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21
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Pumpkin EmpanadasPosted by Muy Bueno
 65 comments » |
Growing up we always knew the fall and winter meant lots of sweet and tasty treats we call empanadas. These sweet pastry pockets are filled with whatever jam or preserves are in season and or whatever you were lucky enough to preserve over the summer. This particular recipe calls for my favorite filling, pumpkin. This is our canned pumpkin recipe. You can find our traditional fresh pumpkin filling in our printed cookbook. Adding the freshest spices, makes a big difference. So go fresh with your spices whenever possible.
Pumpkin Empanadas
Yield: Makes 24-30 empanadas
This dough is a classic family recipe used by my grandmother, my mother and now my sister and I. We love this dough because it makes just enough to bake 2 dozen sweet empanadas. A sweet pastry pocket filled with your favorite homemade preserves or jam. These sweet treats are perfect with a cup of Mexican coffee before breakfast or after dinner. Our children love them because they are small enough and sweet enough to call dessert.
Ingredients:
Pumpkin Filling:
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed firmly
1 (15 ounce) can organic pumpkin puree, NOT pie filling
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmegEmpanada Dough:
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup shortening
2 eggs
½ cup milk
2 tablespoons sugarDirections:
Make Pumpkin Filling:
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar until it dissolves with the butter. Stir in the pumpkin and the spices. Continue to stir over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Make sure the filling is not too watery; otherwise let it cook for a couple more minutes.Remove the saucepan from the heat and let it cool down. After it’s cooled off for about 15 minutes, put the filling in the refrigerator to help it set for 30 minutes or overnight.
You can make the Empanada Dough while the filling is cooling off.
Make Empanada Dough:
Mix the first 3 dry ingredients. Cut in the shortening with the dry ingredients. Works better if you use your hands. Add the eggs, milk and sugar. Continue to work in with your hands. Split the dough in half, wrap in plastic wrap and put into the refrigerator for about 20-30 minutes. Take out one half of the dough and split it into 12-18 balls of dough. Depending on how small you want your empanadas. I prefer one dozen per half of the dough. They also fit nicely on one large cookie sheet.Assemble and Bake Empanadas:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. You can fill your empanadas with any preserves made ahead of time.Roll out the dough into small round circles. Add a small dollop of filling on one half of the rolled out dough. Wet the bottom edge of the dough with water to help seal the two halves. Fold over the dough to seal. Seal off the edges with a fork by pressing down along the two edges. This also makes for a pretty pattern when baked.
Brush each empanada with egg whites, sprinkle with sugar and puncture each empanada with a fork to allow steam to escape while baking. Spray a large cookie sheet with cooking spray, place the empanadas on the cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes on medium rack in the oven. If after 15 minutes you notice the bottoms of the empanadas starting to brown, move the cookie sheet to the top rack and continue to bake for the last 5 minutes.
I’m in Minnesota visiting family, where it is much chillier than the weather I am used to at home in Mexico. The leaves are falling in beautiful colors — a sight I have not seen in many years. These pumpkin empanadas would be perfect for a chilly Fall day. I have never made empenadas, but maybe it is time to try a recipe, and yours looks perfect.
Kathleen
muybuenocookbook replied: — October 21st, 2010 @ 12:30 pm
Gracias Kathleen! I promise your familia in Minnesota will love them. Have a fun time here in the U.S.
Super yummy – the neighbors were visiting and kept asking for more, and my son Jace loved them.
muybuenocookbook replied: — October 21st, 2010 @ 2:22 pm
Yay! Thats great to hear! Especially that Jace loved them!
The empanadas look amazing.
I’d love for you to submit one of your beautiful photos, and a link to your post, to my new vegetarian food photo gallery showcasing beautiful and flavorful vegetarian food.
muybuenocookbook replied: — October 25th, 2010 @ 4:10 pm
We are honored you found us! We will definitely submit our photos to your site!
Oooooooooooooooh, these take me back to my childhood and trips to the panaderías for pan dulce in Tijuana and Tecate. Thank you!
muybuenocookbook replied: — October 25th, 2010 @ 4:05 pm
We are very happy to hear this empanada recipe brought back great memories for you. They definitely do that for us!
They look beautiful Yvette.. and oh so yummy. I will have to try and make them the next time Ayla takes a long nap
muybuenocookbook replied: — October 25th, 2010 @ 4:01 pm
You should make them Rachel! They would make a perfect care package for Corrin in college
I am glad I found your blog. I will for sure give these a try. Growing up we would go to the mexican bakery for them. I have been missing my daddy lately (2yrs passed away) so I will make these in memory of him. Now to find the organic pumpkin. I am adding your blog to my favorite list!! Thanks for sharing. xo
muybuenocookbook replied: — October 25th, 2010 @ 3:48 pm
Hi Joyce, We are glad you found us too! Thanks for the Link Love!
When I made these last month my recipe was similar (though not exactly the same) and they came out looking nice like yours, but my dough was a little dry. I will have to try yours! Yum
muybuenocookbook replied: — October 25th, 2010 @ 6:13 pm
Best of luck with our recipe Tracy! Keep me posted.
These would be great to serve with a dipping sauce for dessert. Any ideas?
muybuenocookbook replied: — October 29th, 2010 @ 5:53 pm
Hi Kelly: I’ve never dipped them in anything (besides coffee). I don’t have much of a sweet tooth and I think that is why I LOVE them so much. They are sweet without being too sweet. If you come up with a dipping sauce I’d love to hear about it
Ashley replied: — November 24th, 2011 @ 9:32 am
You should try something caramel-y or vanilla-y. My two favorite Pumpkin & ________ combos.
These sound delicious! I’ve made empanadas before, but never thought to make them sweet rather than savory. Perfect for the season. Thanks!
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Happy New Year! Your families empanadas sound delicious. I also grew up eating pumpkin and other fruit empanadas, they are the perfect breakfast. Thank you for participating in your first YBR roundup.
muybuenocookbook replied: — January 2nd, 2011 @ 3:44 pm
Thanks Nancy! I’ll have to check out your site and see the roundup! Here’s wishing you all the success for 2011!! Abrazos! Yvette
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Hi,
If I can’t find organic pumpkin in a can, do you think I could use Libby’s solid pumpkin in a can? Or all I can find this time of year is pumpkin pie filling, do you have any suggestions to use the filling and make a bit thicker?
I’m trying to think ahead for cinco de mayo.
Thank you.
Joyce
joy2282003@yahoo.com
Veronica Gonzalez Smith replied: — April 20th, 2011 @ 7:27 pm
Hola Joyce,
The pumpkin in a can will work. Try to stay away from pumpkin pie filling because it has a lot of varied spices already and a little too runny for this recipe. Cinco de Mayo huh?, never thought about making them then, but SUPER idea! Let us know how they turn out…
My husband LOVES pumpkin empanadas, but since we’ve moved to the east coast, we cannot find them anywhere, I cannot wait to go home and make these as a treat for him! Thank you for sharing your recipe!
muybuenocookbook replied: — October 4th, 2011 @ 8:29 am
Tis the season Christie! We are sure you and your husband will enjoy them. Feel free to share any photos on our facebook page. We love hearing from our amigos that make our recipes.
I just made this recipe. Fantastic! I live in Tucson, so getting empañadas is easy, but I’ve always wanted to try making them. I remember so many mornings when I was a kid, my friend would tell me to come over because there were fresh ones coming out of the oven. My wife is loving these!
muybuenocookbook replied: — October 7th, 2011 @ 10:55 am
So happy to hear you made them William! I’ve been craving some myself, so I plan to make some this weekend. YUM!
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My favorite of all sweet empanadas. When my momma made them when we were growing up, my mom made the filling from scratch. I like the option of buying the canned pumpkin – so I’ll be trying this soon. Thanks!
muybuenocookbook replied: — October 18th, 2011 @ 9:51 am
I have fond memories scraping pumpkins to help my grandma make FRESH pumpkin empanadas. As she got older she started incorporating shortcuts into her cooking and honestly no one could tell the difference. Her empanadas were still made with love and the fragrant aromas from her cocina will never be forgotten.
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Thanks for the recipe!
They came out so delicious…:) I had to make my pumpkin filling by some pumpkin i had there. lol Next time ill just buy the pumpkin can. 
I’ll defiantly will make this again for thanksgiving day. Gracias y Happy Thanksgiving!!!
muybuenocookbook replied: — November 22nd, 2011 @ 1:45 pm
So glad to hear that Kendra. YUM! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!
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thank you for posting, my husband is from Mexico and he loves to cook but he cooks by memory and taste not by using measurements but now I can see what he is using:)
muybuenocookbook replied: — November 22nd, 2011 @ 1:37 pm
Can’t wait to hear what your hubby thinks of this recipe. Thanks for stopping by.
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I made the filling for these, wow… Fabulous!
muybuenocookbook replied: — December 3rd, 2011 @ 3:14 pm
So happy to hear that Dana. YAY! Enjoy
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Empanadas have been a childhood Christmas memory for me. My Spanish Mom and Aunts always had posole and pumpkin empanadas at Christmas. Since I am not a baker by any means, I have used Won Ton wrappers for the dough and they are tasty and so much easier!!
Bobbi
muybuenocookbook replied: — January 13th, 2012 @ 9:23 am
WOW! Won Ton wrappers? Very interesting! Might have to test that out
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I was wondering, is there a way to make the dough egg-free?
muybuenocookbook replied: — January 13th, 2012 @ 9:31 am
Tice, I have never tried it, but you can try substituting 1 banana or 1/4 cup apple sauce for each egg.
And as far as the egg wash you can simply use milk for that.
Best of luck! We’d love to hear how it works for you.
I used the Empanada dough recipe today and fell in love! I’ve been looking for the taste of my mothers empanadas and this is the BEST and what I remember. I had fresh yams I needed to use so substituted and baked it with all the spices. Next will be savory empanada’s.
muybuenocookbook replied: — January 13th, 2012 @ 9:34 am
WOW Lesvia, I’m so happy our recipe reminded you of your mother’s empanadas. That’s a HUGE compliment.
We also plan to play with some savory empanadas and have even tested beer in the dough which was very yummy! We will be sharing more empanada recipe soon. Stay tuned.
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Yumm!! I made these with fresh pumpkins we grew in south Texas! They were literally gone in 2 days. My family loved them! Good thing I have a few pumpkins left! I will be making these empanadas tomorrow…
Muy Bueno replied: — July 17th, 2012 @ 5:53 pm
So glad you found our recipe and our site…my kids love them too and my hubby. Thanks for letting us know you liked them and want to make them again. Nothing gives us more pleasure then knowing you tried one of our recipes, you and your family liked it and want to make them AGAIN! YES!!!
I just tested these out for an upcoming photo shoot for Festivities magazine’s fall issue. So incredibly delicious! These are definitely going to be made again and again in our home.
Muy Bueno replied: — July 23rd, 2012 @ 11:05 am
Wonderful Nikki! So glad to hear that. Tell me MORE about your magazine! Sounds like my kinda magazine
I JUST made about a dozen of these. I tried them after being cooled down and wow they are just so delicious. I don’t even like pumpkin pie, but these just blew me away. My boyfriend asked me to make them (he’s from Mexico) and so I did and I am very proud of myself. Thank you so much for your recipe! I will definitely have to make these again :]
Hi I read that a lot of people couldn’t find organic pumpkin purée. I get mine at Trader Joes they usually have it around the holiday season. I don’t know if they have Trader Joes where you are but I hope this helps!
I’m from Texas and we always have tamales and empanadas for Christmas eve. We are living in New England now and there are no homemade tamales to be found or even cornhusk to make them myself. I have decided to make savory and sweet empanadas instead with arroz con pollo. I just found your blog and I think it can help get this Texas girl through this geographical mis-placement!
Great recipe for empanadas. Glad I found it in time for Christmas and New Year’s 2012.
Question: Do I remember right that my mother mixed freshly-made cinnamon tea into the dough? Would that be a good ingredient to mix in the dough? And my mother would also mix the whole anise into the dough for a great flavor! Thanks!
Veronica replied: — December 29th, 2012 @ 8:01 am
Hi Joel, glad you found us too, welcome. Your mother may have flavored the water used in the recipe with cinnamon which is a nice touch along with the added anise seeds. As with all of our recipes we suggest you try it our way first and then feel free to make it again changing it up to give it the added touches/changes you remember from you childhood. Let us know if you make the changes and how those work out, they sound like very personal and delicious touches.
I have been to many Mexican bakeries and had their empanadas and my grandfather has made them for me also but these are the BEST I’ve tasted so far! Of course I’ll never tell my grandfather that lol but when I made these I fell in love with the recipe. It was exactly what I had been searching for! My husband loved them so much! And he took them to work to share with his coworkers and they thought he’d purchased them lol! He told them they were from me and they haven’t stopped asking for more
Muy Bueno replied: — January 21st, 2013 @ 10:58 am
Nichole, we are delighted to hear your success with our empanada family recipe. Keep cooking and trying different fillings, it’s so much fun to experiment with different fruit. Keep us posted!
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