It is Quilt Block Mania time. This months theme is desserts. This is one of my absolute favorite desserts.
Empanadas, pasties, hand pies, kolaches, calzones, bao, ect are a staple all over the world. They are dough containing a filling that makes it easy to transport it with you. You can make the savory or you can make them sweet. You can bake them, you can fry them, you can steam them. You can use a short crust dough, a rough puff dough, a hot water crust dough, or a yeasted dough.
In my part of the world they are empanadas. The savory ones are filled with delicious things like chorizo and cheese, or carne adovada, beef with potatoes, green chiles and cheese. But we are here about desserts today. Guavas are probably one of my top favorite fruits. Given that I live somewhere where it freezes and doesn't have enough water, fresh guava is not an option. We mostly find it as guava juice or guava paste. Occasionally you can find the frozen fruit at the store. The paste i end up using the most in cooking when ever you want to add some sweet bright acid notes to the dish. There is a mexican bakery down the street from my office and they some of the most amazing guava empanadas. I cook by feel which doesn't always work when I am baking and so I have to write it all down. I like the short crust pastry or pie dough for my shell of my guava empanads. Cream Cheese is a good sorta neutral pairing to go with the guava. It gives a good flavor and texture contrast to pair with the very sweet guava. But the same way apples go well with cheddar cheese, cheddar and guava are a good pair. I love a good baked brie with jam wrapped in a puff pasty. Using brie and guava in your empanadas can make them heavenly. If you are not
a fan of brie, gouda or gruyere cheese are less strong but still bring those savory notes to pair with the sweetness of the guava. If you can't gind guava paste, you can use fig jam or quince paste.
Today for Desert month you get a two for, there is the quilt block pattern and this a recipe for guava empanadas.
You can also head over to my Facebook group and join it to get the pattern under the files section.
You can visit all of my fellow designers for their free fun blocks
Now try some of the tasty treats.
Guava Empanadas 10 SERVINGS
Ingredients
2 ½ cups (325 grams) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt or use 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon sugar, optional
1 cup (230 grams) very cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (2 sticks)
4 to 8 tablespoons ice water
8oz (227 grams) cream cheese, (you can also sub the cream cheese for Brie, sharp Cheddar, Gouda or Gruyere)
1 egg
2 Cups (473 ml) guava paste (diced)
Powdered Sugar
Directions
Add 1 1/2 cups flour, salt and sugar (optional) to a medium bowl. Stir 2 to 3 times until combined.
Scatter butter cubes over flour and mix briefly with a fork or spatula to coat the butter with flour.
Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry blender, working mixture until the flour has a coarse, mealy texture similar to fresh bread crumbs.
Add remaining 1 cup of flour. Work butter and flour with the pastry blender until flour is evenly distributed. (Dough should look crumbly with pea-sized pieces).
Sprinkle ice water over the mixture — start with 4 tablespoons and add from there. Using a rubber spatula, press the dough into itself. The crumbs should begin to form larger clusters. If you pinch some of the dough and it holds together, it’s ready. If the dough falls apart, add 2 to 4 more tablespoons of water and continue to press until dough comes together.
Remove dough from bowl and place in a mound on a clean surface. Work the dough just enough to form a ball. Cut ball in half then form each half into discs. Wrap each disc with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour, and up to 2 days.
CUT pastry dough into 10 equal pieces.
Shape into 10 small patties. Roll out one piece on a lightly floured surface to a 6-inch circle.
Slice the cream cheese up into 10 equal slices. Place 1 slice cream cheese on pastry circle, slightly off center.
Top with 2 rounded tablespoons guava paste.
Brush edges of pastry with water.
Fold pastry in half, covering filling. Seal edges with tines of fork or crimp edges to seal.
Brush the top side of each empanada with the egg wash, then bake until the outsides are dark golden brown and feel crispy to the touch, 20 to 25 minutes.
Let cool for at least 15 minutes.
Sprinkle generously with powdered sugar just before serving.
Enjoy these treats.
See you next Month