A leap of faith

Apple turnovers began as an excuse to try my hand at puff pastry, but by the end it was all about the apple filling. Puff pastry is one of those things that I've been meaning to make for a while, but never get around to. Let's be honest, shall we? It's not about having enough time so much as the fear of ending up with nothing but an oozing blob of unusable dough to show for an afternoon's work and a ridiculous amount of butter.

So...

How did my puff pastry turn out in the end? It's hard to say, really.

Did the dough bake up into layer upon layer of buttery goodness? Not exactly, no.

Was the pastry flaky, tender and decadent? You bet.

So...

Back to the filling for a minute. Don't get me wrong: I adore a classic cinnamon apple turnover, especially with a few plump Sultanas. But a little change once in awhile never hurt anyone either. The combination of maple, lime and ginger that I'm proposing may have you scratching your head at first, but one bite and you'll be preaching like the converted. Have a little faith.

Maple Lime Apple Turnovers

1/2 batch of the puff pastry recipe conveniently posted here, with a step-by-step how-to video, at Ms. Glaze's Pommes D'Amour

4 small apples, peeled and diced in 1/4-inch cubes
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon butter
lime zest
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Wash, peel and dice the apples into 1/4-inch cubes. Immediately add the lime zest and juice, and stir to prevent the apple from browning.

Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the apples, stirring to coat them in butter, followed by the maple syrup.

As soon as the mixture begins to bubble, sprinkle the ginger and cornstarch on top. Stir just until the mixture begins to thicken before removing from heat. Allow the mixture to cool until it reaches room temperature.

Note: The intention is not to cook the apples, but merely to coat them with a bit of sauce. If your apples are particularly juicy and the mixture does not seem to be thickening, sprinkle on a bit more cornstarch and stir to combine.

Roll out the puff pastry to an 1/8-inch thickness. Use a large round cookie cutter or small bowl to cut rounds in the dough.

Yields 6-8 turnovers.

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