This recipe is my variation of two presented by Martha Stewart in her book “Appetizers“. The empanadas are fast friendly, if you use the aquafaba (garbanzo liquid, see below).
Mini Empanades with Shallots and Dates
This is an unusual recipe, but tastes great!
Ingredients
Dough
- 6 cups King Arthur All Purpose Flour*
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp Kosher Salt
- 1 ½ sticks of salted butter brough to room temperature
Filling
- 2 tbsp salted butter
- 2 pounds shallots peeled and chopped
- 1 tbsp Honey
- 12 dates, chopped roughly, pits removed
- ⅛ tsp Thyme leaves
Assembly
- 2 eggs whisked the 2 tbsp water**
Instructions
Filling
- Place the butter in a fry pan, when melted and sizling, add the shallots. Cook until the shallots are caramelized. Stir frequently to prevent burning, and turn down the heat to low moderate.
- Place the shallots in a bowl, then add the honey, dates and thyme. Mix them well and set aside until assembly.
Dough
- Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl, mix well.
- Cut up the butter into small pieces and place in the flour mixture. Using your hands crumble the butter into the flour mixture, until you have a ingredients well incorporated.
- Turn the dough onto a clean floured surface and knead until you good dough ball.
- Using a rolling pit roll teh dough into a long rectangle, then roll the dough through a pasta machine. Roll to a setting of 5, thin enough so you can see your hand held up behind the dough aboue 1/8 inch thick.
- Using a 3 or 4 inch cookie cutter, cut circles, flour them and set aside.
- When you have half the dough rolled and cut, start assembly.
Assembly
- Beat the eggs and water for the egg wash,or use the aquafaba, set aside.
- Plae about 1/2 tbsp of the filling in the dough circle.
- Moisten the edges of the dough, fold over the circle to form a half moon and seal.
- Place them on a parchment covered cookie sheet.
- Once you have the empanadas all filled, use a fork and push down the edges to form a design and seal the empanada.
- Use the egg wash or aqufaba, painting each empanada. Sprinkle with salt or sugar, you can use either.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 20-40 minutes until the empanadas turn a golden brown.
Notes
*You can cut the dough recipe in half. You will have dough left over which can be frozen or refrigerated for later use.
**You can also use garbanzo bean liquid, aquafaba, from canned beans. Use it straight, just paint the empanadas as if using egg wash.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
There are a number of different sauses you canuse with these empanadas, either sweet or savory. The following cranberry apple sauce seems to go very well with the empanadas. I brought about 35 of these empanadas with the Cranberry apple sauce to a church coffee hour. They were inhaled!
Cranberry Apple Sauce
This is a sweet sauce that works well with the shallot/date empanada.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces Cranberries, fresh or frozen
- 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and chopped
- ¾ cup Honey
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 cup apple juice
- ½ tsp cinnamon powder
- ¼ tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Place the cranberries, apple, honey, lemon zest, apple juice, cinnamon and sea salt to a small sauce pan.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Taste and adjust seasoning as desired. Let cool and serve.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
