Tastes of Fall

"These apples are delicious- as a matter of fact they are, she said

Can all this fruit be free..?"

While we were up in Maine for Labor Day weekend, Kyle and I stopped by his folk’s farm just up the road from my family’s house. It’s an absolutely beautiful piece of land complete with a fish pond, raspberry patch, herb & vegetable gardens and a great orchard. A few weeks before, the peaches had been in season and I was thrilled to tote home a large bag of the fresh beauties. This time around, the apples and pears were coming in, and Kyle’s stepfather and I took a couple of bags out to harvest. Kyle’s mother had been busy at work canning and preserving the summer’s harvest and sent us home with a couple of jars of her homemade peach chutneys and jams, which I’m really looking forward to getting into!

Returning to Newport, we hauled our bags of apples and pears up to the apartment, and I began concocting ways to use, store & preserve out bounty. Given our limited space in the treehouse, and my inability to execute proper canning procedure, I wanted to come up with ways to get the most flavor out of these little beauties that would keep once frozen. Applesauce was my first instinct, as it is easy to make, easy to freeze (I used gallon Ziplock freezer bags- almost all the air can be removed, and they can be frozen flat for minimal space usage), and is a great way to prolong the comforting fall flavors of apples for an extended amount of time.

Since I had already committed myself to A LOT of peeling, coring and chopping (I set up a station in the living room so I could watch the Patriots season opener last Sunday!), my second option was for apple turnovers. Don had also picked me half a dozen pears, and I wanted to mix the pears and apples together with some dried cranberries- another favorite fall flavor. Building on that, I decided to let the creativity flow a bit more by adding a thin layer of brie before sealing the edges of the tart, as there are very few situations where I feel that cheese does not make something better. I am not a huge sweet tooth, and had some extra fresh Thyme lying around, so I sprinkled a few leaves into the last few turnovers, and the outcome was right in my wheelhouse- all of the sweetness you would expect from the fruit, the tartness of the cranberries, a spice hit from the rum, the creamy subtlety of the brie and a little earthiness from the Thyme. For me- a perfect balance of savory and sweet.

I prefer my turnovers to have more of a pie-like dough, not overly flaky with a bit of heft to hold up to the filling. I had watched the gang over on America’s Test Kitchen prepare their Foolproof Pie Dough, and with the security of knowing my baker extraordinaire was safely out of the house I set to work. As they note, adding the vodka gives you the moisture you need to make the dough pliable when rolling out, but bakes out once in the oven, so the dough comes out light and flaky- brilliant! For both the filling and the dough, I like to make both components the day before, so that the fruit has plenty of time to soak up the flavor from the rum, and the dough has a chance to rest and come together. Although there are a fair amount of steps to this process, it really does come together quickly, especially if you start the dough and filling the night before.

With only a handful of leftover apples in my fruit bowl, I am looking forward to enjoying the flavors of the harvest for months to come, and sharing these treats with friends coming through the door looking to warm up after a walk through the crisp fall air.

Spiked Pear, Apple and Cranberry Turnovers with Brie
(This recipe will make enough for 8-10 turnovers, and can be easily doubled or tripled)

Turnover Filling

-4 Fresh apples, of variety, peeled, cored & diced
-3-4 Fresh pears, peeled, cored & diced
- ½ Cup dried cranberries
- ½ Tblspn Cinnamon, ground
- ½ Tblspn Nutmeg, ground
-Juice & zest of ½ a lemon
- ½ to ¾ Cup Organic sugar (adjust according to your preferred level of sweetness)
- ½ Cup dark spiced rum

Combine all fruit, spices, lemon, sugar and rum in a shallow glass or plastic container and stir well to coat. Taste and adjust spices/sweetness to desired level. Cover dish & place in the refrigerator overnight to allow fruit to soak up the liquid, stirring mixture once or twice throughout.


Foolproof Pie Dough- From America’s Test Kitchen (doubled)

- 2 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (6 1/4 ounces)
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (3/4 stick), cut into 1/4-inch slices
- 1/2 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening , cut into 2 pieces
- 4 tablespoons vodka , cold
- 4 tablespoons cold water

Process 1¼ cups flour, salt, and sugar together in food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogenous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 10 seconds (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds with some very small pieces of butter remaining, but there should be no uncoated flour). Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining 1 cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.

Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Flatten dough into two 4-inch disks. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.

Remove dough disk from refrigerator and roll out on generously floured (up to ¼ cup) work surface to 12-inch square (or a close assimilation), about 1/8 inch thick. Trim edges to clean up shape and cut dough into four even squares and stack on a small plate in between small sheets of wax or parchment paper. Repeat with second half of dough.

To Assemble

-Turnover filling
-Foolproof Dough, cut into squares
-8-10 small slices double cream brie (with our without rinds
-Fresh Thyme leaves (optional), stemmed
-1 egg, lightly beaten
-Cinnamon & sugar to dust
-Baking sheet topped with parchment paper.

Before starting, be sure to give the filling one last good stir to ensure evenly coated fruit. Working one square at a time, place a small amount of filling on the lower (triangular) half of the dough. Top fruit mixture with a sprinkle of Thyme leaves (if using) and cover with slice of brie. Dip your finger into the filling liquid and run along the edge of the turnover to help seal. Fold over the top half of the dough to form a triangle and crimp (using fingers or fork tines) to seal. Place finished turnover on baking sheet and repeat with remaining mixture and dough squares. If baking off immediately, preheat oven to 400 degrees, brush turnover tops with egg wash and dust with cinnamon sugar. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and flaky.

For Freezing: Follow through assembly process and place turnovers in a single layer on parchment lined baking sheet. Do not brush with egg wash. Place entire baking sheet directly into freezer and allow turnovers to freeze for four hours, or overnight. Once frozen, pack tightly into labeled freezer bags, and seal out as much air as possible. Turnovers will keep in this method for a few months, and can be baked directly from frozen state, with an added 5-10 minutes of cooking time, depending on your oven. If you choose to thaw before baking off, be sure to remove turnovers from bags and place on a parchment lined baking sheet to come up to temp- otherwise you’ll end up with a gooey mess in the bag! For both methods, follow the same egg wash & dusting step as above, as well as oven temp.