Tart Apple Turnovers

I’ve never been a huge fan of cooked apples.  Apple pie, apple sauce, apple crumble… I could take it or leave it.  But then my CSA delivered to me some Lodi apples.  I tried to eat one and it was so tart, I just couldn’t do it.  So the time has come for me to cook up some apples.  I thought that I’d make up some turnovers and then give them all away, since I wouldn’t want to eat them myself.  But, it turns out that cooked apples aren’t so bad under certain circumstances, like when the apples are really tart and you give them a shot of lime juice because you don’t have any lemons on hand.  At least for me, these tart apple turnovers are a winner!  Any tart green apple will work, like Granny Smith, or whatever crazy thing you find at your market.

Ingredients:

Crust

1.5 C AP flour

1 C walnuts

1 stick Earth Balance

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 C cold water

Filling

1.25 C apples

1/4 C brown sugar

1 tsp lemon (or lime) juice

1/2 tsp cinnamon

dash nutmeg

few tsp cinnamon sugar

Instructions:

Crust

1.  Put all dry ingredients in a large bowl, or food processor.  Cut in the “butter” with two sharp knives, or a few quick pulses of the processor.

2.  Slowly add the water, stirring, or pulsing, adding just enough for the dough to hold together.  

3.  Form the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic.  Refrigerate for at least an hour while you make the filling, or up to a day, if you need to make it in advance.

Filling

1.  Peel and core the apples.  Cut into small chunks.

2.  In a medium bowl, combine the apples, sugar, lemon juice, and spices.

Turnover

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface.

2.  Cut out 6-8″ circles.  Drop a few spoonfuls of apples on one side and turn the other side of dough over it.  Pinch the edges together.  Sprinkle with some cinnamon sugar, if you like.

3.  Bake on a cookie sheet at 375 for 25-30 minutes, until they are golden brown.