Store bought puff pastry turned into a simple sweet treat with some jam and a simple glaze.
When it comes to canning, my eyes are definitely bigger than my stomach regarding how much jam, etc. my household can consume in a given year. If you are a home canner then you may suffer from the same insatiable desire to put all the bounty of summer into jars that you can get your hands on. I am slowly getting myself under control since I have a few years under my belt now and I know what my family likes and what sits in the cupboard.
We don't eat much bread in this house and when I do have bread I am usually making grilled cheese sandwiches or back bacon sandwiches. These are the two types of sandwiches that Timothy has declared he likes. He does eat peanut butter and jam sandwiches but I only make those with strawberry freezer jam. I have mentioned my devotion to this very high sugar, no-cook jam in a previous post. I remain faithful still.
I say that I won't be making jam this year but as I sit and think about it, I will likely be making some rhubarb vanilla bean jam. I no longer use agave syrup which is what my original recipe calls for. I am not convinced of its health benefits opposed to straight up sugar. I jumped on the bandwagon a bit too soon on that front so several of my jam recipes call for agave.
What I do plan on making this year are lots of preserves, in the traditional definition. This means that the fruit is left whole or sliced, rather than crushed as in jam, and preserved in syrup. Some of what I have planned will make it to the blog but others are other peoples' recipes and I will happily share links or from which cookbook they come from.
While I gear up for a new canning season (aka summer), I need to clear out the old stock. This is a simple way to use up part of a jar of jam and end up with dessert or an item for a brunch table with very little effort. Get yourself some good puff pastry from the grocery store, preferably the pre-rolled kind and you are about 30 minutes away from a flaky, sweet treat. You don't need to have homemade jam to make this, of course. I haven't tried it with fruit spreads, so I don't know if it will work the same way. It is worth a try thought, if that is all you have.
Do you have any plans to can anything this summer? Trying something new or perhaps just putting up some old family favourites?
Store bought puff pastry turned into a simple sweet treat with some jam and a simple glaze. This is a quick dessert or lovely addition to a brunch table.
Unroll the piece of puff pastry. Cut the pastry into 9 evenly sized squares.
When all the squares have been filled, brush the perimeter of the square with the beaten egg using a pastry brush. Gently fold the pastry over to make a triangle. Gently press around the filling and press down on the edges slightly to seal the turnover.
Transfer the turnovers to a parchment paper lined pan. Brush the tops of the turnovers with the beaten egg.
Bake at 400 F for 20 minutes or until the tops of the turnovers are golden brown.
Transfer the baked turnovers to a cooling rack and let them cool for 5-10 minutes before putting the glaze on top.
In a small bowl, stir together the milk and icing sugar. You are looking for a very thick glaze that will stay white when drizzled over the turnovers. It should be slightly thicker than Elmer's Glue but still runny enough to drip easily off a fork or spoon. You may need to adjust the amount of icing sugar or milk accordingly to achieve the right consistency. If adding more milk, do so in very small increments as the icing sugar gets runny very quickly.
Use a small spoon to drizzle the glaze over the turnovers, moving you hand back and forth to create a zigzag pattern.
Let the glaze set for 5-10 minutes and serve warm.