These flaky cherry turnovers make a quick and delicious dessert, perfect for the season. Puff pastry pockets filled with cherries, drizzled with lemon glaze and crunchy nuts.

Cherry season again, and we try to make the most of it. Not only preserving cherries or these amazing Cherries in Kirsch but lots of cakes as well. Simple and quick recipes like today's Cherry Turnovers or more elaborate ones (although very easy to make as well), like the Bakewell Cherry Cake, the Fresh Cherry Loaf Cake, or the Cherry and Almond Cake.

piled cherry turnovers, one showing the filling.

Puff pastry turnovers with cherries

You can enjoy these cherry turnovers with puff pastry as an easy after lunch/dinner dessert; you can serve them to guests with a cup of tea or coffee or take them on a picnic. They travel well, you can eat them from the hand, and they will not spoil easily when the weather is hot.

What do you need for the pastries?

Puff pastry:

A large sheet from the refrigerator section of the supermarket.
Alternatively, use frozen, either sheets or a block. Thaw according to the packet's instructions and roll if not already rolled.
My ready-rolled pastry weighed 275 g/ 10 oz, and it was about 25 cm/ 9.8 inches long. The size of the sheet is not essential. Cut the dough into even squares.

Filling:

Fresh cherries; however, the turnovers can be made with frozen or canned cherries or pie filling.
You will also need a little cornstarch, sugar, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt.

Lemon glaze:

About 125 g/ 1 cup icing sugar and some fresh lemon juice. You can make the glaze with milk or water as well. Or with cherry juice; in this case, the icing will be pink.

Nuts:

I had roasted hazelnut crunch, but any other nuts are great. Try almonds, walnuts, pecan nuts, and so on. But do roast and chop them before sprinkling them on top of the pastries.

Egg wash:

1 small egg and 1 tablespoon milk.

How to make cherry turnovers?

Filling:

Pit the cherries. I always use a cherry pitter; it is a cheap gadget that means a lot to me during the cherry season; I don't know what I would do without it! (Amazon affiliate link). You will need about 200 g/ 2 cups pitted and roughly chopped cherries.
Mix the fruit, cornstarch, sugar, salt, and lemon juice in a small saucepan.
Cook: Bring to a boil on medium-low heat, turn the heat down and simmer gently and stirring continuously until thickened. It will not take long, about 3 minutes; the cherries should be slightly softer but not cooked down to a mush. Transfer to a large plate and let cool slightly.
Frozen cherries: the procedure is the same; you will not even have to thaw the cherries. However, the cooking time might be a couple of minutes longer.
Canned fruit: skip the sugar; the fruit is already sweet. Mix the ingredients in the saucepan and simmer gently until thickened.

collage of three pictures of pitted cherries, then cooking them with cornstarch in a small pot.

Pastries:

Unroll the pastry sheet on the working surface. If the pastry is not rolled in parchment paper, flour the surface very lightly with flour. Otherwise, use that paper to stop it from sticking to the table.
Cut the pastry into even squares; I had 12.
Fill: Place some filling in the center of each square.
Brush the pastry edges with egg wash.
Fold one corner of each square over to the opposite corner.
Press the pastry all around to seal the edges using a fork. (1)
Transfer to a baking tray lined with baking parchment.
Brush with egg wash.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes or until puffed up and golden brown. (2)
In the meantime, toast the nuts in a dry pan. Transfer immediately to a large plate and let cool. Chop roughly if desired. If using hazelnut crunch, there will be no need to roast and chop it; it is already roasted and chopped.

Glaze:

Mix the icing sugar with enough lemon juice to get a smooth, thick, slightly runny paste. Start with 1 ½ tablespoons juice, and only add the rest – drop by drop – if necessary to achieve the desired consistency.
Drizzle the cherry puff pastry turnovers with the glaze using a spoon. (3)
Sprinkle with nuts immediately so that the nuts can stick to the glaze while it is still soft. It is preferable to glaze only 2-3 turnovers at a time, sprinkle them with nuts and then continue with the rest.
Leave to set on the tray for about 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
You can leave the glaze be and only dust the pastries with icing sugar before serving.

collage of three pictures of pastry triangles before, after baking and after glazing.

Can I make the turnovers with other fruit?

Definitely, you can make them with pretty much any fruit or berries you like. I love these turnovers with red currants (add a bit more sugar, they are very sour), raspberries, apricots, nectarines, or peaches.

How to store turnovers?

Puff pastry turnovers are best on the day you've baked them; they are at their flakiest now. However, they keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for at least 3 days.

close up one puff pastry triangle glazed with icing sugar.

Make ahead

Prepare a few hours in advance and refrigerate on the tray until ready to bake.

You can also freeze the prepared and unbaked turnovers for up to 1 month. Then, bake them from frozen, adding about 5 minutes to the baking time. They should be deeply golden and puffy.