Empanada de Queso

 Yes, it’s Empanada time!

The dough for this empanada de queso has baking powder and butter in it. In Bolivia, I would eat this with coffee or hot cocoa in the morning for breakfast.

Enjoy!

Serves 20 empanadas

Dough

Ingredients

3 cups flour

1/2 cup butter

1/4 tsp salt

3 tsp baking powder

3 egg yolks

1 cup warm milk (or warm water)

Preparation:

In a food processor, mix the flour, baking powder and salt.

Add the butter and pulse until the flour looks like sand.

Add the eggs yolks and slowly add the milk until the dough is soft. Put the dough on the table and work with your hands until dough is soft but not wet. Divide the dough in 5 portions and wrap them in plastic and set them aside for 1 hour.

Filling

Ingredients

4 cups grated monterrey jack cheese ( if you can get queso fresco use that)

3 egg whites

1 egg

Preparation

Whisk the egg whites until they are hard.

Add the cheese to this mix just before you are making the empanadas, otherwise the egg whites will lose their foamy consistency.

Divide each ball of dough in 4 pieces for a total of 20 little balls.

Cover them with plastic and let them rest for 5 min.

Preheat the oven to 400 F

Work one empanada at a time.

Roll one ball at a time into a flat round oval.

Put the filling on one far side of the rolled dough, around 1 tbsp.

Close the empanada by folding the empty half over the filling.

 

Place the empanadas on a baking sheet that is covered with parchment paper.

Whisk the other egg and, using a brush, paint each empanada with the whisked egg. Make sure you brush the entire empanada.

Bake them for 20 min or until well brown.

Serve warm.