Old fashioned Rhubarb apple turnovers

Old fashioned Rhubarb apple turnovers. A light, buttery, and flaky pastry encases a scrumptious filling made of rhubarb, apple, and spices. The lemon icing takes these mildly sweet turnovers over the top good. Perfect summer treats to have as a snack, to finish off a meal, or to bring to outdoor gatherings.

Song of the day: Teach Me Tonight - Dinah Washington

Old fashioned Rhubarb apple turnovers

I hear a lot that most of my baked goods seem snucked from grandma's recipe box. I take it as a compliment. Turnover, or hand pie, is a simple, unpretentious, dessert that's been around for centuries. A piece of pastry folded in half over a filling, with the edges crimped together to seal the filling inside, and baked till golden brown. You can make turnovers with store bought puff pastry, or, like me, with a butter pie dough made from scratch.

Rhubarb apple combination

We all know how rhubarb and strawberry are great together, but how about rhubarb and apple? It is less common, although, the tangy rhubarb finds in the sweet, plump apple its perfect companion.

Cook rhubarb and apple together

In order to obtain the filling for our turnovers, you need to chop both apple and rhubarb, then cook it alongside lemon zest and juice, sugar, vanilla, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt.

• Place chopped rhubarb and apples into a medium pot over low heat. Add the sugar, lemon, and spices. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 15-20 minutes, or until apples have softened and liquid has almost all evaporated. Place in a bowl and let cool before filling the turnovers.

Making pie dough is easier than you think

You can either make the dough in a bowl by hand, in a food processor, or in a stand mixer. The main thing to keep in mind is not to overwork it.

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted the paddle (K) attachment, mix flour, sugar, and salt. 
2. Add cubed cold butter and work it until the largest pieces are pea-size.
3. Add ¼ cup of water and mix. Continue adding 1 tablespoon of water at a time just until dough comes together (no more than 3 tablespoons).
4. Gather the raggedy dough into an imperfect ball, flatten it, then wrap it in plastic. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Assembly time

• Take dough out of the fridge, unwrap, and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll into a ⅛"-thick round.
• With a 5"-diameter cutter, cut out as many rounds as you can. Reroll the scraps, place onto a parchment lined baking sheet and let sit in the fridge for 10 minutes. Then, cut out more rounds. I made 10 rounds, and I had still a little dough leftover that I wrapped in plastic, and put in the freezer for later use.
• Working one at a time, spoon 1 heaping tablespoon of filling on one side of the round, avoiding adding any juice that might be at the bottom. Fold the empty side up and over the filling to bring edges together and create a half-moon. Crimp the edges with a fork to seal. Arrange the turnovers on two parchment-lined baking sheets and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

• Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C (I used 390°F/190°C convection oven).
• Beat the egg in a ramekin and brush the top of the turnovers. Then, prick the top with a fork.

• Bake until golden, about 25-30 minutes.
• Let cool on the baking sheet first, then place on a rack over a baking sheet.
• When cold, drizzle the top of the turnovers with icing and let harden.

The fragrance coming from the kitchen as these turnovers are baking is delightful. You can already taste how good they are going to be.

The lemon icing

In the end, you can leave the Old fashioned Rhubarb apple turnovers plain, without adding any icing/frosting. However, since both the pastry and the filling aren't super sweet, the icing gives a depth of flavor to the whole. We decided to add some lemon juice and zest to the icing sugar and milk, and mix it until we got a nice "drizzable" consistency. You could also make a cream cheese icing, if you wish.

• In a medium bowl, add icing sugar, vanilla and lemon juice/zest. Whisk to combine, and add milk. Whisk until smooth adding more icing sugar or milk to get to desired thickness.

Taste test

These Old fashioned Rhubarb apple turnovers are so light, buttery and flaky! Lightly tangy from the rhubarb and lemon, and just sweet enough. The pastry melts in your mouth and leaves you with a bright and fresh filling.

Have fun making them and enjoy!

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