I’ve made these appetizers several times over the last couple of months. I think the concept came from the Greystone Restaurant at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena, CA. ted_badger and I dined there back in October and I had this as an app. I remember thinking that it was OK but that I could do better. So here it is.
Ingredients
1 can pumpkin (you want unseasoned pumpkin here, not pie filling)
3 oz. cream cheese (room temp)
4 Tablespoons ground pumpkin seed
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 pkg. pie crust (bring out 15 minutes before you need it)
1 egg white mixed with 1 Tablespoon of water.
1 Tablespoon sugar
Instructions
- Combine the pumpkin, cream cheese, 3 Tablespoons of the pumpkin seed, cumin, salt & pepper in a bowl and mix until thoroughly blended.
- Roll out the first sheet of pie crust and using a rolling pin roll it out so it’s about an 1/8″ all around.
- Using a 2″ round cookie/biscuit cutter cut out circles of pie dough. I managed to get around 13 circles from each sheet.
- Working with one circle of pie dough at a time place a rounded teaspoon of filling in the center of the dough. Fold the dough in half to make a half circle.
- Using a fork crimp the edges of the half circle to form a seal.
- Repeat the filling process for all the circles and then repeat steps 2-5 using the second sheet of dough. If you wish you can combine the scrap dough from both sheets and get another 5 or 6 circles. You will have left over filling.
- Place all the empanadas on a half sheet lined with parchment.
- Combine the remaining tablespoon of ground pumpkin seeds with the tablespoon of sugar.
- Brush each empanada with the egg white and sprinkle with some of the sugar mixture.
- Bake in a 350°F oven for 20-25 minutes, rotating the half sheet pan at about the 12 minute mark.
These can be eaten warm or allowed to cool completely. Store in an air-tight container.
Afterlife Cafe 