mix, mix…stir, stir

A little package of pastry with a delicious filling is hard to beat —sweet or savory. One of the most appealing features of this style of treat is the ability to pick it up and eat it out of hand. There is an added element of pleasure to food I can hold in my hand and eat. I am not sure why that is, but it could be because such foods generally involve a pastry shell or doughy wrapper of some sort, which is almost an unfair advantage.

These Apple Turnovers are part of the Tuesdays with Dorie baking odyssey.  Julie of Someone’s in the Kitchen, selected the baking task for us and has the recipe posted on her blog. The dough was flaky, not too sweet and had a nice tangy note from sour cream. The instructions direct to combine the butter and flour by hand, but I was feeling pressed for time and rather impatient, so I employed my food processor to get the job done in all of about 30 seconds. Like any pastry dough there is chill time, so don’t be thinking this is the kind of treat you can whip up the instant a craving hits.

The sour cream adds such a great flavor, but makes for very soft dough, so rolling it out between plastic or parchment paper will save a lot of frustration. Because I was in a hurry and didn’t want to fuss with a cutter, I just sliced the rolled dough into squares, filled, folded, and baked.

Being pressed for time didn’t prevent me from adding a little extra dash of this and pinch of that. The first deviation I made was to grate the apples rather than chop them. I wanted the filling to cook down into an applesauce like consistency and the grated apples did just that. The only seasoning the recipe calls for is a bit of cinnamon, but I couldn’t stop there. I added 1/2  teaspoon of lemon zest, pinch of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of coriander. The apple coriander combo is working its way into my DNA. I also used brown sugar rather than granulated sugar because it just seemed right. The filling was great. Knowing David isn’t a fan of fruit fillings, I filled half of the turnovers with chopped bittersweet chocolate, which was equally as delicious. Each turnover was sprinkled with spiced sugar I had saved from a previous baking project to add another touch of flavor.

This is a quick pastry that is delicate, flaky, and flavorful. It does require patients to chill and re-chill mid-assembly if necessary, but definitely a success in my book.

Over 350 baking bloggers are baking our way thorough Dorie Greenspan’s book, Baking: From My Home to Yours . 91 recipes completed 130 to go!

Thanks to Holly who writes the Phemomenon blog, and is a fellow Tuesdays with Dorie Baker, I got a hankering to make doughnuts. She used the Real Butterscotch Pudding we made for last week’s Tuesdays with Dorie baking assignment to make pudding filled doughnuts! When I saw that, I knew what we would be eating Christmas morning.

photo by David Peterman

The recipe for the doughnuts is from Peanut Butter and Julie and was quite a success, having never made doughnuts before. I didn’t go the cappuccino cream filled or even pudding filled route like Julie and Holly did, but basic glazed with just a hint of nutmeg in the dough. A simple sugar glaze, or sugar and spice dusting made lovely garnishes.

A few things I learned: The oil temperature required constant monitoring and adjustment, which surprised me because I used a heavy cast iron dutch oven thinking it would hold a nice constant temperature. It could be that I was over correcting with the heat adjustments and had I gotten it to settle in at 375 degrees F with the proper amount of flame, it would have stayed right there.  Also, doughnut holes cook best when turned frequently rather than cooking one side at a time. I found that as the first side cooked a large air pocket formed on the top making them virtually impossible to turn over. By keeping them turning, the expansion was more evenly distributed, making it possible to cook all sides to a nice golden brown. Lastly, after deep-frying just plan to change your clothes and wash your hair.

After feasting on the doughy-sugary delights we did head straight to the gym, which sounds more neurotic than it really was, but I did find it rather funny. Our gym happened to be open on Christmas and we, along with many other people I will point out, were just enjoying the luxury of working out with no pressing time commitments for the day. Who knows, homemade doughnuts and going to the gym could become a new holiday tradition.

Basic Sugar Glaze
Place 1 cup of powdered sugar in a small, shallow bowl and whisk in 1 tablespoon of hot milk. Add one teaspoon of vanilla and additional hot milk by the teaspoon until the glaze is nicely thinned. Dip the doughnuts in the glaze while they are still hot.

Spiced Sugar Coating
This is rather free-form and can be adapted to the spices you have on hand. The reason this isn’t a cinnamon and sugar coating is I had no cinnamon. I actually like the mixed spices better than straight cinnamon and sugar, so it worked out well.

To 1/2 cup of granulated sugar add 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon of ground allspice, and 1/2 teaspoon of grated nutmeg. I tossed in two pinches of ground pink peppercorns as well. Mix to combine. I used a bowl with a fitted lid so I could place the doughnut in and just give it a shake to coat.