There are a few simple pleasures in life I will never take for granted: rays of morning sunshine, a hot mug of coffee, berry-stained fingers in the summer, and a perfectly flaky pastry.
Amidst the hustle and bustle of our busy lives — in between writing papers, rushing to work, catching the last bus home — there are moments that are meant to be savoured such as the string section of your working soundtrack, the crumpled leaves beneath your running feet, and the old woman sleeping peacefully on the bus, the city lights reflected on her face.
When it comes down to it, these little pauses are the chapter breaks in our day — they give us a reason to stop for a minute and slow down. It’s so important to take note of these sensual pleasures in life on a daily basis. They’re what make us human.
These turnovers are warm, flaky, and berry-filled, and are a perfect reminder that it’s fine — even healthy — to stop what you’re doing for a moment for a bit of an indulgence. I made the pastry dough myself, but if you’re dough-phobic you can also buy frozen sheets in the grocery store as they will do just fine.
For the pastry:
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 12 tablespoons (or 3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup ice water
In a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar and salt. Cut in butter either with a pastry blender or your fingers. Add water and mix until the dough can be formed into a ball. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
For the turnovers:
• Blackberry (or blueberry or strawberry or any other kind of berry) jam
• 1/2 cup of confectioner’s sugar
• A couple drops of almond extract
• 1 teaspoon of almond milk, more as needed
• A handful of slivered almonds
Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F. Roll out dough on a floured surface — you want it pretty thin as it does tend to puff up in the oven. Cut dough into squares and add a dollop of jam in each corner. Fold over the other corner, creating little triangle pockets of goodness. Bake for approximately 10 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown.
In the meantime, mix the confectioner’s sugar, almond extract and almond milk in a small bowl until you get a good consistency for drizzling. Once those little babies come out of the oven, let them cool a tad, then top with almonds and the almond drizzle. Don’t be afraid to get sticky jam fingers.
