Baked Empanadas

I love empanadas!! Empanadas are delicious turnover pastries stuffed with picadillo, crab, guava, cheese or anything you desire. All latin countries have different versions of empanadas with variations of dough and fillings. Some are fried and some are baked. Personally I love them fried but they are terribly fattening so this is my low point empanada version of a personal favorite. These were made with beef picadillo and for the dough I used Goya brand discs from the frozen section in my supermarket but if you want to make yours from scratch, Laylita has a great recipe which I am going to use next time I make them. The meat can be made in advance. Since I make picadillo so often, I always have leftover to make empanadas. Here is my easy recipe:

Baked Empanadas
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 10 empanadas • Cook Time: 15 minutes • Points: 3 points each

Ingredients:

• 14 oz package of (10) frozen Goya discs, defrosted
  
• 1 egg beaten
• glass of water
• cooking spray
  
• 10 tablespoons beef picadillo (recipe here)

Preheat the oven to 400°. Spray 2 cookie sheets with Pam baking spray.

On a working surface like a large wooden cutting board, spread the dough out slightly using a roller. Place 2 tsp of the picadillo filling in the center of the dough. Moisten the edge on the top half of the circle with a little water on your finger. Fold the bottom half of the dough up until the edges meet and seal with your fingers by pressing down to form a half circle.

Next, fold the edges of the dough using your fingertip, fold one corner of the empanada over, pressing down firmly, repeateating all around, pressing firmly each time to maintain a seal around the edge of the empanada in a spiral pattern.



Gently transfer each empanada onto the cookie sheet and lightly brush the top of the empanada with egg wash.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.