Pumpkin empanadas with Dulce de Leche whipped cream

Ingredients

For the filling

• 1 - 15 oz. can of pumpkin puree

• 1/2 can of condensed milk

• 1/4 cup of dark brown sugar

• 2 egg yolks

• 1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice

• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon powder

• 1/4 teaspoon of all spice

• About 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts

• 2 packs of 10, pre-made and thawed empanada discs (white, La Fe is my favorite)

*Optional: add a pinch of salt to the mixture along with the spices when it’s time.

For the whipped cream

• 1 pint of heavy whipping cream

• 4 tablespoons of your favorite dulce de leche (I use San Ignacio, it’s an amazing Argentine brand)

• 1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice

• (If you’d like this to be super sweet, you can add the rest of your condensed milk can)

Cooking

First separate your two egg yolks. Place those in a small plate for later. Next, warm up a pan to about medium heat. Once heated add your pumpkin puree, mix it a bit and add the condensed milk. Mix until it’s combined. Next add the dark sugar and mix until it’s all dissolved. Now it’s time to add the egg yolks, one at a time while continuing to stir. You don’t want to make scrambled eggs. Keep stirring for about 1-2 minutes. Now add your pumpkin spice, cinnamon, and all spice. Blend in well until the filling gets a brown color. Keep mixing for a few more minutes and then remove from heat to cool down. Take our your thawed empanada discs so they can warm up to room temperature and become malleable.

After the filling has cooled, you can begin assembling the empanadas. Right before you start, preheat your oven to 400°. Set up a station on my counter: filling to your left, a cutting board with empanadas discs stacked in the middle, a bowl of chopped walnuts to my right, and a small dish of lukewarm water (for sealing). Using a spoon, add about 2 tablespoons of filling to approximately one half of the empanada disc. Then top with two or three walnut piece. On the half of the disc edge with the filling, rub a little bit of water on the edge with your finger. Then fold the other side onto the wet-edge one. Press down around the edges to seal the empanada. If some of the filling oozes out, that’s okay, just wipe it off with a damp paper towel or your fingers. You can also put in slightly less filling in the rest. Now, to fully seal your empanada you can do so in two ways. The easy way: press your fork around the edges on both sides. The other, is trickier, it’s a repulgue as we say in Spanish. You start by taking one corner and folding it inward, then repeating that step throughout the edge so that it forms a braid-like seal. Make them until you run out of filling and re-freeze the rest of the discs. Bake them on a cookie sheet for 18-22 minutes.

While the empanadas are baking, it’s time to prepare the whipped cream. In a large mixing bowl add the heavy whipping cream, 4 tablespoons of dulce de leche and about half a teaspoon or so of pumpkin spice powder. Mix in an electric stand mixer at high-speed for about 4-5 minutes, or do this by hand until it’s thick (this will be quite an arm workout).

Make sure the empanadas are cool before you serve with a couple dollops of the whipped cream. You can also just dip them into the cream (like in the image on top).