continued
138 pastries
dough to help lift it and fold it over. It’s fine if the dough is sloppy and wants to break apart. Now, fold the top third down over the middle, then fold the bottom third up. You should have a fat square of dough.
3. Roll the dough to about 16 inches square, then fold following the same process as above. This time the dough should be easier to roll and fold.
4. Roll out the dough to 16 inches square one more time and fold as before. If at any time during the roll-and-fold process you feel that the butter is getting soft and squishy, put the dough in the refrigerator for 10 minutes or so to firm up the butter—you don’t want it to mix with the flour.
5. Flour the dough, wrap it in plastic, and place in a clean zip-top plastic bag.
Refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days.
On baking day
1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, divide it in half, and rewrap half and return to the refrigerator.
2. Flour your work surface and roll the dough to 12 inches square. Cut the dough into three 4-inch rows both horizontally and vertically so you end up with 9 even squares (each about 4 x 4 inches).
3. Spoon a generous teaspoon of the pie filling into the center of each square. You should use up about half of the pie filling.
4. Put some water in a small bowl and use your finger or a pastry brush to lightly moisten the edges of the squares. Fold each square into a triangle—you’ll need to stretch the dough a bit to cover the filling. Press a fork along the joined edges of the pastry to help seal it. Place the filled pastries on the prepared baking sheet, leaving space between them to rise. Continue making pastries with the second half of the dough and the rest of the pie filling, or leave the dough refrigerated for another day.
5. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and set aside for 20 to 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 400°F. After 20 to 30 minutes, the dough won’t seem to have risen, but it should feel puffy rather than firm.
6. Remove the plastic, brush the top of the turnovers with egg wash (if using), and sprinkle with sugar, if desired. Use a sharp knife to cut a few slits in the top of the pastries. Bake the turnovers until they’re nicely browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool before serving.
Cherry turnOvers continued
140 pastries flour, plus more as needed 1 teaspoon kosher salt
1⁄4 teaspoon lemon oil (optional) 2 sticks butter (1 salted, 1 unsalted)
Egg wash (1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water) Pearl sugar or granulated sugar, for garnish (optional)
If you love tart flavors, then this pastry is for you. the bright and sunny lemon curd is more tart than sweet, and it’s balanced by the richness of the cheese layer. If you’d prefer something less tart but still lemony, use Meyer lemons or use one-third of the lemon curd for each pastry instead of half.
You can also add a small amount of lemon oil to the dough to make the pastry lemony to match the filling. the oil you want is intended as a flavoring, not the gently flavored lemon olive oil.
I like the salt balance that comes from using 1 stick of salted butter and 1 stick of unsalted, but I’ll admit that it’s subtle. You can certainly use 2 sticks of salted or unsalted butter, if you prefer.
MakeS two 7 x 14-InCh paStrIeS
On prep day 1
1. Make the lemon curd filling: Whisk the yolks, egg, sugar, lemon juice, butter, and salt in a heavy-bottomed pot. The butter won’t incorporate, but that’s fine.
Heat on medium low and stir until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and hold a line drawn through it with a finger.
2. Remove the pot from the heat and pour the mixture though a fine-mesh strainer, to catch any errant bits of egg, and into a storage container. Cover and refrigerate until needed. It will thicken a bit more as it cools.
3. Make the cheese filling: In a small bowl, whisk together the cream cheese, ricotta, and sugar until smooth. Transfer to a storage container, cover, and refrigerate until needed.
4. Make the pastry: Whisk the egg, water, yeast, and sugar in a medium bowl.
5. Put the flour, salt, and lemon oil (if using) in a food processor and pulse a few times to distribute the salt. Cut the butter into a few pieces and put it in the food processor. Pulse until the butter pieces are no larger than a lima bean. It’s fine if some pieces (or most of them) are smaller.
6. Transfer the flour-butter mixture to the bowl with the sugar-water mixture.
Stir gently until combined. The mixture should be wet, so don’t worry if it seems loose. If it’s not a wet mixture or if you see dry spots in the flour, drizzle in more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to moisten the dough.
7. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.