Sweet Potato Mini Empanadas Recipes

SWEET POTATO EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Dough: Cream the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl using an electric mixer at medium speed.
• When well mixed, add the flour and salt in two or three additions and continue to mix just until the dough comes together.
• Turn out the dough and knead a few times to form a cohesive ball.
• Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill it for at least three hours and up to a few days.
• Filling: Peel the yams and slice them into equal-sized chunks.
• Rinse the yams off and place them in a medium pot with about two inches of cold water.
• Bring to a boil, and then simmer until tender. 15 - 25 minutes depending on the size of the yams.
• When you can slide a knife easily into the yams, remove from heat and drain.
• Add butter, cumin, salt and a few grinds of black pepper and mash together until smooth.
• Chill filling until cool. If you make the filling right after the dough, they will both be ready at the same time, or you can cover and keep in the fridge for a few days.
• Assembly:Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Divide dough in half. Roll out one half to 1/8" thickness. This will be easier if the dough has only chilled for three hours, but if it has been overnight, it is still possible, just a little harder. Do not let the dough set out a room temperature.
• Cut out circles using a 3" biscuit cutter or a glass.
• Place your dough rounds on a cookie sheet, separating layers with waxed paper. Continue with the other dough half. The remainders can be re-rolled once to no ill effect. The dough rounds can be used right away, or kept wrapped in plastic in the fridge for up to two days.
• Place about a teaspoon of filling in a dough round and fold in half. Pinch the edges together to form the empanads. There is no need to seal the edges with anything other than your fingers, although the tines of a fork make an interesting design.
• Place each filled empanada on a cookie sheet lined with a Silpat about one inch apart.
• Make the egg wash by beating the egg with the water.
• Brush the egg wash on each pastry being sure to cover the entire empanada.
• Make a small slit in the top of each empanada with a sharp paring knife.
• At this point, I like to chill the empanadas for an additional 10 minutes to be sure that they keep their shape in the oven.
• Bake each tray at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes until they are golden. Cool on racks.

SWEET POTATO EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a small bowl, mash the sweet potatoes with a fork, and mix in the cream cheese, brown sugar if using, lemon juice, and pinch of salt until creamy. Remove the dough from the tube and separate into 4 rectangles. Working with 1 rectangle at a time, roll over the perforated lines in the dough to seal together. Cut the rectangle in half and then cut the halves into 2 triangles. Place a heaping teaspoon of sweet potato filling in the center of each of 4 triangles. Fold the dough over on each, as if you were making ravioli, and pinch the edges together.
• Continue making little triangle empanadas with the rest of the dough, 16 total. Place the triangles on a parchment-lined baking sheet and into the preheated oven. Bake the empanadas until golden, about 10 to 12 minutes. Meanwhile, in a shallow bowl, mix together the sugar, cinnamon, and pinch of salt. While still warm, brush the empanadas with melted butter, and then gently toss in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Serve the empanadas with tangy plain yogurt for dipping.

MEXICAN PUMPKIN EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, whisk the flour, 1/3 cup of sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and baking powder together. Cut the shortening into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs; stir the water in, about 2 tablespoons at a time, just until you can gather the dough together. Knead the dough a few times in the bowl, then scrape it out onto a floured surface. Cut the dough in quarters, and cut each quarter into thirds to make 12 equal portions. Roll the portions into balls. Cover the dough balls with a cloth, and allow to rest while you make the filling.
• Mix the pumpkin, 2 eggs, 1 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves together until smooth. On a floured surface, roll each dough ball out into a thin circle about 6 inches across; spoon about 1/3 cup of filling into the center of the dough circle. Fold the dough over the filling to make a half-moon shaped pie, and crimp the edges of the crust together with a fork, leaving little fork lines in the dough. Gently lay the empanadas onto the prepared baking sheets. Brush the top of each pie with beaten egg.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the filling is hot and the crusts are shiny and browned, about 20 minutes.

SWEET POTATO MINI EMPANADAS!

Steps:

• 1. In a small pot add diced sweet potato and cover with water boil for 20-25 minutes until fork tender. In food processor add butter, cream cheese, flour and salt pulse until dough comes together. You can also do this by hand or with a mixer. put Dough in flour counter and make into a ball wrap with plastic wrap and let it chill for 1 hour. You can also do this ahead of time. After potato is cooked drain and add back into pot add sugar, honey, butter and salt. mash with wooden spoon or potato masher. Put mixture in plastic container (at this point you can add raisins optional)and put in fridge to cool.
• 2. After 1 hour get baking pans ready and preheat oven to 375 F. Flour your board or counter and roll out dough to 1/4 inch thick. Get your round cookie cutter I use a 3 inch one, Start cutting out the dough. I got 36 rounds out of my dough. In each round put a tsp full of filling in middle of round. fold over and press edge down with finger and crimp with a fork. Repeat until you are done with all the rounds.
• 3. Place empanadas in prepared cookie sheets with a pastry rush brush with egg wash and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar if desired optional. Cook for 25 minutes in preheated oven and let cool for at least 15 minutes. This recipe is so good and easy to make especially for kids. You can add raisins or nuts to the filling or both. You can use canned pie filling or do nutela and bananas as well. Some times I do an apple filling. Or you can do a savory filling like picadillo or chicken. If doing savory filling omit the 1/4 cup of sugar in the recipe.

HOW TO MAKE SWEET EMPANADA DOUGH

Steps:

• Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor.
• Add the butter, eggs and water until a clumpy dough forms.
• Knead the dough for a few minutes.
• Form dough into 2 balls, flatten into thick discs, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
• Roll out the dough into a thin sheet and cut out round disc shapes for empanadas, use round molds or a small plate or cup as a mold, you can choose how large based on whether you want small or medium sized empanadas .
• Use the empanada discs immediately or store in the refrigerator or freezer to use later.
• To assemble these sweet empanadas or dessert turnovers, place the filling of your choice on the center of each empanada disc. Don't add too much filling since it makes it harder to close or seal the empanadas when they're overstuffed.
• To seal the empanadas, fold the disc and seal the edges by pressing the dough with your fingers. If needed, you can brush the inside edges with egg white, it will act as a glue for the empanadas. You can do a final seal by pressing the top of a fork against the edges. You can also try a curl type seal, called repulgue or churito, by using your fingers to twist the curl the edges - this is harder with sweet empanadas than with regular savory empanada dough.
• For best results, refrigerate the empanadas for at least 30 minutes before baking - this also helps them seal better and prevents the filling from leaking out.
• If you want your empanadas to have a nice golden finish, then you can brush them with egg wash (a whole egg whisked or egg yolk plus a few drops of water whisked). After brushing the empanadas with egg wash, you can sprinkle sugar (I prefer brown sugar or demerara) on top. You can also sprinkle them with regular or powdered sugar after baking.
• Bake the empanadas in a pre-heated oven. I usually bake them at 375F/190C. The baking time will vary based on the oven and size of empanadas, and should be in the range of 18-25 minutes - the empanadas will be ready once they are golden on top.

VEGAN SWEET POTATO & BLACK BEAN EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper to prevent sticking and for easy clean up.
• Peel and cube the sweet potatoes into 1-inch cubes.
• Place the sweet potatoes on a parchment lined baking sheet and squeeze one half of the lime juice over the potatoes and toss to coat.
• Roast for twelve minutes, then toss the potatoes and roast for another twelve, or until they're fork tender and golden brown on the edges.
• While the potatoes are cooking, add the black beans to a small sauce pan with two cups of water and the cumin, oregano, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Stir to combine.
• Heat the beans on medium-high heat to a rolling boil, then drop the heat to a simmer.
• Simmer the black beans for thirty minutes.
• Make the pasta dough. Click the link to get the recipe.
• While the black beans and sweet potatoes cook, roll out 2 tbsp of dough at a time into a circular shape. Look at the above pictures for an idea of what they should look like.
• When the potatoes are done, let them cool slightly and then add to food processor, add the salt, the rest of the lime juice, and the liquid from the black beans.
• Turn the food processor on and process the sweet potato mixture for one minute, or until the sweet potato is smooth.
• Add the black beans and pulse about six times so the black beans are evenly dispersed but most of them are still intact.
• Drop the oven temp to 350°F (176°C)
• Take about 1 tbsp of the filling and place it on top of the dough.
• Roll the dough to form the empanada as shown above.
• Place the empanadas on a parchment lined baking sheet and lightly brush with olive oil (feel free to omit this part if you're oil free)
• Bake for 12 min per side, or until golden brown.
• Enjoy!

SPICY SWEET POTATO EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line one sheet pan with aluminum foil and another with parchment paper.
• Rub the sweet potatoes with olive oil and prick them all over with the tines of a fork. Place the potatoes on the foil-lined sheet pan. Bake for about 1 hour, until very tender when pierced with a knife. Lower the oven to 375 degrees.
• Allow the potatoes to cool enough to handle, then peel and discard the skins, placing the potatoes in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the sour cream, butter, maple syrup, chile powder, orange zest, orange juice, 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, and 3/4 teaspoon black pepper and mix well. Set aside.
• Unfold one sheet of the cold puff pastry on a floured cutting board. Roll the sheet into a 12-inch square with a rolling pin. With a sharp paring knife, cut four 5-inch circles from the pastry, using a dish as a guide and discarding the scraps. Place a heaping soup spoon of filling on each circle, leaving a 1-inch border. Brush the edges of the circles with the egg wash and fold over, making half circles. Crimp the edges together with the tines of a fork. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry. Place on the parchment-lined sheet pan. Chill for 15 minutes.
• Brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with the sea salt and pepper. Make 2 small slits in each empanada to allow steam to escape. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until puffed and browned. Serve hot.