Apple Empanadas

How to Make Apple Empanadas at Home using handy ingredients and ease. Granny Smith Apple, Flour, Egg

blogs/recipe/apple-empanadas/20200626_090044.jpg

For our son's birthday this year we thought about trying to make food which he will like - in our culture most of the times birthdays are family event not always all about the birthday person. So I took an opportunity to learn and make some new items from bakery to celebrate the occassion. One of the items I decided to make is apple empanadas and finally it was the msot delicious and tasty items in the party. If only you could smell this apple empanada filling through the screen right now. 
 
| ![enter image description here](https://www.taleofddh.com/images/icon-clock.svg) | ![enter image description here](https://www.taleofddh.com/images/icon-serving.svg) | ![enter image description here](https://www.taleofddh.com/images/icon-chef.svg)| 
| ----------- | ----------- | ----------- |
| 2 hrs 45 mins | Serves 6 | Difficult |    

## Equipment
- One large baking tray (8 inches)  
- Pastry blender (if you have)  
    
## Ingredients   

### For the Dough  

- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 pinch of kosher salt
- 1 cup cold butter (2 sticks) , cut into 16 pieces
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tbsp cold water
- 1 egg white
- 4 tbsp brown sugar  
  
### For the Filling 

- 5 large honeycrisp apples, peeled and diced
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves 
       
## Instructions   

### Make the Filling  

- Add all ingredients into a small pot. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the apples are super tender and have soaked up a lot of the sugar and liquid, about 15-20 minutes.

![enter image description here](https://taleofddh.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/images/desktop/blogs/recipe/apple-empanadas/20200624_200148.jpg)

-   Transfer cooked apples into a bowl and set aside to cool down.
![enter image description here](https://taleofddh.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/images/desktop/blogs/recipe/apple-empanadas/20200625_190314.jpg)
    
### For the dough  

- In a food processor, mix together the flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter, eggs and water and pulse together until a clumpy dough forms. If not using a food processor, mix dry ingredients in a large bowl with a fork and use a pastry cutter or use your bare hands to incorporate the butter, eggs and water (I used my hands).

![enter image description here](https://taleofddh.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/images/desktop/blogs/recipe/apple-empanadas/20200625_192119.jpg)

- Transfer dough onto a floured work surface and knead into a ball. Cut into 4 pieces and then cut each piece again into 4 smaller pieces. You should have a total of 16 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball using the palm of your hands.

![enter image description here](https://taleofddh.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/images/desktop/blogs/recipe/apple-empanadas/20200625_192131.jpg)    

- Working on your floured work surface, roll each ball into a flat disk about 5-6 inches in diameter using a rolling pin. Cut the rolled dough by a round bowl (about 4-5 inches diameter) with thin edge to shape the disks circular. Place disks onto a baking sheet covered in non-stick baking paper.
 
- To save room, I placed about 6 disks onto the baking paper, placed another layer of baking paper on top, and continued stacking disks onto the same baking sheet, making sure there's always non-stick baking paper in between each layer so they don't stick together. Once all the disks are formed, cover baking sheet with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.**   

![enter image description here](https://taleofddh.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/images/desktop/blogs/recipe/apple-empanadas/20200625_212550.jpg)

### Filling the Disks and Bake   

- Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
    
- Continuing to work on a floured surface, place about 2 tbsp of the apple filling onto each flattened dough disk. Fold one side over and pinch the sides together using your index finger until the empanada is fully sealed. You can also press the edges together using the tines of a fork instead of your fingers. As long as the empanadas are sealed, you're good to go.

![enter image description here](https://taleofddh.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/images/desktop/blogs/recipe/apple-empanadas/20200625_213537.jpg)

- Placed the filled and sealed empanadas onto 2 large baking sheets lined with non-stick baking paper.

![enter image description here](https://taleofddh.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/images/desktop/blogs/recipe/apple-empanadas/20200625_215422.jpg)

- Cut a small slit or poke a few holes in the top of each empanada (you can use a pen cap) to let some of the steam out while baking. Brush the tops of the empanadas with the egg white and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the pastry is lightly browned. 
  
![enter image description here](https://taleofddh.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/images/desktop/blogs/recipe/apple-empanadas/20200625_234513.jpg)
