Raspberry, Almond, and Goat Cheese Empanadas

This was another recipe where I told the Robber what I made and he made a face at me and I wanted to say well then, you can't have any, but then he ate one and decided it was the best thing ever and I am a sucker when the Robber likes what I make and I get all happy, but maybe I would be happier if I hadn't told him and then I could just eat these all myself! So good!

I didn't have the time or energy to make 20 small empanadas, so I made 8 big ones which threw the filling-to-dough ratio quite off, with not enough filling, so I threw in some Ghiradelli chocolate chips and almonds into my leftover dough and it was delicous! I might just use this dough and put anything into it, but trust me if you have the goat cheese, go that route. So good.

Note: I also did not put the almonds in the filling but rather opted just sprinkle the tops generously with almonds (after brushing them with egg so the almonds would stick), which allowed the filling to remain creamy and smooth on the inside. I mixed the raspberries into the filling directly also instead of adding them separately to each empanada.

Note: If you make 8 empanadas, use about 1/4 cup of filling per empanada.

From a Hint of Honey:

http://www.ahintofhoney.com/2009/05/raspberry-almond-and-goat-cheese.html

Ingredients:

For the basic sweet pastry dough:

3 C. all purpose flour (I used half white whole wheat)

1/4 C. sugar

Pinch of salt

2 sticks butter (16 T.), cut into 16 pieces

2 eggs

2-4 T. cold water

For the raspberry goat cheese filling:

12 oz. raspberries (fresh or frozen)

11 oz. plain goat cheese, room temperature

½ C. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 T. orange zest

½ cup sliced almonds

1 egg, yolk and white separated and lightly whisked

¼ cup demerara or Turbinado sugar to sprinkle on top

Directions:

1. Prepare basic pastry crust dough as follows:

1. Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor.

2. Add the butter, eggs and water until a clumpy dough forms.

3. Knead the dough for a few minutes.

4. Form dough into 2 balls, flatten into thick discs, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

5. Divide dough and roll out into as many thin disks as desired.

2. Combine the goat cheese, sugar, vanilla, orange zest in a bowl, mix well.

3. To assemble the empanadas place a spoonful of the goat cheese mixture, a couple of raspberries and a few almond slices on the center of the empanada disc.

4. Brush the edges of the empanada disc with the egg whites.

5. Fold the empanada discs and seal the edges, use a fork to help seal the empanadas.

6. Lightly brush the top of the empanadas with the egg yolk; this will give them a nice golden glow when baked.

7. Sprinkle the almond slices on the top of the empanadas, do this immediately after you brush them with the egg yolk, it will help the almond slices stick to the empanada.

8. Sprinkle each empanada with a little bit of the demerara sugar.

9. Chill the empanadas for at least 30 minutes or until ready to bake, this will help them seal better.

10. Bake the empanadas in a pre-heated oven at 375 F for 15-20 minutes (longer if making bigger empanadas) or until golden. Serve warm.

Yield: 8-20 empanadas.