It was around this time last year that I shared my apple turnover recipe, and since then my little sister has not stopped asking me to make them for her. I finally decided that this space could use a new turnover recipe and thought that cherry would be the best choice because
Unfortunately, as it turns out, Andi doesn’t actually like cherries or anything cherry-flavored so my efforts for that part were mostly wasted, but at least she nibbled around the edges and gave the sugared crust and cheesecake filling a thumbs-up. Honestly, I’m not much of a cherry person myself either, but as it turns out if you serve me a cherry turnover made with a bourbon-infused cherry pie filling and served warm over a bed of creamy cheesecake and tucked into a golden sugared bed of buttery pie crust, I certainly won’t turn it down.
I made this cherry pie filling using frozen cherries, but I’m sure fresh would work just as well. Just make sure to pit your cherries before using and also, be mindful of the tartness of the cherries that you use — a more tart cherry will likely need a little more sugar to make the filling more palatable. I also chose to add a splash of bourbon into my cherry pie filling for flavor, but if you don’t like bourbon you can leave this out. I also tried flavoring the cherry pie filling with a little bit of vanilla extract and found that I didn’t really care for it; the taste detracted from the natural flavor of the cherries, and besides, there’s a subtle vanilla flavor in the cheesecake layer so adding it to the cherries becomes redundant anyway.
These cherry cheesecake turnovers start with my all-time favorite easy pie crust recipe. If you’ve ever felt intimidated by the prospect of making your own pie dough, don’t be. Mine is not only flaky, buttery, and easy to manage but it also comes together simply thanks to the fact that I always use a food processor. this is my go-to pie crust, I’ve been making it for years and I’ve never found another recipe that’s been easier or tastier. If you’re really looking for a shortcut you could use store-bought pie dough or even puff pastry. When I worked at Arby’s, their turnovers were always made with puff pastry but I always thought that it overwhelmed the filling rather than complementing it — I always had a mouthful of bland, crumbly puff pastry and a tiny bit of filling — so I much prefer using this buttery homemade pie dough instead.
Enjoy!
How to Make Cherry Cheesecake Turnovers
