Cajeta Pineapple Empanadas Food

PINEAPPLE EMPANADAS RECIPE

Steps:

• Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl.
• Then add the vegetable lard.
• Using your fingers, mix in the lard with the dry ingredients.
• Add a third of the water to the mixture and mix to incorporate.
• Repeat this process of adding water and mixing two more times, adding a third of the water each time until all of the water has been used.
• If the dough is too sticky, add flour little by little until it reaches the desired consistency.
• Once the dough is no longer sticky, turn it out onto a floured surface and let rest while you prepare the filling.
• Preheat your oven to 356 degrees.
• Peel and core the pineapple.
• Cut into thin strips and dice.
• Sprinkle in the flour, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, and mix until incorporated.
• Set aside as you cut the dough.
• Roll out your ball of dough onto a floured surface.
• Roll into a rectangular shape, taking care not to roll too thinly or the dough will break.
• Using a 2 ½" to 3" round cookie cutter, cut about 10 rounds from the dough.
• Remove the excess dough around the circles.
• Add a tablespoon of filling to the center of each round.
• Gently pick up a filled round and fold in half.
• Next, pinch the edges until the empanada is completely sealed.
• Repeat until you've sealed all your empanadas.
• Dust with sugar, place on a cookie sheet lined with a silicone mat or sprayed with non-stick spray, and bake for 30-35 minutes in your preheated oven until the crust turns golden brown.
• Once your empanadas are ready, let them cool.
• Transfer to a serving plate and serve with your favorite coffee or hot beverage
• Enjoy!

SWEET AND EASY PINEAPPLE EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Unfold 1sheet of puff pastry on lightly floured surface. Using a 3-inch cookie cutter or a 3-inch diameter can with the top removed, cut out 9 circles of dough. Repeat with the remaining puff pastry sheet. Put a scant teaspoon of cajeta in center of each round. Top each with a sprinkling of grated cheese and 3 or 4 pieces of pineapple. Brush the edge of each circle with the egg mixture and enclose each empanada into a half moon. Crimp the edges with fork. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and brush each empanada with the egg mixture. Crimp edges with fork.Transfer the empanadas to the prepared baking sheet and brush them with the egg mixture. Sprinkle with demarara sugar and bake until golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer the empanadas to a serving platter and serve warm.

CREPES CAJETA

Steps:

• To make the cajeta: place the unopened can of milk in a heavy saucepan and cover completely with water. Over very low heat, cook at a bare quiver for 3 hours, adding more water as necessary as it evaporates. With an oven glove, turn the can over and cook for 2 1/2 hours more. Cool to room temperature and refrigerate overnight.
• In a blender, combine the milk, eggs, sugar, flour, butter, salt, vanilla, cloves, and cinnamon and blend until completely smooth. Let the batter sit in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
• Heat a small nonstick skillet and pour in about 2 tablespoons of the crepe batter, swirling the pan immediately to make sure the batter covers the pan evenly. Cook until small bubbles form on the surface, then flip to the other side. Slide onto a plate and make the remaining crepes in the same way, stacking them on the plate until you are finished.
• To assemble the crepes: open the can of cooked condensed milk and stir it up from the bottom with a fork, blending to an evenly thick consistency. Spread about 1 tablespoon of the "cajeta evenly over the surface of one crepe. Scatter some of the toasted pecans over the top and roll up into a tube. Repeat with the remaining crepes and reheat in a low oven for a few minutes before serving. Serve 4 crepes per person, sprinkled with a little confectioners sugar and scattered with raspberries.

EMPANADAS DE PINA (PINEAPPLE PASTRY COOKIES)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Place sugar in a bowl.
• Place flour in a large mixing bowl. Begin working butter into flour slowly until fully incorporated. Repeat process gradually with cream cheese, kneading dough until uniform and no longer crumbly. Form into 1 inch balls, then flatten with a rolling pin to a thickness of 1/8 inch. (This may also be done by rolling out the entire amount of dough and cutting rounds with a biscuit cutter.)
• Place 1 tablespoon preserves on each dough center. Fold over, and seal with fingers or press to seal with a fork. Place cookies on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Cookie will remain white and should not be browned, and it is normal for some filling to leak from the cookie. When cookies are cool enough to handle, roll in sugar until evenly coated. Transfer to a platter to cool completely.