Makes 15-20 empanadas
Ingredients
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons sugar
12 tablespoons butter, cold and cut into pieces
2 egg yolks
¾ cup water (ice cold)
Guava Jam (recipe follows)
Powdered sugar (optional)
Directions
In a large bowl, mix the flour, salt, and sugar. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter until the mixture is crumbly with crumbles about the size of peas. In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks and water. Add the liquid a little bit at a time to the flour-butter mixture; mix it up with your hands or a wooden spoon until a smooth dough forms, a few more tablespoons of ice cold water may be needed. Form the dough into a flat disc shape about the size of a small salad plate. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about 2 hours.
Pre-heat oven to 400°F. Divide the dough in two and on a lightly floured surface roll out each piece of dough to a rectangular shape. Cut the dough in about 8-10 three inch squares. Place a tablespoon of the jam on the center of each square. Fold over the dough around the filling, and moisten borders with wet finger tips. Roll the edges of the border from one side of the empanada to the other in a crescent, making sure just to roll the very outer edge of the border. Place each empanada on a greased baking sheet. Poke one or two holes, using the tip of a knife, in each empanada to aerate them. Bake empanadas for about 15 minutes, take out of the oven, and brush with a little butter. Bake again for another 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from heat, allow to cool a few minutes and dust with powdered sugar.
Guava Jam
Ingredients
2 cups guavas, chopped fine (skins, seeds and all) (about 10 guavas)
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 pinch of salt
Directions
Place all the ingredients in a medium saucepan on low heat and cook for about 10 minutes or until all ingredients are cooked down. Turn up heat to medium and boil for another 10 minutes stirring constantly. Remove from heat and pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer or flour sifter making sure the seeds are caught, push as much as you can through the mesh. Place the mixture in a metal bowl and place in the refrigerator to solidity; Guavas natural pectin will create a more dense and thick jam.