Apple and Mincemeat Turnovers

When I was a kid my Mom used to bake apple turnovers.  I loved them because they had a high crust to apple filling ratio.   When it comes to pie, the pastry is my favourite part. 

Andy loves mincemeat pies.  He likes all the dried fruit and nuts, me - not so much.  So when he asked me to bake mincemeat pies I thought a compromise was in order.  I needed to devise a recipe that gave me the parts of the pie that I liked, the pastry bit, and gave Andy the mincemeat filling he likes.  Apple and mincemeat Turnovers are the perfect solution.

Now,you can make the pastry and mincemeat from scratch but I cheated.  All you need is some store bought pastry, a couple of apples, a jar of good store bought mincemeat, and a couple of store cupboard items .  I think you will agree you can't tell by looking that these turnovers weren't made from scratch.

Here's how to make these rustic turnovers:

Peel, core, and dice one cooking apple and one dessert apple*. 

Place the diced apples into a sauce pan with 1 tablespoon soft brown sugar and 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon.

Cook over a low heat until the apples begin to soften.  This could take 5-10 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and let the apple mixture cool. 

Stir a big spoonful of mincemeat into the apple mixture and set to the side while you prepare the pastry. 

I used ready rolled pastry so all I needed to do was cut out discs with a large pastry cutter.  You could also use a small plate and cut around them with a knife.  

Place a spoonful of filling onto the centre of each pastry disc.  Moisten one half of the outer edge of the pastry with a tiny bit of water, fold the pastry over the filling, and crimp the edges together with a fork.  

Brush the turnovers with a bit of milk or egg wash if you like. Make a tiny slit in each one to let the steam out as they bake. 

Place the turnovers on a baking sheet lined with paper.  Bake for 20-30 minutes at 200C/400F.  The pastry should be a light golden brown.

Patient people would let the Apple-Mincemeat Turnovers cool, then dust them with icing sugar... but we ate six of the tiny treats warm out of the oven. 

And from the pastry scraps I made this little mincemeat tart, a bonus treat!

*Thank you, Pink Lady Apples UK, for providing the delicious dessert apple used in this recipe.