Say farewell to summer with these delicious and easy blueberry turnovers. A lightly sweet blueberry filling is encased in a soft and flaky dough – you won’t be able to eat just one!
*Note: This recipe was shared before I became gluten-free, but I’m working hard on a gluten-free version!
I don’t know about you, but I’m in full on fall mode. I just can’t help myself – temperatures are dropping, I’m sleeping comfortably with the windows open, and I can go for a run without feeling like I’m going to pass out. I’ve even started decorating my apartment for fall and started burning my fall candles. It’s safe to say that I’m pretty darn excited about fall!
Before I jump head first into all of my fall-inspired recipes, I thought I would share with you a fantastic dessert to say farewell to summer! My blueberry turnovers are sweet little treats perfect for packing up and taking along on a picnic, or your last beach trip of the season.
Warning: you won’t be able to eat just one!
Not into blueberries? Use strawberries… or raspberries… or peaches… or cherries! If you’re over summer and want these for fall, go ahead and use apples! All flavor choices options will be delicious.
You’ll want to start by making the dough. It’s a pretty easy process that’s very similar to pie dough. The only difference is I’ve added some baking powder (to get them nice a puffy) and some Greek yogurt. The yogurt adds a nice flavor to the dough and makes it super soft and pillow-y.
I like to use my mixer for making the dough – it’s an easy way to break up the flour/butter mixture and makes the whole process quicker. However, if you don’t have a mixer you can do this by hand or use a food processor.
While you’re dough is refrigerating you’ll want to make the filling. This is SO easy. Just cook the fruit with sugar, lemon juice, salt, and cornstarch until it’s nice and thick. Let it cool completely before you begin filling the turnovers.
Roll out your chilled dough into an 18” square (you don’t have to be super precise here) and then cut the square into 16 small squares. Pop some filling on each one, seal the edges and then place them on your baking sheet. Once you have them all sealed and ready to go you’ll want to chill them in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. This is very important! It’s just like pie dough – the colder the better when you pop it into a hot oven so that the steam helps create flakiness.
Make sure you read the recipe through before making these – you’ll notice that the oven temperature starts off at 450º and then after 10 minutes it’s lowered to 375º. This is because the hot temperature in the will get the maximum steam needed, but if you bake them at 450º the whole time, they would burn quickly and get tough. Lowering the temperature after 10 minutes will help the turnovers bake more evenly and get lightly golden.
Once you pull them out of the oven let them cool for 10 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. I can never wait long to test baked goods, so of course I ate one warm. Well, it was actually hot!
The turnovers will last a few days in an airtight container – they will fall a little on day two, but they will stay soft. These are great take-along treats for picnics and end-of-summer vacations. I’m also a huge fan of these for breakfast… there’s nothing wrong with a little sweet treat for breakfast every now and then!
Say farewell to summer with these blueberry turnovers – or say hello to fall by making them with apples! Whatever fruit you choose, you’ll be happy. I can’t wait to make an apple version… and perhaps a cranberry one for winter? Hmm…
- 1 ½ Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 Tablespoon Granulated Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 ½ Sticks Unsalted Butter, cubed and frozen
- 1 (6 oz.) Container Plain Greek Yogurt
- Ice water
- 1 Pint Fresh Blueberries
- ¼ Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
- Pinch of Salt
- 1 ½ Teaspoons Cornstarch
- Water for sealing
- 1 Tablespoon Milk, for brushing the tops
- Coarse Sugar, for sprinkling
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the dry ingredients. Add in the butter cubes and turn the mixer to low speed. Mix until the butter gets broken up and incorporated into the flour mixture. Add in the yogurt and mix – if the dough still seems a little dry and isn’t coming together you’ll need to add ice water. Add the water a tablespoon at a time just until the dough starts to come together. The dough will look slightly crumbly, but will hold together when you press pieces together. Pour the dough onto a floured board, and bring it together into a ball – it should be soft and smooth – not dry or wet and sticky. If it feels dry – add some more water. If it’s wet/sticky – add some more flour. Wrap the dough ball into plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the filling. Combine the blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, salt, and cornstarch. Cook the blueberry mixture over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until the mixture is thickened and the blueberries start to break down. Let cool completely.
- When you’re ready to assemble the turnovers, remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll out into an 18” square. Using a knife or pizza cutter cut the square into 16 squares.
- Top each square of dough with a small spoonful of the blueberry filling, brush the edges with water, and then fold into a triangle and seal by pressing a fork along the edges. Place the turnovers onto a baking sheet covered with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Chill the turnovers in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 450º.
- Brush each turnover with milk and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake the turnovers for 10 minutes at 450º, then lower the temperature to 375º and continue baking for 15-20 minutes. The turnovers will be golden brown when they’re done. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely. That is, if you can wait that long to eat one!
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