Monday, April 11, 2011

Success: Empanadas

Somehow I didn't get a picture of these. It's probably just as well considering the cinnamon in the crust makes them kind of grayish brown. Maybe I'll consider making them with wheat flour in the future, it'll make them chewier but maybe also a little more rustic.
 
I was pretty proud of myself for this, as one of my first from scratch super challenges. I experimented with a new pie crust recipe (to great success) and developed my own spiced pumpkin filling with a secret ingredient - orange juice. Of course, they come with a spot of homemade whipped cream on the side. Even people who don't like pies approved of this recipe and fell in love with them (my mother, mainly, who bellyached a bunch before I made them because she doesn't get so excited about pumpkin or mini pies. I won her over!).
 
I think it'll be one of my specialties into the future, even though it's labor intensive. I'm looking into getting a special brand I can burn into the crust, since cutting fun shaped holes in the top may lead to spillage. If I can't get a branding iron, I may just cut some extra crust to form a 3D layered design. I'll continue playing with crust-making techniques, eventually choosing between flakey and cakey. Right now it tends to be that the first few are flakey and the last few are cakey, as the re-rolled and re-rolled dough becomes overworked.

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