If it were up to me, every weekend would start with homemade pastries. Taking a little extra time in the morning to make something beautiful, buttery, and delicious is a special form of indulgence. Now that the weather is a bit cooler, I’ve been trying to get in a little lamination practice. It’s actually quite difficult for me to find all-butter puff pastry around here, so I’ve been making this rough puff recipe (with two extra folds) as practice for making the real thing later on this winter.

If you can make pie dough, you can make rough puff. It’s a great thing to have on hand for weekend pastry cravings or quick appetizers. But if you’ve got easy access to all-butter puff pastry, certainly go that route if you prefer.

I’ll be honest: when making morning pastries I often don’t measure my filling ingredients. Usually I use a bit of whatever I have lying around: in this case, it was some leftover liquid cheesecake from Christina Tosi’s All About Cake, and the dregs of a bag of fresh cranberries. I think leftover cranberry sauce would be great here (as long as it’s not too runny), or even another thick jam. I do think a tart fruit works really well in these turnovers — it’s a perfect foil to the rich pastry and tangy cream cheese. At any rate, two tablespoons of filling for each pastry is about right. And since I assume most of you don’t have liquid cheesecake lying around, I’ve provided some classic cream cheese filling measurements.

One final thing — I’ve finally put together an Amazon page with some of my favorite baking supplies! I hope you’ll take a look if you’re looking for some gifts for the bakers in your life (or for yourself ;)). These are the tools and books I use most often in my own kitchen and am happy to recommend. Please check it out!

Cranberry Cream Cheese Turnovers

Makes 8 large turnovers

Ingredients:

• 2 sheets of puff pastry, thawed if frozen (homemade or storebought)

For the cream cheese filling:

• 113g cream cheese, softened (about half a block)
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• Dash of vanilla extract
• Pinch of kosher salt
• Squeeze of lemon juice

For the cranberry filling:

• 1 c cranberries
• 30g granulated sugar
• 30g dark brown sugar
• Juice of half a lemon
• Pinch of salt

To finish:

• 1 egg, whisked with a splash of milk or water
• Turbinado or sanding sugar

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400F with racks in the upper and lower third, and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
2. Roll each sheet of pastry into a large square about 1/8 – 1/4″ thick (10-12 inches). Trim the edges to neaten and cut each square in quarters for a total of eight squares. Refrigerate pastry while you prepare the fillings.
3. For the cream cheese filling, combine the cream cheese, sugar, salt, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low until smooth. Scrape down the sides and add lemon juice a tsp at a time to taste.
4. For the cranberry filling, combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix to combine.
5. Place about 1 Tbsp cream cheese filling and 1 Tbsp cranberries on each square. Brush the edges lightly with the egg wash. Fold each square diagonally to form a triangle. Use a fork to crimp the edges to seal. Refrigerate turnovers for 15 minutes, or until pastry is firm.
6. Brush the tops lightly with egg wash and sprinkle generously with sugar. Bake for 20-30 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, or until pastry is well browned. Cool slightly on a wire rack before serving.