turn it over

Well, here's another pumpkin recipe, as promised. I hope you're not getting too sick of apple and pumpkin yet because there's more to come... although Ruby just turned 3 last Saturday, so I'll have her birthday recap coming up soon.

Sometimes I have a lone sheet of puff pastry begging to be used, and when I had some leftover pumpkin puree in the fridge (I hate to toss that...) I knew turnovers were destined to be in my near future.

Pumpkin and cream cheese are a wonderful pairing and I just love puff pastry. It's so easy to work with and yields such a wonderful, flaky, buttery result (that is so much better than pie crust, in my opinion), and the best part? It's store bought. Yup, homemade puff pastry dough may be on my list of things to make someday when I have tons of butter and tons of time, but for now, the grocery store wins.

As you can see in the pictures above, I didn't completely mix the cream cheese and pumpkin mixture because I thought the swirled, marbled effect was so pretty. Unfortunately, I ended up wishing that I had mixed them. It just didn't taste right when I'd take a bite and most of it was just one flavor; either pumpkin or cream cheese. So I definitely recommend combining the mixture thoroughly. 

Pumpkin Cheesecake Turnovers

Majorly modified from here

Serves 4

Recipe Notes-

- Store-bought puff pastry typically includes 2 sheets to a box and should be located in the freezer section of your grocery store. To defrost puff pastry, pull out one sheet at a time (keeping it folded) and place in a kitchen towel on the countertop- it should take only a half hour to defrost. Wrap the other sheet tightly in aluminum foil and place back in the freezer until future use.

Ingredients:

1 sheet of Puff Pastry (½ a box), defrosted (see Recipe Note above)

For the filling:

2 oz. cream cheese, softened

3 Tbs. granulated sugar

½ tsp. vanilla

½ Cup pure pumpkin

½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice

For the topping:

1 large egg + 1 tsp. water

1 Tbs. granulated sugar

½ tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F and prepare a baking sheet with parchment or Silpat.

2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Then add the pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice until well blended.

3. On a lightly floured work surface, spread out the puff pastry and roll out to ¼-inch thickness. Cut the pastry evenly into 4, and then place each piece on the prepared pan.

4. Equally divide the pumpkin cheesecake mixture onto the center of each puff pastry piece. Fold over the edges (to make a triangular shape) and seal with a fork, or pinch the edges together. Cut a shallow cross on the top to act as an air vent.

5. In a small bowl, whisk the egg and water together, then use a pastry brush to apply the egg wash on the top of the turnovers.

6. In another small bowl, mix the sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle evenly over the tops of the turnovers.

7. Bake in the oven for 26-30 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown all over. Cool the pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.