Fall is here y’all 🍊 and we have been busy managing a pumpkin patch for Halloween (really cool workamping gig!) And we had a BUNCH of leftover sugar pumpkins! We gave away a lot of the big and small ones to local farmers (pigs, chickens, turtles, dogs, turkeys, etc) so I feel we paid it pretty well forward! I kept about 20 pumpkins to make pumpkin everything I can find lol. I FOUND some recipes on Pinterest, and then spiced it up for what worked for me! Now enough talking…lets get cooking!!
Ingredients
Dough:
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 TBLSP white sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup butter, unsalted and CUT INTO CUBES
- 2 eggs whisked
- 2-4 TBLSP milk
Filling:
- 2 cups pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp cloves
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- (If you want to do it an even easier way, don’t use this spice mix above, use the pumpkin pie spice!)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 TBLSP butter unsalted
Eggwash:
- 1 egg whisked
- White sugar for sprinkling
DIRECTIONS:
First start with the dough, it needs to chill for a few minutes anyway.
Add flour, sugar, butter, and salt into a bowl and mix til combined. Add the cubed butter and then I use a butter knife to cut it repeatedly until it is all crumbly like. Pour eggs and 2 TBLSP milk and mix. I really get in there and use my hands! You want to make it to a ball..of its too crumbly add 1 TBLSP of milk at a time til it all sticks together. Cut it in half, wrap each half in cling wrap and Stick in fridge until you are done with the puree. Cold dough is easier to mess with than warm dough.
NOW onto the filling. Preheat oven to 350 now or right after this step!
In a saucepan on medium heat, melt butter, add puree, brown sugar and all the spices, vanilla, and salt. Stir and cook til the sugar is melted and the mix looks darker. Taste it and you may have to add sugar…I usually do. Remove from heat and let cool.
While that cools
Pull out a dough ball and some wax paper. Sprinkle flour on the paper and lay your dough down. Roll it out in a thin sheet…or do like I did if you don’t have a roller and just press repeatedly and stretch the dough out. More work, but you do what you have to lol. Then I use a big cup and cut out big circles. Then I stretch those out til it’s a big flat circle that I can make decent sized empanadas with…its up to you how big, thin, or thick you want. I do a mix of thin and thick bc I love CRUST 🙂
NEXT, the fun begins….
Take a dough circle, put about a spoonful of puree in the middle. Fold it over, making a cresecent shape if you can, then use a fork and press the edges of the empanadas down with it to make the pretty edge:) DON’T FORGET TO USE THE OTHER DOUGH BALL IN YOUR FRIDGE!
BUTTER THE SHIT OUT OF YOUR COOKING PAN!! Unless you have a good non stick one. I only lost the bottoms on a few good soldiers❤ Then put each empanada on the pan as you make them.
Prepare THE EGG WASH (the one egg you whisk) and the Sugar for sprinkling. Brush the wash over each one and then sprinkle sugar all over them. The more you do the more candied the crust will be! And experiment! Then poke a hole in each to allow heat out.
Cook for 20 minutes or so…until golden brown. Remove, let cool, and enjoy!!🍊❤🥐
