I'll tell you why: the dough (although I'll tell you why NOT again in a minute). I feel like I had just mastered Dorie's perfect pastry crust on page 442 or 443 of the book (so much so that I keep frozen butter and shortening in the freezer at all times now). Then I get thrown a curve ball with this dough. It's got sour cream in it. Dorie's warns us that it's soft, but I didn't have too much trouble until actual filling time.
The filling is simple: chopped apples, a touch of flour and sugar and butter...But I worked assembly line style and rolled and cut both halves then filled, by which time the dough was so soft, it fell apart a bit when I folded it over. I also overfilled and had to take about half the filling OFF each dough round (bec. I like a lot of filling)...With hindsight, I should have rolled, filled and started baking one sheet of turnovers, leaving the second half in the fridge until I was ready to roll and fill quickly.
It was a mess.
Fortunately, they taste fabulous and made me look good at a Sunday afternoon football party, so that is always a good thing. I egg-washed them and sprinkled them with raw/turbinado sugar, which gives them a great glaze and nice crunch.
Notes on this recipe?
- Work with only half the dough at a time.
- For a 4 1/2-inch round, use one tablespoon filling (I used a very heaping tablespoon and had to take about half off)...
- and for efficiency's sake, make these rectangles or triangles instead of circles: no wasted dough.
The other note? (And why not to make the dough?) I live in South Florida where you can buy flaky empanada rounds in the freezer (and I think if you look for them, you can probably find these in most places)--they are marked "hojaldrada."
I have made apple turnovers in a jiffy in the past by chopping some apples, filling a few of these empanada rounds, brushing them with egg wash and sprinkling with sugar...No, not homemade, but for the effort and the result? More my speed.
Check out all the other blogs on the blog roll at Tuesdays with Dorie. The recipe was picked and is listed over at Someone's in the Kitchen with Jules Someone.
14 comments:
SOrry you had some troubles, they still look good! I loved this recipe and can't wait to make them again! THe dough was a little hard to roll out, but I got a great workout on my arms ;)
I agree about making these square. I hate waste. Mine had holes in them because I overfilled and then pulled the dough. Ah well. Thanks for baking with me!
Oh...I would soooooo go with the empaniada(?) crusts.
Wishing I lived in the south again.
Oh, the hand pie. A long-time favourite in my world. I'm thinking I need to make some for our road trip tomorrow. Beats the eats along the way...
You have frozen empanada dough in your grocery stores? I'm jealous. I thought this dough cried out for a savoury filling. Glad you enjoyed yours!
Your 'turnovers' look lovely. I had the same issues with mine but I managed to use up every last room temperature scrap. By the end I had more filling than dough. Is is wrong that I enjoyed the dough in it's raw form? I kept noshing on it during bouts of frustration. :>
I would definitely agree about working with half the dough at a time. My biggest problems came at the end, when the dough get really soft. I had to refrigerate the ones I formed before freezing them, because they were so soft I couldn't get them off the plate.
Even with the problems, that dough was mighty tasty!
These look great, Barb. I would need to use peaches or cherries though. My husband isn't big on apples.
I had to laugh - the husband just bought one of those fast food "pies" last weekend and I thought it was the grossest thing ever. I love these - apple pie made portable.
That is a big convenience to have frozen dough in that small portion size in the freezer. I'm jealous. These look good, though and I'm glad you were the hit of the football game!
Your turnovers look great. I'm glad they worked out for you in the end.
I'm voting for the empanada crust too -- I'm with chocolatechic!
Love, love, love the idea of the quickly filled rounds!
Waiting for some more great feasts with you!
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