Pumpkin is autumn’s finest flavor. Pumpkin everythings — bagels, gelato, tamales, lattes — are popping up on grocery store shelves and on restaurant menus.
And that aroma. When pumpkin bakes, the house fills with robust autumnal warmth that is unsurpassed.
While you can buy pumpkin empanadas all year in bakeries in Tucson, making the plump Mexican pastry at home fills the house with the savory-sweet scent.
I couldn’t find the perfect recipe. Several caramelized the pumpkin filling, but I like a filling that is not overly sweet. The yummy-sounding dough recipe on the dough-press box included cream cheese, but it had to be refrigerated overnight and I wasn’t that patient.
I mixed and matched. Pumpkin filling is a blend of several recipes, as is the crust. I also incorporated a tip I learned from Kara Hranicka of Prep & Pastry, 3073 N Campbell Ave.: Use half-butter (for flavor) and half-shortening (for structure) in the dough.
This compliment-generating recipe was dubbed a “Food-page worthy recipe” by a co-worker.
Pumpkin Empanadas
Makes: 18-24, 4 1/2-inch empanadas
Dough:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
Pumpkin filling:
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 1 15-ounce can pumpkin (not pie filling)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Egg wash:
- 1 egg white
- 2 tablespoons water
Cinnamon-sugar topping:
- 1/4 white sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
Using a pastry cutter or a fork, cut-in the shortening and butter into the dry ingredients until crumbly.
Add the eggs, milk and sugar. Mix gently with a spoon or a spatula. If necessary, work the dough with your hands until all ingredients are fully incorporated. Do not overwork.
Divide the dough in half. Wrap each half of the dough in plastic wrap and put into the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 F and prepare cookie sheets by lining with parchment paper or greasing with cooking spray or a light coat of shortening.
While the dough is cooling, mix the pumpkin and brown sugar and then stir in the spices. Mix until fully incorporated.
When the dough is cool enough to work, take out half of it prepare the pastry. Retrieve the second half as you need it.
If you don’t have a dough press, divide the dough into 9-12 balls of dough. The bigger the dough ball, the bigger the empanada, but you knew that.
With a floured rolling pin on a lightly floured surface, roll each of the dough balls into small round circles about 4-6 inches in diameter.
Put the dough circle on the cookie sheet. Add a small dollop (2-3 tablespoons) of the pumpkin filling in the center of dough. You want the pastry full enough to be substantial, but not so full the pumpkin leaks out.
Dab the circumference of the dough circle with water and fold the dough in half. Seal the edges by pressing a fork along them.
If you do have a dough press, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and with a floured rolling pin flatten into approximately 5 to 5 1/2 inches in diameter, slightly larger than the dough-press base. Once again, don’t use too much flour and do not overwork the dough.
There are two options: Use the dough press like a cookie cutter to cut the dough in a circle that will fit the press. Put the dough in the press, add a dollop of the pumpkin mixture and close the press.
Or, cut the piece of dough that is roughly the size of the press, add the pumpkin, close the press and then trim the excess dough from the press with a knife or a finger.
Place each empanada on a prepared cookie sheet.
Pierce each empanada with a fork to allow steam to escape during cooking.
Wisk the egg white and water in a small bowl.
Using a pastry brush, top of each empanada with a thin coating of the egg-white wash.
Blend the cinnamon and sugar.
Sprinkle the tops with the cinnamon/sugar topping.
Bake the empanadas for 18 minutes on middle rack. If they don’t brown to your liking, shift to broil for a minute or so. (Watch carefully and don’t “overbrown.”)
Remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes.
Serve warm, fresh-from-the-oven with a cup of coffee or a giant glass of milk.
