Fried Pineapple and Cream Cheese Turnovers

Pineapple and Cream Cheese Turnovers

This is actually an unplanned recipe but it turned out delish! Last Sunday my husband bought a pineapple from a local vender at our local outdoor market. I guess the gentleman who sold us our fruit wasn't aware that the pineapple was overripe, but not to make a big deal and to help out small businesses and the locals we bought the pineapple anyways, and boy am I glad we did!

Today is Friday and that pineapple sat on my counter for 5 days, continuing to ripe. Everyone in my house kept mentioning the pineapple, but no one try cutting into it, until this morning at 3 am, when I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep and all I kept thinking about was the pineapple. So I did what any of you would of done, I Google "What to do with an overripe pineapple?", let's just say it wasn't much help. Everywhere I looked the only real suggestion I saw was juicing the fruit, but I don't own a juicer. So instead I got out of bed and started cutting into it, to my surprised it still was usable and it smelled and tasted absolutely wonderful!

I am only using half of the pineapple for this recipe.

The ingredients that I am using for this recipe are simple, nothing too extravagant but I will add suggestions at the end of this post to give this recipe a more "sophisticated" twist. But for now, let's Keep It Simple Sweethearts, sometime simple is all you need.

Ingredients:

2 cups Pineapple, overripe and diced medium size

2/3 cups Sugar + 1/2 cup for Cream Cheese

1/4 cup water

4oz Creamed Cheese, soften

1 tsp. Vanilla extract

Empanadilla dough templates

Oil for Frying

Powder Sugar

Procedure:

1. Cut your pineapple into medium size chunks.

2. Add 2/3 cup of Sugar and 1/4 cup water. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for about an hour.

3. When pineapple is soft and a bit translucent, shut off the heat and let cool. 

Note: During this time you can use some of the syrup of the pineapple and make your own Pineapple soda. Just put about 2 tablespoon of cold pineapple syrup in a glass, add a few ice cubes and fill with club soda. While your filling the glass with club soda, using your other hand use a spoon to mix syrup and pineapple juice, don't shake, just stir. There you have a better tasting pineapple soda with less sugar and chemicals.

4. Once pineapple is cool, transfer to blender and on the lowest setting puree the pineapple.

5. Using an electric mixer, smooth cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Set aside.

6. If you cannot find Empanadilla templates than you can use Philo dough and instead of frying you can bake them instead.

7. Working with one turn over at a time, add a dab of cream cheese, spread it, than add a dab of pineapple puree on top.

8. Fold template in half and using a fork seal the edges.

9. Fry until golden, and drain in a strainer. DO NOT strain on paper towels, your turnovers will get soggy. Let completely cool.

1O. Dust with powder sugar and serve!

 You can also get creative and make other shapes, such as purses or triangles or squares, etc. It's your choice! You can also serve this with some vanilla ice cream...Bonus! :D

You are probably going to have pineapple puree left over you can use the remaining as a topping for your ice cream sundae, or you can eat it as jam with your morning toast or crackers. You can eat the puree like you would eat applesauce, thou I added 2/3 cups of sugar it really isn't too sweet. 

Other Alternative Recipes

1. Add about a teaspoon of finely chopped or shaved ginger to give your turnover a bit of a kick and spiciness to it.

2. Serve your pineapple sauce with chicken or pork. Reduce the amount of sugar, add chopped ginger, garlic and add cilantro leaves for a Hawaiian vibe to your meals.

3. Use your puree in pies, cakes or cookies.

4. Use the syrup, before processing the pineapple, in making your own sodas or alcoholic beverages. For example: 2 Tbsp. Pineapple Syrup topped with Club Soda

5. Infuse your overripe pineapple with your favorite vodka or rum. Add pineapple slices to liquor and let it cure for a few weeks. You can also add other fruits or spices to make your own signature drink.

6. Add other ingredients such as ginger, cloves, anise, coconut, strawberries, pears, apples, etc., to make different blends. 

The possibilities are endless!