Snack: Apple Turnover Cookies
Brain Booster Rating: 6 out of 10. Sugar for energy and apples for a bit of concentration.
Equipment: Hand mixer/food processor, mixing bowls, baking sheet, cookie cutter (optional)
Ingredients: Apples, sugar, cinnamon, butter, flour, egg, lemon juice, water

Exams are one and a half weeks away here in Edinburgh and I’m starting to feel the pressure. I’ve been studying on and off for the past couple of weeks, but it just seems as though I haven’t really retained much material. Honestly, this happens to me before every big exam. I study really hard and think that nothing is getting through to me, then I go in and take the test and when I get my results, I feel as though I should have never worried. It’s an exhausting, endless tradition. I wish I could find a solution to the stress I know we all experience before an important test…

Actually, I think I have a theory as to why we feel this way when studying. I believe it’s because we haven’t been snacking on the right foods whenever we break.

See, I’ve tried granola bars, apples, and carrots, store bought cookies, and even tortilla chips and salsa. For some reason though, my snacks haven’t really satisfied me. They were too ordinary, unoriginal - too blah. That is, until I stumbled upon a recipe for apple turnover cookies. That’s when I realized that these would be perfect! They would give me the energy I need to keep going (a bit of sugar), paired with the concentration that comes from eating fruit (apples). And let’s not forget, they also hold that warm comforting feeling of a pastry without taking as much effort.

So I thought, why not? Let’s give them a try! The cookies definitely gave me the motivation I needed to continue revising. They’re easy to make, delicious, and versatile. This is certainly one to try out next time you’re having a study party…even a study party of one.

Candice Allouch is a junior at American University but abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland during the spring semester where she loves to try out new and intriguing tastes, from gastropubs to traditional restaurants (where Haggis is a must).

Apple Turnover Cookies
Adapted from Technicolor Kitchen
Yields about 20 cookies

Note: This dough does not contain sugar, thus it can be used for making practically anything, including pot pies, pastries, empanadas, and fruit pies.

Ingredients

For Filling:
2 small apples, cut into small cubes
2 teaspoons of sugar
¼ teaspoon of lemon juice
ground cinnamon (the amount depends on your liking)

For Dough:
1/3 cup of butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup of flour
pinch of salt
1 large egg yolk
iced water
1 egg white, for brushing

For Sprinkling:
sugar
ground cinnamon

Start with the filling: mix the apple pieces, sugar, lemon juice, and ground cinnamon (I always put a generous amount) in a microwave safe bowl. Heat (on high) for about 2-3 minutes – be sure to check on it halfway through to stir and make sure no apple pieces burn. Remove form microwave and set aside to cool.

Next comes the dough: sift the flour and salt together into a bowl. Add the chunks of butter and, using a hand mixer or food processor pulse so that the mixture resembles sand. Add the egg yolk and a tablespoon of iced water. Mix again, adding water until the dough begins to come together.

Transfer the dough to a large piece of plastic wrap and press it out to 1 cm thick. Cover with plastic wrap and put it in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a large baking sheet.

Remove the dough from the freezer – it should be a bit hard, but not frozen enough to break apart. On a lightly floured surface and roll out the dough to a thinner thickness. Cut out desired shapes (you can use cookies cutters but I just used the rim of a small teacup). Place some filling in half the cut out shapes, brush the edges with egg white, and top with another dough shape. Pinch the edges together (I used a fork and pressed the edges together). Be sure to completely close the edges so that the filling doesn’t spill out. Transfer the cookies to prepared baking sheet.

Bake for about 20-40 minutes or until lightly golden brown at the edges. After removing from oven, let cool.

And finally the top coat: Mix sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Roll each cookie in cinnamon sugar (you can also add a bit of brown sugar for taste). Enjoy them warm (although they’re delicious even if not right out of the oven)!