And speaking of puff pastry… here is one of my favorite things to do with it, empanadas. Emapanadas are essentially stuffed pastries, but there are many variations of empanadas depending on the region of the world you eat them. Spain, Portugal, the Philippines, and mostly every Latin American country have their own version of empanadas. Even in Mexico we have different versions of them.
The difficult part of the empanadas my mom taught me to make is the puff pastry. Once you have your pastry ready you can stuff them with whatever you want. Here I will give you two recipes that I use for pineapple and pumpkin empanadas.
Pineapple and pumpkin empanadas
Printable recipe
Pineapple filling
Ingredients:
- 1 28oz can pineapple, crushed or tidbits
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 TBSP cornstarch
- 3 TBSP water
Preparation:
- Drain pineapple and boil with sugar and cinnamon over medium heat for 30-40 minutes in a medium size pot. Stir constantly.
- If the pineapple is watery, mix cornstarch and water separately and add to the boiling mixture. Do not add undiluted cornstarch to the mixture since it will form clumps.
- Refrigerate before using.
Pumpkin filling
Ingredients:
- 2 cups pumpkin puree
- ½ can condensed milk
- 1 can evaporated milk
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ cup cajeta
or brown sugar
Preparation:
- Cook all ingredients for about 25 minutes in a medium size pot.
- If the mixture is watery add some diluted cornstarch. Refrigerate before using.
Empanada shells
- 1lb puff pastry
- 1 egg beaten
- ½ cup sugar
Preparation:
- With a rolling pin extend the puff pastry until you get a thin sheet. It is easier to work with puff pastry when it is cool.
- Using a round large cookie cutter or plastic container, cut puff pastry circles.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C)
- Using a pastry brush apply some egg around the edge of the circle and then put some of the filling in the middle.
- Fold the circle and press the edges.
- With a fork press the edges to completely seal them.
- Apply more egg on top for coloring and sprinkle some sugar on top.
- Line empanadas on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the edges start turning golden brown.
- Let them cool on baking racks before eating or storing them and enjoy!
This are only two of the empanada fillings I use. The great thing about puff pastry is that you can use it for savory or sweet dishes. Just check the entries on the first Food for Plastic Challenge to see what the contestants came up with.
Buen provecho!
22 Replies
Pineapple and pumpkin empanadas…
These delicious empanadas are made with puff pastry and flled with pineapple and pumpkin….
Posted on February 8th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
I love empanadas….and yours looks lovely.It makes me feel hungry now.:)
BTW nice blog ,I love them despite finding it slow to load.. excellent pictures!
Posted on February 8th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
These look delicious! I’ll have to send you a wonderful Philippino meat pie recipe I have, that’s basically the same process, but with an over-the-top delicious meat filling.
Posted on February 8th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
An interesting and different take on an old classic. Great flavours there Ben.
Posted on February 8th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
Pineapple and pumpkin empanadas | What’s cooking?…
Really good looking Empanadas. I love empanadas and always looking for the perfect empanadas recipe well tonight I found a gem. Empanadas are mainly made in Spanish speaking countries. If you have never had an empanada this is your time to make some.Pl…
Posted on February 9th, 2008 at 12:14 am
These both look and sound delicious! I’ve never made empanadas, although I’ve eaten my fair share of them!
Posted on February 9th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
I wish I had a huge plate of those right now, with some dulce de leche ice cream to go on top. YUM. Ooh, or you could put ham in them too. I love salty meat with fruity sweetness. Looks great, Ben! I might need to go bake something now, thanks a lot.
Posted on February 10th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Oh my. I LOVE anything pumpkin. Wow…I’m going to have to try that ASAP! Looks delicious
Posted on February 11th, 2008 at 3:10 am
Hey Ben, nice recipe and blog you have here.
Back in the UK we have what they call a Cornish Pastie. That is using short pastry not puff (but you could if you wanted) with a savory meat potato and carrot filling. They come from Cornwall in the south of England. Now I’m staring to fancy one, funny how it gets the taste buds going. Regards John
Posted on February 11th, 2008 at 5:42 am
Hey Ben! Looks as though we have been paired for the “Taste & Create” event this month. It is exciting to be paired with someone whose site I already vist often
. It will be hard to choose just one dish 
Posted on February 11th, 2008 at 11:09 am
Hola querido! YOur empanadas look gourgeous!!!! So perfectly designed! Good job! Your fillings are very “atrevidos” for me… MMmmmmm, but I might try them
Posted on February 11th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Mmmm… pass a pumpkin one this way, please!
Posted on February 12th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
MMM. I love empanadas. I don’t think I’ve had a sweet version, though. Pumpkin or pineapple sounds good. I think pineapple would be my favorite. Maybe with a little dulce de leche drizzled over?
Posted on February 14th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
I love empanadas. My favorites are stuffed with guava and cream cheese… mmm….
Posted on February 14th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
I’m going to echo everyone else. YUMM. I’ll take empanadas sweet or savory. I will add you to my blogroll as well.
Posted on February 15th, 2008 at 12:20 am
Those sound great Ben! I would have never thought of pineapple filling. What nice treats!
Posted on February 15th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
[...] The recipe I found was, of course, an empanada recipe (see pic – they look fantastic!) and is one I am definitely going to try! Get the recipe here. [...]
Posted on February 17th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
I make sure I get this recipe ‘coz I love empanadas!
Posted on February 19th, 2008 at 5:42 am
I’ll galdly take the pineapple ones! first tasted them in a small yet authentic place in Los Angeles…we make similar dish in Indian food called “Ghughra”:)
Posted on February 20th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Again, my vote is for the pumpkin!
Posted on March 4th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
The empanadas look so perfect and yummy!!!
Posted on May 6th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
oh my goodness how creative is this? I love the idea of the pumpkin.
Posted on October 27th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
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