Empanadas for Dessert

I had the pleasure of meeting a gentlemen who runs a very successful Empanada business along with his family. Luckily for me he sells his delicious empanadas at our public farmers market, so now I know where to stop for a delicious little nosh while shopping. His main focus is savory empanadas; beef, pork and chicken. There are also a few breakfast varieties and meatless versions as well. But what really caught my eye was one of his seasonal dessert empanadas made with apples. Being right in the middle of the farmers market, surrounded by all those fresh picked apples I knew this was going to be good. It came to me still warm with just a light dusting of powdered sugar. A nice crisp day, a warm apple empanada and a steaming hot cup of dark roast coffee……there’s really nothing left to say.

Apple Empanadas

FILLING:
8 cups sliced apples

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

1 1/2 teaspoons of apple pie spice

2 tablespoons of butter
3 teaspoons of cornstarch plus ½ cup of water

Filling: Bring first four ingredients to a boil for 45 minutes until apples are soft. Add cornstarch to 1/2 cup of water, add cornstarch mixture to filling to thicken, add butter and allow filling to cool before making your empanadas.

DOUGH:
6 cups flour

2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons apple pie spice

1 cup shortening (Crisco)

1 cup of Warm water

Dough: Make dough like you would for flour tortillas (just mix ingredients together and knead until dough is smooth). Let it stand for 10 minutes. Make balls (whatever size you wish your empanadas to be, then roll out into a flat round disk) Put filling in center, fold one side over. Press sides with fork to seal. Place on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees until done.