Cardamon Apple Turnovers

Are you interested in fixing a fabulous breakfast that will leave your family as slaves at your feet? This will do it. And with a bread machine and a can of apple pie filling at your fingertips they'll never even know how easy it was.

And for all you out there wondering what cardamom is (I got that question in last week's recipe, apparently I'm on a cardamom fix here) it's a spice that can easily be found in your local grocery store spice section and is used all over the world in both its seed form and ground. This particular recipe calls for using ground cardamom and since it's related to ginger it pairs very well with other apple-pie type spices such as nutmeg, cloves or cinnamon.

1 cup milk
1/3 cup butter
2 eggs
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 tablespoon fast acting yeast
1 can apple (or cherry) pie filling
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2-4 tablespoons of milk as needed to gain consistency

In a small bowl gently heat the milk, butter and eggs until the butter just begins to melt. Add the mixture to the bucket of your bread machine then add the flour, sugar, salt, cardamom and yeast and mix on the "dough" cycle. If you don't have a bread machine then prepare it as you would any regular make-it-by-hand recipe by adding the yeast, sugar, cardamom and salt to the liquid mixture then adding the flour little by little until it can be kneaded by hand.

Let the dough rest for 30 minutes, punch it down and let it rise again for another 30 (all this is done in your bread machine). When the dough is ready, separate it into 10 equal portions (or less or more depending on the size you're aiming for). Rough each section out into a uniform circle then add a spoonful of pie filling to the center. Fold the dough over into a half circle, carefully sealing it. It works best to press the edge with the tines of a fork to seal it well but make sure you don't get any of the filling along the edge where the seal should be because it won't stick together with the filling slicking things up.

Let the turnovers rise for about 30 minutes then bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until golden brown. As a trick I'll often give my bread a quick shot of cooking spray before it heads into the oven to give it a nice golden color. Let the turnovers cool and while they cool mix the powdered sugar, butter and extracts together. Add the milk little by little until the icing can be drizzled over the top of the turnovers for a pretty finish.

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Happy Birthday Luke! Today is my brother's birthday and I have to show off his Schwarzenegger catfish he caught this month. Anyone have a good recipe for catfish?


Judging by the size of this monster (the fish that is, not the brother) I'm guessing Luke's been sneaking off to fish near the CIA's secret nuclear testing facility again. That would explain the night photo and the mutant proportions--and it would be just like Luke. Hope you have a great day my brother--and stay out of trouble!

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