Pumpkin Cheesecake Empanadas

I made this delicious empanada dough earlier this year with my Chipotle Beef Empanadas. The dough recipe was slightly modified from an old Martha Stewart magazine recipe. I fell in love with it's flaky, buttery crust and knew it would be great for some fruit hand pies. I'd intended to make them this summer with some fresh summer fruit but never did. So, instead I thought of this cute little dessert that's perfect for fall. 

I LOVE fall and I've been planning some of these recipes since early this year, just waiting for the weather to cool enough to turn on the oven. Well, that day came early last week and I was able to make these Pumpkin Cheesecake Empanadas. These are the perfect combination of rich Pumpkin Cheesecake in a beautiful pie crust. If you're like me and love pie crust, this recipe is for you. Lots of crust and lightly sweet and creamy pumpkin cheesecake filling. Don't despair if you prefer sweeter desserts. I included an icing to drizzle, if you wanted to add a little more sweetness to it. 

The recipe itself has a few parts to it and may on first inspection look like too much work, but it's really a breeze and the best part is that you can make the filling and dough a few days ahead and assemble them when you want. Here's one better, if you want to get a jump on your holiday baking. You can make the dough, filling and assemble the empanadas according to the recipe, but rather than bake them, place the cookie sheet in freezer for 40-50 minutes until the empanadas are firm. Wrap individually in plastic wrap, then place individually wrapped empanadas in a large freezer bag and return them to the freezer. Just pull out the amount you want to bake. Think of how perfect Thanksgiving morning will be with an Pumpkin Cheesecake Empanada for breakfast and a steamy cup of coffee. What's that saying, "Life's too short, eat dessert first." Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Empanadas
Makes 16

Filling
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
8 oz. cream cheese, room temp.
2 eggs
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp cinnamon, ground

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
In a large bowl, Whip together the pumpkin, condensed milk, sugar, cream cheese and two eggs until well combined with a light and fluffy texture. (about 3 minutes) Add vanilla, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon and continue to beat until incorporated. Spray baking dish with cooking spray and pour batter into baking dish. Bake mixture until set about 25 minutes. Cool on racks, then cover and refrigerate for about an hour until completely cool or overnight. (I made the pumpkin cheesecake filling a day ahead of time along with my dough.)


Empanada Dough (slightly adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon, ground
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup ice water
1 large egg, beaten with 1 t water (egg wash for the crust)
Cinnamon-sugar for sprinkling


Icing
2 cups powdered sugar
1-2T milk


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 8 pieces and keep in the refrigerator, using one piece at a time. Using a rolling pin on a floured work surface, roll out 1 piece to an 1/8-inch thick oval.

Use pumpkin cookie cutter to lightly score the dough to mark placement.

Using a medium sized cookie scoop, place 2-3 scoops of cooked pumpkin cheesecake filling into center of the dough. Fold dough over to enclose filling and lightly pat down the filling. 

Using a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter, cut through the dough to enclose the filling and punch out the pumpkin shape.

Using a spatula, transfer the empanada to a parchment lined cookie sheet. Press edges with a fork to seal.

Using a small leaf shaped cookie cutter, punch out leaf shapes and place on the empanada. (optional, I just thought it would be cute)

Coat each empanada with the egg wash and sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes

Let cool and serve with or without icing. (I prefer mine without icing because I love the delicate flavor of the crust.)