Spinach Empanadas

These take a little time to make but they are SOO delicious! They freeze very well and can be made ahead and reheated. I don't remember where I got this recipe but it is definitely requested a lot! Prep time does not include time for dough to chill.
- Ready In:
- 57mins
- Yields:
- Units:
2
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ingredients
-
Pastry
- 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
- 3⁄4 cup butter, softened
- 2 1⁄2 cups flour
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
-
Filling
- 1⁄4 cup finely chopped onion
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 5 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (reserve 1 T drippings)
- 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
- 1 cup small curd cottage cheese
- 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper
- 1⁄8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 egg, for egg wash
- salsa, for serving
directions
- For pastry: In a large bowl, beat together cream cheese and butter until smooth.
- Gradually beat in flour and salt.
- The mixture will be very thick.
- Knead by hand.
- Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 3 hours.
- For filling: In a medium skillet, cook the onion and garlic in the reserved bacon drippings for 3-4 minutes until onion is tender but not brown.
- Stir in the crumbled bacon, spinach, cottage cheese, pepper and nutmeg.
- Let filling cool.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out pastry until it is 1/8 inch thick.
- Using a 3 inch cutter, cut out as many pastry circles as possible.
- Place 1 tsp filling on one half of each pastry circle.
- Moisten the edges of the circle with beaten egg mixed with a little water (eggwash) and fold the other half over the filling.
- Place on an ungreased baking sheet and seal the edges of the pastry with a fork.
- Brush tops with the egg and prick a small vent in each.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.
- Serve warm with salsa for dipping.
- To freeze: After baking, allow to cool. Freeze on a baking sheet until firm, then transfer to a large freezer bag. Seal & label.
- To reheat: Reheat on a baking sheet at 450 degrees until just heated through. About 10 minutes.
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This is the easiest and best pastry I have ever made! I changed the filling a bit - omitted the bacon to make them vegitarian and changed the cheese to a mixture of cojita and montery jack. I halved the recipe and got almost 25 - I didn't re-roll the scraps, so I could have made more. I plan on serving these at a wedding. Thanks for the great recipe, JillAZ!Reply