Dessert Empanadas

Well, I found my new favorite pastry dough. Who knew cream cheese could help form a dough that would bake to flaky perfection?

Anyways, the cream cheese dough was used in a recipe I found to make dessert empanadas. Don't get me wrong, I love fried foods, but I just wasn't feeling like a greasy treat, so this recipe was a lifesaver. The dessert empanada featured above has a strawberry filling (you can see the red/pink color at the crimped edges).

This photograph does a better job showing the flakiness of the dough. This little guy has an orange zest filling. Yum!

You must try this recipe at home; I am sure you will love it. 

 

Dessert Empanadas

12 Servings

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese
1 cup sifted, all-purpose flour
1 cup fruit preserves
1/3 cup white sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions
Day Before: Cream butter and cream cheese together until smoothly blended. Beat in the flour. Shape dough into a smooth ball, wrap in foil or cling wrap and refrigerate overnight or up to a week.

At Baking Time: Remove dough from refrigerator 30 minutes before using. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Roll chilled dough thin. Cut with a 3 or 4-inch round cookie cutter. Place small spoonful of jam in the center of each round and moisten the edges with water. Fold the round over and press the edges together. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet 15 to 20 minutes. Immediately roll in sugar mixed with cinnamon.

Recipe courtesy of Rosina