Daring Bakers - Empanadas

Patri of the blog, Asi Son Los Cosas, was our September 2012 Daring Bakers’ hostess and she decided to tempt us with one of her family’s favorite recipes for Empanadas! We were given two dough recipes to choose from and encouraged to fill our Empanadas as creatively as we wished!

Back to the Daring Bakers challenges after a two month break and it feels good! Our September challenge was to make Empanadas. I had heard of these before but had yet to make one. Well, nothing like making both a savory and sweet version on the same day, right?

I wanted to make a savory version for dinner. This recipe was fabulous because it actually used things out of my pantry. Have you ever tried to make a recipe that says that it uses ingredients out of the pantry yet you run across something that just isn't in a normal person's pantry? I know that sounds a bit silly, but this recipe actually used things from my pantry. No extra trips to the store!

I chose to make the wheat flour Empanada dough and fill it with shredded chicken, black beans, pepper jack cheese, tomatoes, and cream cheese. Yum, yum, yum! The flavors melded together beautifully! The dough was a dream to work with. I didn't even use any extra flour because it wasn't necessary.

 

 

 

 (By the way, the dog bone on top is in celebration of our dog's 8th birthday - the day of our Empananda smorgasboard!)

Savory Empanada Dough
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup warm water
1/2 cup less 1 tablespoon of liquid fat (I used olive oil)
1 tablespoon dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika

Sift the flour into a bowl. Make a well in the middle and add all of the ingredients. Mix with a wooden spoon until all of the ingredients have been incorporated.

Turn dough onto the counter and knead for 5 to 8 minutes. Shape into a ball and allow to rise covered with a cloth for 30-50 minutes before using.

While the dough is rising, mix up the filling.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour the pan (round or square, approximately 9x9). Divide the dough in half. Roll out bottom crust (it will be slightly larger than the top piece). Place bottom crust in pan; add filling. Roll out top crust; place on top. Pinch seam of top and bottom crust. Use extra crust for decoration on top. Pierce top crust with fork for venting; brush with egg wash.

Bake for about 45 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Remove and serve warm.

Empanada Filling
3 cups cooked chicken, shredded
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
8 oz. pepper jack cheese, shredded
tomatoes, diced
4 oz. cream cheese, softened

*****              *****            *****             *****

The apple pear empanada was also amazing! It tasted just like apple pie. I made the crust thin enough that it wasn't too bread like and was very similar to pie crust. It wasn't quite as flaky as my traditional pie crust but it was delicious. I would definitely recommend this! Enjoy!

 

  

Sweet Empanada Crust
Same recipe as above, just add 2 tablespoons of sugar to dry ingredients.


Apple Pear Filling
Source: Vegephant

2 apples
3 pears
2 tablespoons of agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of all-purpose flour

Cut apples and pears into slices or chunks. Mix together. Drizzle the fruit with agave nectar and mix thoroughly. Sprinkle the cinnamon, sugar, salt, and flour on the mixture. Mix and let set.