I love pumpkin pie, but in a small household, one pie outlasts its welcome.
That’s why, when I learned about traditional Mexican pumpkin empanadillas — literally, little empanadas — I was delighted.
These small pumpkin-filled cookies make a terrific treat on a cool afternoon with a tall glass of milk or a steaming cup of chai tea. They freeze well, so you can stash some away after the luxury of having them on hand starts to pall. Pull a half-dozen or so from the freezer early in the week, keep them refrigerated and have a nosh of a couple whenever you want them.
This year, experts predict the ingredients for Thanksgiving dinner will be at a record high, as my friend Kim Severson reported last week in the New York Times. Most of that price increase is due to supply chain issues, she reported.
Even more reason to make these empanadillas for your holiday board — you’ll get nearly five dozen cookies from a single cup of pumpkin. That seems like a good use of resources to me.
Make them bigger, using store-bought empanada skins or by cutting your dough into five-inch circles (use a quarter cup of filling for those), and you have a very Southwestern substitute for the classic pumpkin pie on your Thanksgiving table. I think it would be fun to heap the larger ones in a basket for the table, and everyone can help themselves to their own personal-sized pie. Or make the smaller ones and pass them around with coffee after the big feast.
Sometimes I make a simple maple-flavored glaze to go over these after they’ve baked and cooled. It’s not traditional, of course, but the flavors go together well. Combine a tablespoon of maple syrup with a half-cup of confectioners’ sugar — I usually do this directly in a zip-top bag, then snip a corner to make an impromptu pastry bag.
Or serve them with little cups of whipped cream for dipping.
Or both. There’s no such thing as too much of a good thing in my world.
However you decide to serve them, you’ll love the little hit of highly spiced pumpkin, wrapped up in an easy-to-hold package.
Pumpkin empanadillas
Makes about 54 cookie-sized empanadillas
I’ve included a dough recipe here but if you can find empanada skins in the freezer case at your supermarket, you can certainly use those. They’ll make a hand-pie-sized empanada, so you’ll get fewer cookies.
Ingredients
1 cup pumpkin puree, either canned or from a small pie pumpkin, cooked and mashed
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/4 cup chopped pecans, walnuts, or pine nuts
For the dough:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold butter, cut into cubes
8 to 10 tablespoons cold water
For the glaze:
1 large egg, beaten
1 teaspoon water
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Preparation
Make the filling: Combine pumpkin, sugar, and butter in a small saucepan. Heat, stirring, over medium heat until the butter has melted. Remove from heat and stir in cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cloves and nuts. Refrigerate until needed.
Make the dough: Combine flour, sugar and salt in a medium-sized bowl with a whisk. Work in butter with your fingers or a pastry blender until the mixture is sandy and has the texture of cornmeal. Add water a few tablespoons at a time, blending with a fork, until the mixture holds together. Shape into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours.
At baking time, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease it lightly. Set aside.
Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Use a 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter to cut circles from the dough. Place 1 teaspoon filling in the center of each circle, then fold the dough over the filling. Press the edges tightly shut by crimping with a fork. Place each empanadilla on the baking sheet as you finish.
Re-roll the dough scraps and repeat. Discard any remaining scraps after the second rolling.
Combine beaten egg and water. Separately, combine sugar and cinnamon. Brush the tops of each empanadilla with the egg-water mixture, then dust lightly with sugar-cinnamon mixture.
Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a rack to cool completely.
