Dudes!

How've you been? What was your New Year's Eve like?! Did you cuddle up on the couch watching Anderson Cooper's New Year's Eve special on mute while playing love ballads from the 80's? No? Oh, me neither.

I actually didn't this year, I promise! Matt had to work super late, so I spent some time on the river with close friends watching the firework show. After work, the boy met up with us and we went to this big warehouse party thing. It was very New Year's Eve appropriate. I wore a golden glittery turtle neck, if that's any indication as to what the night was like.

The rest of the weekend has been spent planning for a surprise pre-birthday brunch I threw for Matt today (he turns 25 on January 4th!!!) as well as a larger birthday party and housewarming combo we're having at our new place this Monday. Other than that, I've been in bed cuddling the Fox, and tinkering around in the kitchen working on this turnover recipe.

So, warm turnovers. You know, the kind that have that gooey fruity delicious filling that kinda spills out onto your lap or hands or down your chin or whatever. I've been craving those so badly. They're just the perfect butter-to-sugar ratio, obviously making them a super appropriate breakfast food.

After hoping, wishing, and praying that someone would just bring me a damn turnover, I decided to make some for myself. These get stuffed with blackberries and a little ricotta for a creamy element - OH and my girl Martha gave me the inspiration to use filo dough instead of pastry dough, which turned out to be an amazing decision. The gooey creamy berry-filled inside combined with the slight crunchy buttery fluff of the filo wrapping makes these damn good. Like, feed these to your kids/husband/partner for breakfast and you can be a total dick the rest of the day and they won't love you any less. Also, bonus, they can be thrown together in less than an hour. I do have to say, be super careful to keep the thawed filo dough covered in a slightly damp towel at all times, as it dries out extremely quickly, making it break apart and impossible to work with. Check out the recipe below, loves!

Blackberry Ricotta Turnovers

makes 8

6 sheets thawed filo dough
10 oz, or about 1.5 cups, blackberries
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 egg
Zest of one lemon
2 T lemon juice
1/2 t vanilla extract
1/3 cup granulated sugar + 3 T + extra for sprinkling (all divided and separated, instructions below)
2 T honey
1 stick unsalted butter + 2 T

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine the blackberries, lemon juice and zest, vanilla, and 1/3 cup of the sugar. Mix thoroughly and let sit while you prepare the filo dough.
Microwave butter and honey on high for about 45 seconds, or until melted. Whisk together.
Combine ricotta, egg, and 3 T sugar, set aside.
On a clean work surface, lay down one sheet filo dough and lightly brush the honey and butter mixture evenly across the surface. Layer on two more sheets of filo dough, brushing each sheet with the honey butter mixture, so that you end up with three sheet of filo dough, stacked on top of one another, each with a thin coating of the honey/butter mixture. Sprinkle the top coat evenly with the extra sugar, using about two tablespoons.
Repeat this process with the remaining three filo sheets.
Use an extremely sharp knife to cut the stacked filo sheets into 4 cross sections per stack, resulting in eight rectangles (see photo below).
Place a small dollop of ricotta mixture on one end of the filo dough, leaving the top corner free of filling. Place three or four blackberries on top the ricotta, trying not to get too much of the juice that is released onto the filo. Fold the top corner over the filling, creating a small pocket of filling. Fold the turnover like a flag, ending with the folded flap side down.
Place the turnovers on the prepared baking sheet, keeping at least 1" of space between each turnover.
Melt remaining 2 T butter in the microwave and brush a little over each turnover.
Bake for 25 - 30 minutes, until golden brown and slightly puffed up. Let cool slightly before serving.