then combine cornstarch and up to 2 tablespoons of water so it’s liquid. Then pour over pears and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.
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Lightly dust countertop with flour and roll out puff pastry into a rectangle of 1/8 inch thickness. This is where you can cut into equal squares or use a cookie cutter. *store-bought puff pastry doesn’t need to be rolled out, as it should be ready to go once thawed. You would use 1 1/2-2 sheets of store-bought, depending on if you stamp out or cut them into squares.
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If using a cookie or biscuit cutter, dip it into flour so it won’t drag the pastry. Stamp out circles and place onto baking sheet.
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For egg wash, add egg yolk and cream to a small bowl and mix with a fork. Then brush the outer circle with wash to help it stick once folded. Add a rounded spoonful of filling to one side. Fold over. Take a fork and seal it by pressing tines around edges.
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Brush each turnover with egg wash. Bake for 16-19 minutes, until golden brown.
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Allow them to cool for 5 minutes so they don’t burn you. You can always refrain from touching them and use a spatula or do this hands free with a pastry brush and by sprinkling the sugar on.
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Then melt butter in a small bowl. Make cinnamon sugar mixture. Then carefully brush melted butter onto warm pastries before sprinkling on sugar. Alternatively, coat them in sugar mixture.
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Serve warm.
Recipe Notes
*This recipe makes either 16 mini turnovers or 9 larger turnovers.
*store-bought puff pastry doesn’t need to be rolled out, as it should be ready to go once thawed. You would use 1 1/2-2 sheets of store-bought, depending on if you stamp out or cut them into squares.
*use a 1/2 tablespoon of filling for mini turnovers and 1 tablespoon for larger.
* If you have any leftover filling then use it as a compote served on the side or for dipping any baked puff pastry scraps into.
* If you have leftover puff pastry, slice up into scraps and bake for a few minutes, until puffed and golden. Then brush with butter and toss in cinnamon sugar. You can serve these as a delicious treat along with any leftover fruit compote or chocolate sauce for dipping.
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