Apple empanadas {with cinnamon empanada dough}

To make the cinnamon empanada dough:

1. Place the flour, salt and sugar in a food processor and pulse until well mixed.
2. Add the cinnamon (and other spices / lemon zest), mix well.
3. Add the pieces of butter and pulse until well mixed.
4. Add the eggs and 2 tablespoons of milk and mix until dough clumps start to form.
5. If the dough is still dry you can add more milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you have a smooth consistency.
6. Remove the dough from the food processor, split into 2 large balls, you can flatten them gently and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes.

Simple apple filling:

1. Place the diced apples in a medium sized bow. Sprinkle the sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice and vanilla extract on top.
2. Mix well and let sit until ready to assemble the empanadas.

To shape the sweet empanada discs:

1. Option 1- On a floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll out the chilled dough until you have a thin layer. Use round pastry cutter to cut out small rounds or discs of dough. Gently place the empanada discs on lightly floured layers of wax paper. Refrigerate if they won’t be used immediately.
2. Option 2 – Cut the dough into small chunks and shape each chunk into a ball form. The number of dough balls will be the number of empanadas that you would like to make, you can get 12-15 medium/larger empanadas or 20-25 smaller ones. I usually go for 18-20 for the perfect dessert size.
3. Next roll out each ball of dough until you have a round shape, don’t worry if it isn’t perfectly round. A useful tool to flatten the balls of dough is a tortilla press – a good heavy one is the best.
4. Make sure you place the dough on a lightly floured wax paper or film wrap paper (saran) to keep it from sticking.

Apple empanada assembly:

1. Place a spoonful of the apple filling on the center of each empanada disk.
2. If using the perfectly round cut out discs from option 1 above, then gently fold the empanada disc and press the edges together using your fingers. You can use a fork to press down on the edges and seal the empanadas; or you can use your finger to twist and crimp the edges.
3. If using the less perfect discs from option 2 above, then fold the empanada disc and gently press to seal, then use a round bowl or a round cutting mold to cut any excess dough, this should give a perfect round half circle/half moon shape. You can then seal them with a fork or gently crimp the edges.
4. For best results I like to refrigerate the empanadas for at least 30 minutes before baking them.

Baking the apple empanadas:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 F / 190 C
2. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until golden on top.
3. Remove the empanadas from the oven and let them cool down for about 10 minutes.
4. Brush the top of each empanada with the melted butter and then sprinkle the sugar cinnamon mix on top.
5. Can be served warm or cold, alone or with a sweet dipping sauce.