Halloween Recipe: Yummy Mummy Empanadas

Ingredients

Empanada Dough:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 ounces cold unsalted butter (1-1/2 sticks)
1 egg
6-8 tablespoons cold water
24 black olive slices

Filling:
1 cup pepperoni, finely chopped
1 cup shredded mozzarella or cheese blend
1-1/2 cups pizza sauce

Yield: 12 Empanadas

Instructions

1. Cut butter into small pieces or freeze butter then grate with a cheese grater. Place butter pieces in the freezer to keep very cold.

2. Add flour and salt to food processor; pulse until fully combined.

3. Add butter and egg to flour mixture and pulse until incorporated. Tip: Scrape down the sides of the food processor bowl as necessary to ensure all ingredients are incorporated. Add water a tablespoon at a time. Pulse after each addition until a clumpy dough forms.

4. Pour dough onto plastic wrap and from a rectangle about 1" thick. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

5. While dough is resting, add all filling ingredients to a medium bowl and mix completely. Set aside.

6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

7. Remove dough from refrigerator and roll out to 1/8" thickness. Using a pizza cutter, cut (12) 5" x 5" squares of pastry. Tip: For best results cut a piece of paper or cardstock to use as a guide. Set the pieces of pastry aside on a sheet of parchment paper.

8. Add 2-1/2 tablespoons of filling to one side of the center of each pastry cutout leaving about 1/2 inch at the top, side and bottom of the pastry (Image 1).

9. Fold over the unfilled side. Use a fork to crimp the pastry together around the top, bottom and side. Repeat for the remaining pastries (Image 2).

10. Roll the remaining pastry dough a bit thinner and cut into thin strips (about 1/4" wide). Use the long strips to wrap around the pastries overlapping them randomly to resemble a mummy's bandages (Image 1).

11. About a third from the top, place two black olive slices, to serve as the mummy's eyes, in the center of the pastry. Wrap the dough strip over the olives to secure them (Image 2).

12. Pinch the loose end of the dough strip to the edge of the pastry to secure it. Trim away any unsightly parts with a pizza cutter.

13. Bake empanadas on a parchment-lined sheet in a 375 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly before serving.