Apples, And Turnovers, And Coffee, Oh YUM!

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Apples, And Turnovers, And Coffee, Oh YUM!

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Apples, And Turnovers, And Coffee, Oh YUM!

13 min read JUL 02, 2025

Apple pie has been a symbol of American patriotism since World War II and beyond, but this symbolic pastry has evolved to now include simpler and easier kitchen endeavors such as cobblers and turnovers.

I know, I know, “as American as an apple turnover” doesn’t quite roll off the tongue like pie, but this common breakfast and dessert offering in the US still gives all those down-home, comforting vibes, and we’re here for it!

As an adult, I’ve noticed an increasingly common theme of apples being enjoyed primarily in the fall season, but I don’t remember this being so as a child.

Maybe this is due to the fact that my grandparents had a dozen or so apple trees on their property, those which bore fruit throughout the hottest season of the year, but apples were always a summertime treat in our family.

In July and August, my grandma’s kitchen was as warm as could be, her stovetop always bubbling with canning jars and pots simmering with green beans, tomatoes, and apples.

Bushel after bushel of apples would be made into applesauce, apple butter, apple filling, fresh pies, cobblers, and turnovers.

But, the turnovers are what really excited the grandkids as the simplicity of this confection meant that these treats were perfect for little hands eager to help.

The older cousins would use my grandma’s paring knife to peel and cut the apples, then the younger ones in our crew would take turns adding butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and apple pieces to a giant pot.

As the heat slowly cooked the apples, we’d take turns stirring.

Then, while the filling cooled, we’d all fight over who would…cough, cough…I mean kindly take turns laying out the pastry dough to soon be filled with my grandma’s delicious apple filling. (What was I thinking, of course we never fought over who got to lay out the pastry dough, we all know no child would ever do such a thing!) ;)

Anyways…step by step, we’d follow my grandmother’s instructions until the turnovers were filled and sealed. Then, into the oven they’d go for a quick bake while we prepared the glaze, impatiently awaiting the sound of the oven timer.

Of course, as children, we enjoyed the turnovers with a tall glass of cold milk, but the adults savored slow sips of freshly brewed coffee alongside this tasty summertime staple.

So light and flaky, so sweet yet slightly tart, so buttery, so incredibly delicious!

As an adult, I miss those days in my grandma’s kitchen, especially in the summer months.

Thankfully, these dishes seem to have near magical powers, as a single bite of a warm, flaky, and sweet apple turnover enjoyed in between sips of comforting coffee truly takes me back to those simpler times.

Even better, when I don’t have the time or calories to spare, these flavors can easily be combined in the contents of your coffee cup, allowing you to enjoy a mug or glass of Americana, hot or cold!

Wait?

You mean you’ve never savored the incredible flavor combination of apples and coffee?

Well, whether you’re a long-time apple-coffee fan or new to this unrivaled marriage of flavors, you’re in for a wonderful treat today as we share with you several ways to combine the flavors of a warm, buttery, flaky apple turnover with bold, smooth, Lifeboost Coffee! Yum!

4 Fabulous Apple Turnover Coffee Recipes

In each of the recipes below, we’re going to suggest the perfect Lifeboost classic roast for use in each one.

However, feel free to mix things up a bit if you’d like.

We’ll cover roast pairings to enjoy with a freshly baked apple turnover at the end of this article, so this is somewhat of a spoiler alert, but feel free to swap out these classic roast suggestions with a darker or lighter roast if you’d prefer as well as selections like our French Vanilla Coffee or our Caramel Macchiato Coffee, both of which will make the apple flavors in these recipes truly ‘pop.’

Then, as the seasons change and we open our fall flavor vault, Lifeboost Cinnamon Apple Streusel Coffee would also pair wonderfully with each of these decadently delicious offerings, so be sure to snag a bag or two later this year!

1- Apple Turnover Latte

You know that feeling when you’ve just bitten into a flaky apple turnover, and before that bite is fully savored and finished, you sneak a sip of freshly brewed coffee?

As you sip, those flavors combine, dancing across your tongue as if swept away in a whirlwind of joy - brown-sugared apples, cinnamon, butter, light and flaky crust, bold and smooth coffee - ahhh, can you sense the quiet, the solitude, your cares melting away in this single moment of taste bud tantalizing decadence?

That feeling? This is what you experience sip after sip of this apple turnover turned latte!

The espresso, apple syrup, and milk combine to bring you that classic coffee and apple filling flavor, then the silky-smooth cinnamon heavy cream resting on top is just buttery enough to mimic the velvety taste of the pastry dough.

Ingredients

2 ounces Lifeboost Espresso Coffee (or 2 freshly pulled shots)
1 ounce apple syrup (see recipe below)
1-ounce warmed milk
2 ounces heavy whipping cream
⅛ teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

Add espresso, apple syrup, and warmed milk to a small mug.
Add heavy cream and cinnamon to an electric frother and froth on the heated setting.
Top apple espresso with frothed cinnamon heavy cream and enjoy!

Homemade Apple Syrup

1 cup filtered water
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups sliced apples
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Add sugar, water, apples, and cinnamon to a medium saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil.

Once boiling, lower the heat and let simmer for 15-20 minutes until the apples have softened and the mixture has thickened.

Strain into a bowl, pressing down on the apples with a spoon or spatula to extract as much juice as possible.

Pour the syrup into an airtight glass jar and store excess in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. (The syrup will thicken as it cools.)

2- Apple a la Cold Brew

Not gonna lie, this one makes me so excited!

It’s really hard to choose a favorite amongst these flavorful apple-coffee combinations, but anything with the smooth, slightly sweeter, and less acidic taste of cold brewed coffee has a slight edge in my book.

This drink is just as refreshing as it is tasty, a treat that’ll bring you back for just one more sip, then another, then another!

**Because this is served cold, the butter in the brown sugar apple syrup may separate a bit when making this drink. Personally, I think this alludes to the buttery, flaky texture and taste of a turnover, but if you’re not a fan, simply skip the butter when you’re making the brown sugar apple syrup as it’s entirely optional.

Ingredients

8 ounces cold brewed Lifeboost Light Roast Coffee
1-2 ounces half and half
1-2 tablespoons brown sugar apple syrup (see recipe below)
Ice
Whipped cream, optional for topping
Cinnamon, optional for topping
Sliced apple, optional for garnish

Instructions

Add ice to a tall glass, then top with cold brew.
Add brown sugar apple syrup and half and half to the cold brew, stirring to combine.
Top with whipped cream, a dusting of cinnamon, and an apple slice for garnish. Enjoy!

Brown Sugar Apple Syrup

1 ½ cups filtered water
1 ½ cups brown sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
3 large apples, sliced thick
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Add water, brown sugar, and cinnamon to a medium saucepan and place over medium heat, whisking continually until sugar is dissolved.

Add apples to the mixture and bring to a boil.

Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20-30 minutes until the apples are very soft.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter (if using) and vanilla.

Pour the mixture into an airtight glass jar for storage, once completely cooled.

Can be stored for up to 10 days in the refrigerator, just make sure to shake or stir well prior to using.

3- Apple Turnover Affogato

While coffee and a ‘fresh out of the oven’ apple turnover are a wonderful pair, my grandpa always turned this duo into a trio, never enjoying this treat without a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

So, that’s what we’re going to recreate here, an affogato that’s just a little bit extra, incorporating more than just ice cream and coffee here, allowing you to enjoy the tastes of turnover filling in each delicious bite…or sip if you savor long enough for the ice cream to melt.

**I love to enjoy treats like this throughout the summer with cold brew instead of hot coffee. This results in more of a coffee float than an actual affogato, but it’s still a truly tasty treat, if you ask me.

Feel free to give it a try if you’ve got some cold brew on hand, simply subbing the freshly brewed coffee for an equal amount of cold brew.

Ingredients

6 ounces freshly brewed Lifeboost Medium Roast Coffee
½ cup, or one scoop, of vanilla ice cream
2-3 Spoonfuls of brown sugar buttered apples (see recipe below)

Instructions

Add one scoop of vanilla ice cream to a large mug.
Top ice cream with 2-3 Spoonfuls of brown sugar buttered apples.
Pour freshly brewed coffee over ice cream and apples and enjoy!

Brown Sugar Buttered Apples

2 Granny Smith (or June) apples, peeled, cored, and diced into small pieces
½ tablespoon unsalted butter
¼ cup unpacked brown sugar
⅛ teaspoon cinnamon

Add all ingredients to a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until bubbly, stirring continually to ensure sugar dissolves.

Heat for roughly 5 minutes or until the apples are soft.

Remove from heat and allow to cool prior to using.

4- Espresso Apple Turnover ‘Tini

How about a coffee cocktail to finish off this batch of apple turnover coffee recipes?

This tasty treat takes the concept of a decadent espresso martini and adds the familiar sweetness of apples, marrying the exceptional flavors of an appletini and an espresso martini into one incredible cocktail.

Ingredients (serves 2)

2 shots Lifeboost Espresso Coffee (roughly 2-3 ounces total), chilled
3 ounces vodka
1 ounce Kahlua
1 ounce sweetened condensed milk
1 ounce apple syrup (see homemade apple syrup recipe from recipe #1 above)
Ice

Instructions

In a cocktail shaker, add ice, chilled espresso, vodka, Kahlua, condensed milk, and apple syrup. Shake vigorously for at least 15 seconds. It’s best to shake long enough for frost to form on the outside of the shaker, as this allows a foam to form which will top your cocktail.
Strain, dividing between two chilled martini glasses, and enjoy!

Enjoying Apple Turnovers With Coffee

While the above recipes are absolutely incredible (really, it’s been so hard for me to insist on a single favorite) there’s just something about savoring a warm, flaky, buttery, and gooey bite of a real apple turnover.

And, I don’t have to tell you how decadent each glorious sip of coffee is in between those confectionery bites.

So, before we close things out today, I wanted to share a simple apple turnover recipe with you along with some brew pairing tips.

First, let’s take a look at those pairings:

Fruit based desserts, specifically tart apple pies and turnovers, pair wonderfully with lighter coffee roasts.

Typically, light roasts are more bright and naturally acidic, and these coffees commonly boast the organic flavors of the regions in which they’re grown. Usually, this means you might detect a slight element of citrus or even a few floral notes in your brew, and these are commonly recommended when enjoying fruit-based desserts.

Especially when you’re enjoying a turnover recipe that utilizes a glaze, which makes the pastry a tad sweeter than others, a light roast coffee serves to balance the sweetness of the dessert, even preventing your palate from being overwhelmed by the saccharin nature of such treats.

If you’re looking for a roast which still allows you to savor the flavors of a warm apple turnover, especially a turnover which incorporates a tad more spice with the apples, then a medium roast is your best bet.

A medium roasted coffee isn’t as bright as a light roast, nor is this roast as caramelized or bitter as a dark roast. So, when enjoying a medium roast alongside a dessert or breakfast offering like an apple turnover, this can enhance the warm and subtly spicy flavors of the flaky confection.

Flavored coffee selections with notes of vanilla and/or caramel are also great choices for pairing with apple turnovers. These flavors, especially, serve to enhance both the sweetness and the innate warmth of brown sugar and cinnamon apple filling enveloped in a buttery, flaky crust.

For instance, Lifeboost French Vanilla Coffee, Lifeboost Caramel Macchiato Coffee, and Lifeboost Highlander Grogg (which contains both vanilla and caramel flavors) would make great apple turnover companions!

And, now that we’ve got your cup covered, let’s finish with an easy, delicious apple turnover recipe.

*Note - The recipe calls for Granny Smith apples, but personally, I love to use June apples here too. Any variety with a tart finish is excellent.

Ingredients

1 lb. (or two sheets) puff pastry dough
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (only for dusting when rolling out the dough)
3 medium sized Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and diced into one third inch pieces
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
¼ cup brown sugar, lightly packed
½ teaspoon cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 egg + 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

For the glaze:

½ cup powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Instructions

Thaw pastry dough according to package instructions. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a medium pot melt butter over medium heat, then add diced apples and cook for 5 minutes, stirring continually until the apples are softened.
Reduce heat to low and stir in brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Continue to simmer until the apples are soft and caramelized.
Remove from heat and set aside to cool completely.
Once the apple mixture is cooled, using a rolling pin, roll out one of the thawed pastry dough sheets to an 11 inch square.
Cut into 4 equal squares (a pizza cutter makes this a simple step), and scoop some of the cooled apple filling onto half of each square, leaving at least a ½ inch border.
Thoroughly beat together one egg and 1 tablespoon of water. Brush the egg wash lightly on the edges of the pastry, just enough to seal.
Fold the dough over the filling to touch the opposite corner to create a triangle and crimp along the edges with a fork to seal.
Repeat the steps above with the second sheet of pastry dough to make 8 turnovers (total).
Transfer the turnovers to a parchment lined baking sheet, keeping them at least one inch apart.
Cut two to three small slits in the tops of each turnover. Brush the tops with the egg wash, and bake for 20-23 minutes or until golden brown and puffed.
While the turnovers are still warm, whisk together powdered sugar and heavy whipping cream to make a glaze.
Drizzle a desired amount of glaze over the turnovers, and enjoy (with your favorite Lifeboost brew, of course)!

Be sure to let us know which apple turnover coffee recipe is your favorite and which roast or flavored Lifeboost coffee selection you prefer when you’re simply savoring some delicious sips alongside a warm, flaky, and gooey apple turnover!

Check out Lifeboost Coffee Grata Medium Roast.

Becky Livingston Vance Content writer

Becky is a mother, educator, and content writer for Lifeboost Coffee. She has had three years’ experience as a writer, and in that time she has enjoyed creatively composing articles and ebooks covering the topics of coffee, health and fitness, education, recipes, and relationships.