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Jun 12, 2021

Summer Berry Turnovers

These summer berry turnovers are delicious for breakfast and dessert. They are filled with a mixture of blackberries and raspberries surrounded by an amazing cream cheese pastry that is so simple to put together. You'll pretty much feel like you are a pastry queen. 

Summer Berry Turnovers




If you are a pastry beginner, you definitely need to try this cream cheese pastry dough. It will totally build your confidence. 

This dough does require some advance planning, involving some chilling time in the fridge, but it's totally worth it. 

How to make cream cheese pastry dough:

This dough is so easy to make. All you need is a food processor and the ability to count! 

First, add the dry ingredients to a food processor and process for about 10 seconds. Next, add some butter and process for another 10 seconds. 

After that, add 8 ounces of cream cheese cut into chunks and pulse exactly 30 times at one second intervals. 

Finally, knead the dough by hand a few times and then form it into a 7 inch square, which you will wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. 

Summer Berry Turnover dough




Once you've chilled the dough, you roll it out to a 15 inch square and then cut it into 9 five inch squares and then chill the squares again while you prepare the filling. 

You can also store the squares in the refrigerator for up to two days before filling.

Summer Berry Turnovers cooling on a rack




The first time I made these I was getting more brave with pastry. After making these, I told people about how I made pastry with cream cheese thinking how original this was. What was the reaction? "Yes, I do that all the time." Okay, I was a pastry newbie. 

Also, the first time I assembled these, I made these into triangle-shaped pastries. This time I went for rectangles, but either way is just as tasty. By making them into rectangles, I was able to "sell" them as home made Pop-Tarts. Voila! It's breakfast!

Summer Berry Turnovers on a plate




Of course, these summer berry hand pies make an amazing dessert too. 

Make-ahead tips:

You can bake these tarts in advance, refrigerate them, and then reheat them at 325 degrees F for about 15 minutes. Just lay them on a foil-lined baking sheet to reheat. 

You can also assemble them and freeze them, unbaked and double wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to a month. You can apply the egg wash and sprinkle them with the sparkling sugar while they are still frozen and bake them for an extra 5 to 10 minutes. 

For dessert, you can serve these with whipped cream, sweetened yogurt, or vanilla ice cream (my favorite). These turnovers have a "grown up" taste because both the crust and the fruit are slightly tart. This is a great "impress your dinner guests" dessert. 


Summer Berry Turnovers with ice cream




This week the Sunday Funday theme is Magic with Berries and our host is Cook with Renu!

Be sure to check out everyone's berry recipes! We have salads, cocktails, smoothies, muffins, and desserts! 


This recipe has been updated from September, 2012, when this site was brand new. I've remade the turnovers, taken new photos, and added new tips. Plus, I've added a printable recipe card. 

This recipe has been adapted from The Art and Soul of Baking by Cindy Mushet. It is one of the first cookbooks I bought back in 2009 when I began to "collect" cookbooks. I think I read about it in Gourmet magazine (miss you Gourmet!). The book has nearly 500 pages of baking lessons, recipes, and photographs. Gorgeous and substantial.


Summer Berry Turnovers





Summer Berry Turnovers

Summer Berry Turnovers
Yield: 9 Turnovers
Author: Karen's Kitchen Stories
These summer berry turnovers are delicious for breakfast and dessert. They are filled with a mixture of blackberries and raspberries that is surrounded by an amazing cream cheese pastry that is so simple to put together.

Ingredients

For the Cream Cheese Dough
  • 1 1/2 Cups (7.5 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 t. sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 4 ounces of unsalted butter, very cold and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 1 - 8 ounce package of cream cheese cut into 1 inch pieces
For the Filling
  • 6 ounces of raspberries (1 half-pint basket)
  • 6 ounces of blackberries (1 half-pint basket)
  • 1/4 C sugar2 T. all purpose flour2 t. lemon juice
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 2 T milk
  • Sanding sugar (it's thicker and more sparkly than granulated sugar) or granulated sugar for sprinkling on the turnovers

Instructions

For the Dough
  1. Put the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and blend for 10 seconds.
  2. Add the butter pieces and process for 8 to 10 seconds.
  3. Add the cream cheese and process by pulsing thirty times for one second intervals.
  4. Take the dough out of the food processor and press together into a ball. Flatten the dough into a 7 inch square, wrap with plastic wrap, and chill for 30 minutes.
  5. Once you are ready to make the turnovers, roll the dough out onto a floured surface to a 1/8 inch thick square. Trim the dough into a 15 inch square.
  6. Cut the dough into nine 5 inch squares. Place the squares between sheets of parchment and chill in the refrigerator while you are preparing the berries and preheating the oven. You can also refrigerate the dough overnight and finish the turnovers the next day.
To Make the Turnovers
  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. You should have two racks, one in the upper third and one in the lower third of the oven.
  2. Remove any stems and leaves from the berries.
  3. Put the berries into a medium bowl and add the sugar, flour, and lemon juice and toss until the berries are coated evenly.
  4. Whisk the egg yolk and milk together.
  5. Lay out the pastry squares on a very lightly floured surface.
  6. Divide the berries evenly among the nine squares. Place them on one half of the square leaving a 1/2 inch border on the side where you've placed the berries. Leave the other half of the pastry square empty. This is the side that you will fold over the berries.
  7. Paint the border with the egg wash and fold the pastry over the berries and press the edges together with a fork to seal them.
  8. Put the turnovers on a baking sheet and refrigerate for 20 minutes.Prepare two baking sheets with parchment and divide the chilled pasties between them.Brush the turnovers with the rest of the egg wash and sprinkle with the sanding sugar.
  9. Cut several small slits into the dough with a small paring knife.
  10. Bake the pastries for 15 minutes. Rotate the sheets 180 degrees and switch them between the two oven racks. Bake them for 10 to 20 minutes more until golden brown.
  11. Cool on the baking sheet on a cooling rack. You can serve them warm or at room temperature.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

262.44

Fat (grams)

15.36

Sat. Fat (grams)

8.99

Carbs (grams)

26.76

Fiber (grams)

1.85

Net carbs

24.90

Sugar (grams)

7.72

Protein (grams)

5.04

Sodium (milligrams)

70.16

Cholesterol (grams)

79.97
Turnovers, pop tarts
breakfast, pastry, dessert
Did you make this recipe?
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Created using The Recipes Generator

Would you like to comment?

  1. Loved these turnovers. Thanks so much for entering breakfast club. Please email me your address so I can send you a sachet of baobab to try

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  2. Cheese pastry dough is on my to do list and these berry filled turnovers are deliciously tempting!

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  3. Loving those little hand held pies. Perfect for taking along on a picnic or to the beach.

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  4. Oh! So adorable. I can't wait to try these soon, Karen. Thanks for sharing.

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    Replies
    1. I'm pretty sure your crew would love these =)

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  5. Your little berry hand pies are adorable, Karen! Perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert.

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    Replies
    1. That's my favorite way to have these! Warm with ice cream.

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  6. These are the cutest little treats!! I love the "homemade Poptart" vibe / breakfast justification! :D

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  7. Summer berry turnovers look not only pretty but super tempting. I've not tried making pastry dough with cream cheese. Will have to give it a try.

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  8. I love little pies like this-- my favorite to do this with is apple! Yum!

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  9. I really like the combination of raspberries and blackberries in these turnovers. They are perfect treat.

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  10. There is something so rustic and beautiful about these pies. Perfect with the summer berries!

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  11. I absolutely love hand pies and I guess I'm a newbie too because I've never made crust with cream cheese but will be doing so! I just love all of those berries you used and wish I had a warm one for breakfast!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Julie! I'm kind of missing them myself!

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  12. These look absolutely scrumptious and delicious, Karen! I love summer berry season and what a great way to enjoy them.

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  13. I can't wait to buy some berries at the farmer's market this week...I am definitely going to make these lil' guys over the holiday weekend!!!

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  14. These turnovers are fantastic! I love the cream cheese dough - it's so wonderful!

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