Easy Make Ahead Apple Turnovers

The buttery goodness of these cinnamon apple turnovers will have you craving them for breakfast. The gooey apple filling is surrounded by an iced flaky puff pastry that makes these decadent and rich. These aren’t the apple turnovers you get from the store, they’re way better! 

This recipe brings me back to my childhood, we ate apple turnovers for breakfast at least once a week but they were storebought. I loved them growing up. Making them homemade for my family now is special because I know everything that’s in them and they’re a huge hit. I like to prep these on the weekend and have them during the week. There’s no need to spend hours in the kitchen for this recipe because I took a shortcut in using puff pastry instead of making my own dough. Another thing I love about this recipe is that you can prep them ahead of time and eat them later. They’re freezer friendly and make meal prepping easy.

How to freeze 

Want to have apple turnovers for a month? Or maybe you just don’t want to make 8 at one time and have to refrigerate and microwave which can take away from that fresh baked taste and texture. If so, freezing is for you. It’s super easy and cuts the total cook time in half. You just want to make sure you clean out your freezer beforehand. 

To freeze your apple turnovers you’ll need to prepare the the recipe normally but instead of placing it in the oven to bake, you’ll cover a sheet pan with parchment, place the turnovers on the pan and place the pan in your freezer. Keep this in the freezer until they’re frozen. Once frozen, you can wrap individually and save for later. See, easy enough right? 

The only caveat to doing this is that your bake time will be quite a bit longer since you’re baking from frozen. There’s no need to thaw when you go to bake. If you’re making this in the morning give yourself about an hour to preheat your oven, bake for 35-40 minutes and ice before walking out the door to work in the morning. 

Making The Filling 

Making the filling on these is the most important part. If you get this wrong, you could end up with filling that’s too runny and goes all over the place. To start making the filling you need to peel and chop your apples into very small pieces. For this recipe I used Gala apples. One thing I love about cooking with these apples is their sweet flavor and crispness which keeps them from breaking down and becoming mealy while cooking. 

Once your apples are chopped and sliced, add butter to a small pot and melt. Once melted add your apples. There’s no need to add water because after a minute or two of the apples sautéing in the butter, they will release a lot of liquid into the pot. Cook for around 3 minutes until the apples are softened before adding your cinnamon and brown sugar then give it a good stir and let them caramelized for around a minute or two. Once cooked and caramelized, add your cornstarch. This is the most important part because this is what’s going to make the sauce gooey and thick. 

Once thickened remove from the heat and let it sit until it’s cooled to room temperature. You never want to fill your pastry with hot filling this could cause it to spread and get everywhere and condensate creating even more unnecessary liquid. You can also refrigerate for quicker results. 

I excited for you to try this delicious and rich breakfast. Make it ahead of time and have a hot delicious breakfast all week. Are you interested in more breakfast recipes? Try these: