One of my favorite snacks growing up were empanadas—my mom, aunt, and grandma used to make them and I didn’t really even realize they were a relatively labor-intensive traditional recipe until I was older and able to help make them. There are definitely short cuts you can take (like buying the tapas, or empanada wrappers pre-made), but if you have the time, it’s so fun to make them completely from scratch. My brother and mom came to visit for Thanksgiving and we made a bunch, and Sean put the leftover tapas in my freezer so I could easily make another round some other time.

You can fill these with whatever you like—ham and cheese would be great, you could do a veggie version, and one of these days I’m going to take a sharp turn away from more traditional flavors and make a batch of Buffalo chicken empanadas—but my all-time favorite are these classic beef empanadas. Many Argentinian recipes call for raisins, but we don’t always use them, so feel free to leave them out or throw some in however you prefer.

Ingredients:

For the dough:

3 cups of all purpose flour
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick of butter, grated or micro-planed
3/4 - 1 cup of milk

For the filling:

1 pound of ground beef
Half of a white onion, finely chopped
Half of a green bell pepper, finely chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
About a tablespoon of olive oil
Half a jar of green olives with pimentos, chopped (more or less or none of this depending on how much you love/hate olives)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (Kraft is best for this—don’t use your fancy stuff)
5-6 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

Before baking: 2-3 tablespoons of milk for brushing onto pastry

Instructions:

To make the dough and wrappers, bring the flour, egg yolk, salt, butter, and milk together in a bowl. Mix together until combined. Roll it out onto a clean, smooth surface with a little bit of flour and cut into even circles (you can use a big cookie cutter or a bowl, depending on the size you want).
Make the filling by sautéing onion and bell pepper in olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 4-5 minutes, until garlic is fragrant and vegetables are softened. Add the ground beef and cook, stirring frequently to break down the beef into a thin, even mince. Add the olives, stir, and remove from heat.
Transfer the beef and veggie mixture to a large bowl and add the Parmesan and hard-boiled eggs. Stir well to combine and allow to cool slightly.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
To assemble empanadas, put a tablespoon or two of the beef filling in the middle of the dough circle. Wet the edges with water and fold it over gently, using a fork or your fingers to seal the edge. Repeat on remaining tapas with the rest of the filling and transfer to a baking sheet. Lightly brush each empanada with milk and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until brown.