Welcome To Day 7 Of Baking With Pumpkin!
Today we teamed up with the Diversity team at my husband’s command and by we I mean the FRG (Family Readiness Group) to celebrate Hispanic Heritage this month with a potluck.
I of course wanted to bake something tasty and the first thing that came to mind was making a sweet empanada rather than a savory one. I am a baker after all, lol.
It was a lot of fun! Lot’s of food and everyone at the command seemed to enjoy it. My pumpkin empanadas went fast and I ran out long before the event was over but I was satisfied because everyone whom got to taste them, loved them.
I really enjoyed working with this recipe. I was very pleased with how easy the crust dough was. I was worried it may cause me issues but thankfully, it did not. I was able to get 36 out of 1 batch. It really all depends on what size you cut your circle at. I cut mine at 3.5 inches. Perfect “hand” size for adults and children alike.
There are nuts in the filling. Normally as I’ve stated before, since I am normally making my goodies for others I tend to omit nuts from recipes unless it is a main ingredient. However, this time I kept the nuts in the filling. It was a scant 1/4 cup. They tasted super yummy and I’d make them again with or without the nuts in the filling.
Also, if you don’t feel like or want to make your own crust then feel free to purchase premade pie crust and use that instead. It will still taste amazing. I do have to say though that with this recipe, the crust really works well with it and it was very forgiving! Make some 🙂
- For The Crust:
- 16 Ounces Cream Cheese, room temperature
- 2 Sticks (16 TB) Unsalted Butter, room temperature
- 3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- ~
- For The Filling:
- 1 15-oz. Can Of Pumpkin Puree
- 1½ Tablespoons Heavy Cream
- ¼ Cup Chopped Pecans
- ½ Cup Light Brown Sugar
- ½ Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- ¼ Teaspoon Ground Ginger
- ¼ Teaspoon Ground Allspice
- ½ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ½ Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- ~
- For The Topping:
- 1 Large Egg
- 2 Tablespoons Whole Milk
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1 Tablespoon Granulated Sugar
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and cream cheese until smooth. Stir in flour and salt, on low speed, until a smooth dough is formed. Shape dough in to a ball, flatten to 1", then wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the filling by combining all nine of the filling ingredients.
- Preheat oven to 375 and lightly grease a baking sheet.
- Remove dough from refrigerator and roll it out on a floured surface to ⅛" thick. Cut in to 3.5" - 4" rounds. Gather up the scraps, form into a ball, then refrigerate.
- Place a teaspoon of the filling in the center of each dough circle and carefully fold the dough to the other side so it forms a half moon shape. Crimp edges with your thumb and forefinger, or with a fork to seal.
- Prepare the topping by whisking together the egg and milk. Brush the egg mixture on top of the pies. Mix together the cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle on top of the pies.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until tops are browned.
- Remove remaining dough from refrigerator, roll and repeat until you've used all the dough.
