Sweet Potato Turnovers

We hosted our supper club tonight and, as always, I wanted a new dessert to serve our friends. Because the weather has been so lovely and fall-like this week, sweet potato turnovers seemed just the thing. My inspiration came from the recipe for sweet potato fried pies in Chris and Idie Hastings’s Hot and Hot Fish Club Cookbook. One of the best things about this book is that all the recipes are organized by season; the fried pies are in the one for September & October. I definitely love fried pies but decided to bake these because my frying pot was already in use. These are pretty easy to make, but the dough does need to rest in the fridge, so don’t wait till the last minute. These turnovers are delicious and would be a great addition to our Thanksgiving menu. Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Turnovers
1 1/2 lb. sweet potatoes
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 cup cold butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup ice water
4 Tbsp. melted butter
6 Tbsp. brown sugar plus more for sprinkling
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1 Tbsp. orange liqueur
1 egg
1 Tbsp. water

1. Place sweet potatoes on a baking sheet, and bake at 375° for 1 hour or until done. Cool completely.
2. Place flour and next 4 ingredients in food processor bowl. Pulse until mixture is combined and resembles coarse sand. With processor running, gradually add ice water through food chute. Process until dough forms a ball. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, and chill for 1 hour.
3. Peel sweet potatoes, and place potatoes in a bowl. Stir in butter, 6 Tbsp. brown sugar, and next 3 ingredients.
4. Divide dough round in half, and then divide each half into 5 pieces. Roll out each piece on a lightly floured surface to form a circle. Spoon some of sweet potato mixture onto one side of dough circles. Fold over dough, and crimp edges. Place turnovers on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Combine egg and water; brush over tops of turnovers, and sprinkle with brown sugar.
5. Bake at 400° for 25 minutes or until golden and done. Serve warm with ice cream.