Serves a Crowd

Ricotta Turnovers (Fazzoletti Dolci) with Puff Pastry

by:
January 17, 2017
5
3 Ratings
Ricotta Turnovers (Fazzoletti Dolci) with Puff Pastry
Photo by Emiko
  • Makes 12 pastries
Author Notes

These are super quick to make if you have ready-made pastry and can be whipped up in the morning for fresh, warm pastries. There are a number of substitutions you can use here—instead of the candied orange, use chopped dark chocolate or rum-soaked raisins. Or leave it out and swirl through a teaspoon of your favorite jam (I'd go for sour cherry) together with the ricotta on each pastry square.

These are best eaten warm or, at the minimum, on the same day they're made. —Emiko

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 sheet ready-made puff pastry (about 230 grams or 8 ounces of pastry)
  • 7 ounces (200 grams) ricotta
  • 1/3 cup (65 grams) sugar
  • 1 egg, separated (save the white for brushing the tops)
  • Grated zest of 1 lemon or orange
  • 1 splash rum (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons (30 grams) candied orange, finely chopped (see note for substitutions)
  • Powdered sugar, for dusting
Directions
  1. Heat oven to 180°C/350°F.
  2. Roll out the puff pastry on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and with a sharp knife divide the dough into 12 even squares.
  3. In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the ricotta, sugar, egg yolk (save the white for later), zest, rum (if using), and candied orange until smooth. I use a fork or a spoon.
  4. Place about 1 heaped tablespoon of the ricotta mixture on the bottom corner of every square (not too close to the edges), then brush the rest of the surface of the pastry with the leftover egg white. Immediately fold over the opposite top corner to create triangles encasing the ricotta filling. Press the edges firmly down with fingers or with the tines of a fork.
  5. Bake 15 minutes or until the pastries are puffed and golden. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
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  • Fatima Attia-Afzal
    Fatima Attia-Afzal
  • Anastasia S. V. Andreadis
    Anastasia S. V. Andreadis
  • Hina Khokhar
    Hina Khokhar
  • Emiko
    Emiko

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13 Reviews

Jocooks00!
Jocooks00! September 10, 2022
These are delicious. I used my own rough puff pastry… I did find the filling to be a bit thin, so I stuck it in the freezer for about 10 mins to help it out… Brief freezer time helped out my pastry as well! They took probably an extra 10 mins rotating tray front to back. 😊
 
Ann
Ann May 17, 2021
This didn’t work for me at all. The batter was so loose that it was impossible to work with. Most of us use grocery store ricotta—mine was from Whole Foods—so it would have been useful to maybe suggest straining it. Maybe a medium egg? Maybe no rum? It was a total disaster. Sorry.
 
Fatima A.
Fatima A. April 14, 2019
These were so easy to make and so delicious! I skipped the rum and the candied nuts. But it still was so yum!
 
Georgeanna S.
Georgeanna S. May 11, 2018
The filling was way too loose, I thought the ricotta was OK. What made it too smooth and could I add anything to stiffen it up?
 
Emiko
Emiko May 14, 2018
It could be that the ricotta itself was a bit too wet -- if it is proper ricotta (fresh cheese curds) it should be firm and be able to stand up on its own! Draining it overnight before using can help a bit but if it is a supermarket ricotta with a generally 'wetter' consistency sometimes this does nothing. It could be that the egg was too big but since it's just the yolk, it would be minimal. You could also leave out the rum, which won't help with it being too runny. Best bet would be to change ricotta!
 
Anastasia S.
Anastasia S. March 19, 2018
Hi Emiko! Have you tried this without using egg? What was the result? I assume the egg added to the ricotta gives it a more liquid substance so that the ricotta mixture does not dry up while baking. I plan on using Kite Hill Ricotta, which is a bit dry- can I simply mix this with a bit of water or just with jam as suggested in your notes?
 
Emiko
Emiko March 21, 2018
I have not tried it without egg, but I think it should work fine. For me, the egg helps keep the ricotta in shape and adds a bit of richness, but if you're leaving it out, I wouldn't worry about mixing the ricotta with anything (or if you really do feel like it's too dry, a splash of milk perhaps), if it is a good ricotta it should be just fine baked!
 
Josephine
Josephine July 4, 2017
Very easy and forgiving recipe for shaping and baking. The egg yolk in the ricotta keeps the filling from exploding during baking. I cut the pre-packaged dough sheet into 9 pieces to get pieces more of a square shape. Depends on the size of the sheet you begin with. I seasoned the drained ricotta with rum and sugar as in the recipe, then added tsp of orange marmalade on top of ricotta before sealing. Don't worry about sealing perfectly. I sprinkled sugar on each and snipped a hole in each before baking. Baked about 20 minutes till golden. Thanks for a great recipe!
 
Robin J.
Robin J. February 17, 2017
I can't consume 12 of these in one "cycle". Would you suggest freezing them before or after baking?
 
Emiko
Emiko February 18, 2017
You can definitely freeze them before baking, just let them thaw before putting them in the oven!
 
Hina K.
Hina K. January 27, 2017
Where do you buy your puff pastry?
 
someonewhobakes
someonewhobakes January 24, 2017
Hi Emiko! In step 2, roll out the pastry to about how big?
 
Emiko
Emiko January 26, 2017
If you're using pre-packaged puff pastry, it's usually only in one size (but it is rolled up into a cylinder, so unroll the cylinder and lay it flat). If using your own puff pastry, it should be about 2mm thickness and the squares can be about 4 inches square, which is pretty standard. Sorry for the confusion!