Sausage Apple Turnovers

1996 National Sausage Month Award-Winning Recipes Second Prize Winner Sarah Officer of Tucson, Arizona.

Recipe Ingredients:

2 medium baking apples
12 ounces regular pork sausage
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 sheets of frozen puff pastry dough

Cooking Directions:

1. Peel and core apples and cut into small slices.
2. Over medium heat, brown apples and sausage in a skillet, allowing sausage to crumble. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes until sausage is fully browned and apples are soft. Pour off all the grease and pat with paper towels.
3. Stir in maple syrup and chill until mixture is cool to the touch.
4. Thaw puff pastry dough. Cut each sheet of dough into six pieces.
5. On a floured board, roll each piece of dough into a 6 to 7-inch square.
6. Stir sausage mixture to evenly distribute the maple syrup and put a generous spoonful in the middle of each dough square. Fold in half and seal the edges. Chill turnovers until dough is cool to the touch. Turnovers may be frozen wrapped in plastic for cooking at a later time.
7. Preheat oven to 400°F (205°C).
8. Bake turnovers on a cookie sheet for 15 minutes or until golden brown. if turnovers are frozen, they may go directly into the oven without thawing. Frozen turnovers may require a longer cooking time. Serve warm.

Makes 12 turnovers.

Council Hint: We also tried this recipe with two large tubes of crescent roll dough. It is a tasty shortcut. It makes 16 small turnovers with crescent dough; six with pastry dough.

Recipe provided courtesy National Hot Dog And Sausage Council.