Chipotle Beef Empanadas

While looking through my recipe file, I stumbled on a super old recipe from Martha Stewart Living. I don't even know the year since it was a magazine tear out from probably 1998 or earlier. It was basically a recipe for a Jamaican-style empanada, she called them Beef Patties. The picture showed this flaky beautiful crust with a spicy curried beef filling. I tore it out years ago so I could try them and never did so with Cinco de Mayo approaching, I decided to use this recipe as the inspiration to make these Chipotle Beef Empanadas. I used Martha's dough recipe, only omitting the curry powder that was called out in the Beef Patties dough recipe. I like spicy food so I went for a Chipotle Beef filling which I threw together with what I had on hand, but you can really add any filling you want because it is the crust that sets these empanadas apart!
That Martha sure knows her stuff...the crust is super flaky and buttery and delicious because it has butter in it, along with the shortening. I've had empanadas before but never with a crust that was this good. Seriously! In fact, I plan to use this crust to make some small fruit pies this summer when berries come in season. I also made a few for my kiddos with just plain taco meat filling since they wouldn't touch the spicy stuff. I made a whole batch, individually wrapped them in plastic wrap and then put them in a Ziploc freezer bag so I could cook them one at a time or save them for Cinco de Mayo. Super easy and it makes about 18 empanadas so you can feed a crowd. 

Chipotle Beef Empanadas
(Makes 18)

For the Dough: (Adapted slightly from Martha Stewart's Beef Patties recipe)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup shortening or lard
3/4 cup ice water

1 large egg, beaten with 1 tsp water (egg wash for the crust)

For the Filling:

1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion
1 clove garlic, minced
2 chipotle Peppers in adobo sauce, finely chopped
3 tsp Adobo sauce
1/2 pasilla chilies, finely chopped
1/4 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup apple juice or water
1/4 cup breadcrumbs

Prepare the Filling:
Brown ground beef until crumbly, drain fat and set aside. In another pan, add onion, garlic and pasilla peppers and cook until soft. ~ 5 minutes. Add chipotle peppers and adobo sauce and oregano and cook another 2 minutes. Add cooked ground beef, salt, juice and breadcrumbs and cook until heated through another 5 minutes. Let cool completely.

Prepare the Dough:
Whisk together flour, salt, baking powder in a large bowl. Add butter and shortening. Working quickly and using your fingertips, combine mixture until it resembles a very course meal.

 Add water. With floured hands, mix.

Knead once or twice to fully combine. The less kneading the better.  Divide dough in half; and shape into disks and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. (Dough can be refrigerated up to 5 days, bring to room temperature before using.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Divide each disk of dough into 9 pieces. Using a rolling pin on a floured work surface, roll out 1 piece to an 1/8-inch thick circle.

Place a large spoonful of beef over one side, leaving at least 1/2 inch border.

Fold dough over to enclose filling: Press edges with a fork to seal.

Place on cookie sheet and coat each empanada with the egg wash. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.

If you don't want to cook these right away, at this point you can freeze them. You will need to slightly freeze them so they can be individually wrapped. Place prepared empanadas on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer for approximately 30-40 minutes. Remove from freezer and wrap each one in plastic wrap and then transfer the wrapped empanadas into a freezer bag and return to the freezer. Write heating instructions on outside of bag. 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Enjoy!