Fun Flavors To Fill Your Empanadas With

The empanada is arguably one of the most versatile foods to prepare. Known throughout many cultures, the empanada – also called hand pies, pasties, pastelitos and more – consists of a pastry dough pocket containing any sort of filling, Laylita’s Recipes explained. The pie is then twisted and cinched to seal the edges, creating a semi-circle of decadent deliciousness.

There are endless ways to fill your empanadas, and no “correct” filling to choose, making them a perfect culinary canvas for online students. Here are a few options to consider:

Empanadas de cajeta

Cajeta is the decadent caramel made from goat’s milk, and it’s the perfect addition to a dessert empanada, food blogger Vianney Rodriguez wrote on Sweet Life. Here’s her method:

Make a dough by combining cream cheese, butter, flour and salt. Mix well, then knead. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 20 minutes. Once the dough is firm and ready, roll it out until it’s one quarter-inch thick, then cut out your rounds.

Spoon your cajeta onto half of each, then fold over to create semicircles. Twist or crimp the edges to keep it sealed, then put them back into the fridge for another 20 minutes. This helps the cajeta stay inside the empanadas, rather than spilling out and making a mess of your baking sheet. Next, use an egg wash to help cinnamon and sugar stick to the tops of your empanadas.

Finally, bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 12 minutes, or until golden brown. Feel free to use your remaining cajeta as a dip or drizzle.

Mole empanadas

Mole is a rich sauce with a hot pepper and chocolate base and can work wonders on an ordinary dish. In this recipe from Adriana Martin on Adriana’s Best Recipes, mole sauce ties together a beer dough and shredded turkey, pork or chicken, making this an ideal recipe for post-holiday feast leftovers. Here’s how Adriana combines these ingredients to make a wonderful new meal:

First, start with the beer dough. The beer can be your choice – light or dark, or whatever you have leftover after your party winds down. Mix 1.5 cups of beer with flour, salt, sugar and butter. Once mixed and ready, wrap in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator while you prepare the mole.

Roast peanuts, onion and garlic together, then set aside. Next, remove the stems from ancho and guajillo chile peppers and put them in a soup pot along with the peanut mixture and water. Once the chiles are soft, process the mixture in a food processor. Return to the pot and add peanut butter, Mexican chocolate, chicken bouillon, garlic powder, cumin, sugar and salt. The sauce is ready when the mixture is consistent and the chocolate is melted.

Now, back to your empanadas. Shred your choice of meat and mix with the warm mole sauce. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll into equally sized balls. Roll them out into circles, fill with your meat and mole mixture, then fold over and twist the sides together. If you like, you can use an egg wash to add sesame seeds to the tops of your empanadas. Bake at 420 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Guava paste and cheese empanadas

If you didn’t think cheese belonged in your desserts, think again. These guava paste and cheese empanadas from My Colombian Recipes will prove just how winning a combination this is:

Begin with any pastry dough you like; Martin’s recipe from the mole empanadas would work well. When your dough is ready to be filled, cut up guava paste and mozzarella cheese into cubes and place some of each in the middle of the circles. Again, fold over and cinch to make half-circles. Use an egg wash to secure sugar to the tops. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.