Do you cook with your kids? It’s my favorite way to pass down culture and make memories with my tiny humans and, since this year they’re both in school, I’m soaking up every chance to play in the kitchen. Now that the weather is cooling down and we’re on fall break, the kids and I are taking every opportunity to cook up some yummy memories. Over the weekend we made Apple Empanadas with raisins and cinnamon for breakfast. It was an easy empanada recipe for the kids to make, but still delicious for everyone else in the family!
Using pre-made pie crust for empanada dough saved us time. As we sorted shapes and counted apple pieces for our empanada filling, we talked about the various fruit empanadas he loves most. I also told him about the empanadas his great-grandfather used to sell in the family’s Hispanic supermarket. It was a great morning of legacy building.
Our Apple Empanadas
While I love the savory ones best, dessert empanadas are a popular variation for many Latino families. You can fill them with all sorts of ingredients, including fruits, nuts or even cheese. Sweet empanadas are my kids’ favorites, so we created a Mexican apple empanadas recipe with lots of spices that reminds me of the panaderias here in SoCal, just like Papi’s… with a touch of our American culture too.
Raisin and Apple Empanada Recipe
What you’ll need to make Apple Empanadas with Raisins…
- 8-10 Granny Smith Apples
- Pie Crusts, 1 box of 2 sheets
- 1 cup raisins, more if preferred
- 1 cup brown sugar
- cinnamon
- 1 egg, for the egg wash
How to Make Apple Empanadas
To make your empanadas, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Start working on your empanada filling by peeling the apples, removing the core and chopping into bite-sized pieces. Add apple chunks, raisins, sugar and cinnamon into a pot and heat on medium low. Stir often, as you don’t want the sugar to burn. You don’t need to add any liquid at all.
While the apples cook, open and spread open the pre-made pie crusts. Use a large circle cookie cutter. I was able to get 3 large circles per pie crust (6 total).
Optional (but fun!): To turn your empanadas into little turkeys (like we did), use a smaller cookie cutter to create 6 circles for the turkey faces. Use dough scraps and a sharp knife and cut small triangles for beaks and a rectangle shape for the turkey’s gobble thing, which my kids have informed me is called el moco in Spanish.
Empanada Filling Recipe
Once the sugar has melted and the apples have softened, your empanada filling is done! Assemble your Apple Empanadas, being mindful not to overfill the empanada, and join the sides to create a half circle. Scramble the egg and add a splash of water to make your dough glue. Using a fork, crimp the edges of the half circle together to create your empanada. Dip the fork in your egg wash if things start to get sticky.
For the turkey face, use the egg glue to top the smaller circle, beak and el moco onto the empanadas top, making a turkey face. Use a few of the cooked raisins as eyes.
Bake your treats on a floured cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes, or until the empanada dough is golden brown. Let cool and enjoy immediately, savoring every last bit of your little one’s childhood.
