These clever “turnovers” are actually pear-shaped pastries—each with an almond-sliver stem—filled with ripe, brandy-soaked pear slices and crushed almond-flavored amaretti cookies. The cookies are available at some supermarkets and at Italian markets. Serve the turnovers with grapes, apples, and figs alongside. Makes 6
2 ripe Bartlett pears (about 7 ounces each), peeled, halved lengthwise, cored, cut into ⅛- to ¼-inch-thick slices
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons brandy
1 17.3-ounce package frozen puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed
6 tablespoons crushed amaretti cookies (Italian macaroons; from about 10 cookies)
6 blanched almond slivers
1 large egg, beaten to blend
Combine pears, sugar, and brandy in large bowl. Toss to coat.
Draw one 4×4-inch pear shape and one 4 ½×4 ½-inch pear shape on parchment paper. Using scissors, cut out shapes.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out 1 pastry sheet on lightly floured surface to 12-inch square. Using 4×4-inch parchment template, cut out 6 pear shapes from pastry. Transfer pear-shaped pastries to baking sheet, spacing evenly.
Sprinkle half of crushed cookies over pastries, leaving ½-inch plain border. Arrange pear slices over crushed cookies. Sprinkle remaining cookies over pears.
Roll out second pastry sheet on lightly floured surface to 14 ½-inch square. Using 4 ½×4 ½-inch parchment template, cut out 6 pear shapes from pastry. Brush plain edges of crusts on baking sheet with water. Arrange larger pear-shaped pastries atop pears [1], pressing pastry edges together to adhere. Press edges with fork to seal [2]. Using skewer, poke small hole in top of each turnover to allow steam to escape. Press 1 almond sliver in tip of each turnover to represent stem. Cover and refrigerate 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Brush turnovers with egg. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool.
DO AHEAD: Can be made 8 hours ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.
Fresh sour cherries are not only more fragile than sweet ones, but they also have a very short season, which means they can be hard to find. Frozen sour cherries can be found online at apples-cherries.com. If you can’t locate them, just double the amount of sweet cherries and increase the lemon juice to 1½ tablespoons. Raw sugar, also called turbinado or demerara sugar, is available at most supermarkets and at natural foods stores. Makes 6
Filling
1½ cups pitted fresh dark sweet cherries or frozen dark sweet cherries, thawed
1½ cups pitted fresh sour cherries or frozen sour cherries, thawed
¼ cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Goat Cheese Cream
1½ cups chilled heavy whipping cream
3 ounces soft fresh goat cheese, crumbled
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 2-inch piece vanilla bean, split lengthwise
Turnovers
1 17.3-ounce package frozen puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed
1 large egg, beaten to blend
2 tablespoons raw sugar
FILLING: Combine sweet cherries and sour cherries with sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and vanilla in medium saucepan; toss to coat. Let cherry mixture stand 30 minutes at room temperature. Stir gently over medium-high heat until mixture boils and thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Cool cherry filling completely.
DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.
GOAT CHEESE CREAM: Combine heavy cream, goat cheese, and powdered sugar in medium bowl. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean (reserve bean for another use). Using electric mixer, beat until mixture is smooth and peaks form (do not overbeat or mixture may curdle).
DO AHEAD: Can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover and chill. Rewhisk just until thick and smooth before using.
TURNOVERS: Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Roll out 1 puff pastry sheet on lightly floured work surface to 11½-inch square. Cut into 4 equal squares. Repeat with second puff pastry sheet.
Arrange 6 pastry squares like diamonds on work surface, spacing apart (reserve remaining 2 squares puff pastry for another use). Place ⅙ of cherry filling in center of lower half of each pastry diamond. Brush edges of pastry with beaten egg. Fold top half of pastry over filling on lower half, forming triangle. Press firmly on pastry edges to adhere, then fold edges over, enclosing filling completely and creating double edges; press with fork to seal.
Place turnovers on large rimmed baking sheet, spacing 2 to 3 inches apart. Using tines of fork, pierce top crust of each turnover in 3 places to allow steam to escape during baking. Brush tops and edges of turnovers with beaten egg; sprinkle with raw sugar.
Bake turnovers until crust is golden and filling is bubbling thickly through steam holes in crust, about 35 minutes. Cool slightly. Serve turnovers warm or at room temperature with goat cheese cream.
For this pretty tart, a custardy filling is topped with sautéed apple slices. Golden Delicious apples are a good choice for baking because they retain their shape when cooked. Since this crust gets pressed into the pan instead of being rolled out, its wonderful for the beginning baker. 8 servings
Crust
1¼ cups unbleached all purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into
½-inch cubes
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon (or more) ice water
Filling
2 large egg yolks
6 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 tablespoon cornstarch
⅓ cup heavy whipping cream
⅓ cup frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 large Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, each cut into 16 slices
CRUST: Whisk flour, sugar, and salt in medium bowl. Add butter; using fingertips, rub in until mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk egg yolk and 1 tablespoon ice water in small bowl. Add to flour mixture and mix just until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Cover with plastic wrap and chill 1 hour.
Break dough into small pieces and scatter over bottom of 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Using fingertips, press dough onto bottom and up sides of pan in even layer. Trim excess dough and reserve. Freeze crust until firm, about 25 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Line crust with foil; fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until sides are set, about 15 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Continue to bake until crust is light golden, piercing bottom with fork if crust bubbles and patching with reserved dough if crust cracks, about 10 minutes longer. Cool crust completely on rack.