Eliza Jane opened the dinner-pail on her desk. It held…four delicious apple turnovers, their plump crusts filled with melting slices of apple and spicy brown juice.
—Farmer Boy
Apples were a popular fruit for many pioneers because they stored well and could be used in a variety of ways. Every respectable pioneer garden would have included a small orchard whenever possible.
Laura and Almanzo planted an apple orchard at their home near Mansfield, Missouri, so it’s no surprise to discover that Almanzo had enjoyed apple pie and apple turnovers during his childhood. Now you can enjoy a delicious homemade apple turnover for yourself!
Making the Apple Turnover Crust
See the complete ingredients and directions for making the crust, called Common Family Paste for Pies, in our apple pie recipe.
Crust Ingredients:
- 2 ½ cups flour, plus extra for dusting
- 1 tsp. salt
- ⅔ cup butter or lard (10 tbs.)
- 6 Tablespoons ice water (as needed)
Apple Turnover Ingredients:
- 3-4 Tart Apples
- ⅔ Cup Brown Sugar
- ¼ tsp Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp Nutmeg
- 2 tsp Butter
- 6 tsp Powder Sugar
- Double Pie Crust
Directions for Making Homemade Apple Turnovers:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and grease the baking sheet with the butter.
2. Prepare pie crust and chill in the refrigerator while working on the filling.
3. Peel, core, slice and chop the apples and add to a 2-quart bowl.
4. Mix apples with brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
5. Roll half of the pie crust out ⅛ inch thick until you have a 5 x 15 inch rectangle. Don’t worry about a perfect shape because you can cut off the excess and use when rolling out the rest of the dough.
6.Cut into three, 5-inch squares for the apple turnover pockets.
7.Using a fork scoop about 3 Tbls of the apple mixture. Drain away any excess juice and place in the center of each square.
8. Wet the edges of each square. Then fold over the dough, creating a triangle. Cut off any excess dough to even out the edges and crimp with a fork.
9. Repeat with the remaining half of dough and apple mixture.
10. Bake for 20-25 mins until browned.
11. Dust with powder sugar and let cool.
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Note:
The author drew ideas and inspiration from The Little House Cookbook: Frontier Foods from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Classic Stories by Barbara M. Walker (New York: Harper & Row, 1979). You can read a review of this wonderful resource by clicking here.
Printable Recipe
Crust Ingredients:
- 2 ½ cups flour, plus extra for dusting
- 1 tsp. salt
- ⅔ cup butter or lard (10 tbs.)
- 6 Tablespoons ice water (as needed)
Apple Turnover Ingredients:
- 3-4 Tart Apples
- ⅔ Cup Brown Sugar
- ¼ tsp Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp Nutmeg
- 2 tsp Butter
- 6 tsp Powder Sugar
- Double Pie Crust
Directions for Making Homemade Apple Turnovers:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees and grease the baking sheet with the butter.
- Prepare pie crust and chill in the refrigerator while working on the filling.
- Peel, core, slice and chop the apples and add to a 2-quart bowl.
- Mix apples with brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Roll half of the pie crust out ⅛ inch thick until you have a 5 x 15 inch rectangle. Don’t worry about a perfect shape because you can cut off the excess and use when rolling out the rest of the dough.
- Cut into three, 5-inch squares for the apple turnover pockets.
- Using a fork scoop about 3 Tbls of the apple mixture. Drain away any excess juice and place in the center of each square.
- Wet the edges of each square. Then fold over the dough, creating a triangle. Cut off any excess dough to even out the edges and crimp with a fork.
- Repeat with the remaining half of dough and apple mixture.
- Wet the edges of each square. Then fold over the dough, creating a triangle. Cut off any excess dough to even out the edges and crimp with a fork.
- Repeat with the remaining half of dough and apple mixture.
Writer of the food blog, Natural Chow, Margaret Anne is a green-thumbed Christian striving to live a healthy lifestyle and teach others about eating and living naturally. She understands the importance of inexpensive meals, family time, health, having fun, and making foods that are good for your body. See her contributions to Little House on the Prairie below.
Hello 👋 my favorite show little house on the prairie you guys are the best show ever
i love watching little house i”am 73 years old and i have been watching little house for years ,i mean years , and i hove these recipes
I am 72 and I still watch it on prime or hulu! I have watched it for years! I dream I had a life on the prairie! lol!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I have made it 2 times in 2 days.
Love these recipes! Thanks for sharing.
can these be frozen?
Do you add the butter and sugar in with the apple mixture and do you brush the crust with anything ? Like eggs or butter etc.? 🙂
If you read the recipe above, there is no eggs. The butter goes into the crust, also an amount is used to grease the cookie sheet. I use parchment paper or cooking spray, You can also use purchasee pre-made pie crust and fill them with the spiced apple mixture above. Yummy either way. You can also use little tart pans and cut out rounds for the top making wee little pies. Have fun. thats always part of cooking.
Have you ever made a button lamp like ma made during the winter they lived in the store building in town? I had a hard time finding what it would have looked like ,but i finally found it an made one. It sure didnt give much light or last very long but it was fun to try.
Love reruns of little house on the prairie and love fried apple pies
ho letto da qualche parte che Melissa Sue Anderson, attrice che ha interpretato Mery, ha scritto un libro, forse biografico, dove racconta tanti aneddoti del periodo in cui lavorava nella serie tv. Ne sapete qualcosa?
So glad I came across this web site by mistake I love it so much I try to live my life as much as I can by this in our modern life today ! Awesome site thank you .
Love the old fashioned recipes…
Love the recipe and the other things. Thank you