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Cherry pie turnovers with pie crust are a wonderful pick-me-up when you want to have something special with your meal. They taste so much better than store-bought and are wonderful finger food for parties and entertaining.
This recipe is from Pattern Princess. See the original post for cherry hand pies here.
Making these is a wonderful creative outlet – you’ll feel like a fancy cherry pastry chef.
Afterward, you can put them out in a pretty bowl and enjoy them with a mug of something yummy while binge-watching your favorite show.
Ingredients used to make this recipe
There are two big ingredients in this cherry turnover recipe: pie crust and cherry pie filling. Here is a five-minute recipe for a classic pie crust. If you don’t enjoy the process, you can also use store-bought pie crust like Pillsbury. It’ll save you a few minutes and a bit of mess in the kitchen. If you’re going with frozen, check the label for thawing instructions.
You can make cherry pie filling from just cherries and sugar, but canned cherry pie filling makes some of the best turnovers and saves an immense amount of time to boot.
If you’re using one can of cherry pie filling, you’ll be able to make three pie crusts worth of turnovers.
Crimping the edges of the hand pies
After you’ve placed your filling inside of the pie crust circle, you’ll want to brush the edges with a little bit of water, fold over, and crimp.
Essentially, that’s pressing the two sides together to form a tight seal, and you can do it with a fork. In the oven, your pie may ooze a little: that is perfectly alright. It will still taste wonderful.
Bake or fry them – your choice
If you’re learning how to make cherry turnovers from scratch– or almost from scratch– you’ll discover there are an abundance of variations you can take advantage of to make these desserts uniquely yours.
You can bake or fry, you can choose your own size, and you can either do rounds (two rounds placed on top of each other, pie filling in the middle) or half-moon shapes (one round, folded over a spoonful of pie filling.
Maybe the only variable you can’t suit yourself on is the amount of filling to put in each pie. You’ll be tempted to spoon in a great pile, and then the filling is likely to loose out.
Try a little less then you’d want, maybe, and you’ll have a much tidier end-product.
Frying turnovers
For frying, I recommend making smaller turnovers: try 3 ½ inches around. You can use whatever is handy to cut out your circles: the top of glass would work.
Use a skillet with oil heated to 350 degrees. Turn when your cherry pastry is nicely browned; probably just over a minute on each side.
Baking turnovers
If you’re baking your cherry turnovers with pie crust, they can be larger: one size possibility is 5 ½ inches.
The exact dimension doesn’t matter, though: just choose a handy bowl from your kitchen shelf and start stamping them out.
You’ll want to bake them at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes: a little more if your turnovers are larger than mine, a little less if yours are smaller.
Prior to baking brush the top with an egg wash and sprinkle a little granulated sugar on the top, and the crust will brown beautifully.
Variations on cherry turnovers
Switch up these cherry turnovers to make them the way you like them.
Puff pastry, phyllo dough, or crescent rolls are all good alternatives to pie crust, and you’ll be able to substitute with very slight variations in the recipes.
If you’re wondering how to make cherry turnovers with puff pastry, it’s similar to this raspberry puff pastry recipe.
Browse my website to find more delicious dessert recipes — like my best triple chocolate bundt cake — or brunch recipes like the wonderful make-ahead sous vide egg bites.
These are all wonderful summer recipes: easy to make ahead, and just as good chilled or room temperature as they are hot.
More tips for making cherry pie turnovers with pie crust
- Use whatever you have on hand to cut your turnovers: a cookie cutter, a glass, or a bowl all work equally well.
- If your pie crust is dry and the sides don’t want to stick together, even after being brushed with water, try egg wash instead.
- A little sugar sprinkled on the turnovers before you place them in the oven will make them extra crispy and give the crust some extra sweetness– yum! If you’re frying your turnovers, finish them off with a sprinkling of powdered sugar after they come out of the skillet.
- These turnovers can be enjoyed warm or cooled, but if you’d like to reheat, just pop them in the oven for ten minutes.
Share your turnovers
I love seeing photos of delicious food. Find me @sipbitego on Instagram.
Photos courtesy of and special thanks to Vicky from Patternprincess.com for sharing this recipe.
Cherry Pie Turnovers With Pie Crust Recipe [Sip Bite Go]
Cherry pie turnovers with pie crust are a wonderful pick-me-up when you want to have something special with your meal. They taste so much better than store-bought and are wonderful finger food for parties and entertaining.
Ingredients
- 21 oz cherry pie filling
- 3 pie crusts (double box)
- 1/2 cup flour (for dusting)
- 1 egg (optional, whisked, for baking)
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar (optional, for finishing)
Instructions
Sprinkle your work surface liberally with flour, and add a bit on the baking pan as well. This will keep the pie crust from sticking.
Roll out your pie crust, and use a round shape (cookie cutter, cup, bowl) to cut the dough in a circle. Don’t go smaller than about 3 ½ inches, or you won’t be able to fit a tablespoonful of filling inside. A five-inch circle should fit two tablespoons of pie.
Spoon in your cherry pie filling, then fold your circle over and crimp the edges shut. If you prefer round turnovers, you can use a bit more cherry pie filling and place a second circle on top of your first, crimping shut all around.
If you’d like to fry your turnovers small sizes are ideal. To fry, lower gently into the skillet of hot oil. Fry at 350 degrees for 1-2 minutes, turning as needed so both sides cook evenly. Drain on a paper towel.
For baked turnovers, a larger circle works well. Before you stick them in the oven, brush the crust with whisked egg and sprinkle a little granulated sugar for a shiny, crisp finish. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for approximately 30 minutes, till the crust, is your preferred shade of golden brown.
Recipe Notes
- Use whatever you have on hand to cut your turnovers: a cookie cutter, a glass, or a bowl all work equally well.
- If your pie crust is dry and the sides don’t want to stick together, even after being brushed with water, try egg wash instead.
- A little sugar sprinkled on the turnovers before you place them in the oven will make them extra crispy and give the crust some extra sweetness-- yum! If you’re frying your turnovers, finish them off with a sprinkling of powdered sugar after they come out of the skillet.
- These turnovers can be enjoyed warm or cooled, but if you’d like to reheat, just pop them in the oven for ten minutes.
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