Recipe Swappers

Pumpkin Empanadas

Filling:
1 1/2 cups cooked pumpkin
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1. To make dough: In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in the shortening till pieces are the size of small peas. Add a small amount of water to slightly moisten. Form dough into a ball. Roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch thick and cut into 4-inch circles. Lightly flour both sides of circles.

2. To make fruit filling: Cut pumpkin into fourths. Roast pumpkin in 350 degree oven by placing pumpkin fourths face down on cookie sheets and cover with foil. Roast pumpkin for 1 hour or until meat is soft. Scoop out hot pumpkin meat and place in large mixing bowl. Add sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg to pumpkin and mash with potato masher. Mix thoroughly.

3. Place a large spoonful of filling near the rounded edge a dough circle. Fold circle over to create a hemisphere and then seal edges with fork. These may then be baked in a preheated 350 F until golden brown. Remove from oven and immediately dust with white sugar and cinnamon.

Pumpkin empanadas are a Horn family tradition (it's a Mexican thing to use a lot of pumpkin). You can make these as apple empanadas by cooking up some peeled, cored, chopped apples with sugar, cinammon and nutmeg and using that as the fruit filling. I've never made these from a recipe so these quantities for the filling are guesses. Just add as much brown sugar and spices as suit your taste buds!

posted by Unknown @ 9:43 AM