Cherry turnovers

My son's German teacher invited kids to bring in something German for their holiday party. After considering different recipes, I decided to try making some pastries. I remember them being called Handtaschen or hand pies. They seem to also be called strudel or turnovers. 

I read through a few different recipes trying to find one that yielded a lot of turnovers.  I learned about handling phyllo dough and how it is brushed with butter and layered. Most recipes suggest cutting the big layers in half. Then some cut that in thirds. Different fillings can be used.  I had more canned cherries and followed the cherry pie filling recipe on the can.

I ended up cutting the half sheets into five sections to yield the most turnovers and be small. I used three layers of phyllo and because I folded the triangles the short way, there weren't too many layers. I wonder if my filling would have stayed in better during baking with more layers. 

Another thing I forgot between reading through recipes and actually making the turnovers was to make vents in the tops. Some recipes call for a couple slits cut into the top for venting. This may help keep everything in too. 

These mini turnovers each had about four cherries on the phyllo dough before folding them up. 

I brushed butter on top and sprinkled sugar. I wonder if an egg wash would have browned the tops more. These baked for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.