Pumpkin Empanadas

"Condensed milk is wonderful. I don't see how they can get a cow to sit down on those little cans." ~ Fred Allen

It's getting a little cooler outside. Starting to feel more fall-ish. The grocery store smells like cinnamon and there are pumpkins everywhere. So, I thought it would be the perfect time to try out a recipe I had tucked away..pumpkin empanadas.

First, turn the oven on! To 425, please and thank you.

They are super easy to make. First, you dump 15.5 ozs of pumpkin stuff in a bowl. I could only find a 29 oz can so I eyeballed it. Then you add three eggs, two teaspoons of pumpkin spice, and a 1/2 cup of condensed milk. *I did a taste test and decided it needed sugar. Feel free to add sugar to taste if you prefer*

Start stirring....

Keep stirring...I promise it will come together. Like this:


Ok, set that bowl aside for now. Now you need a package of pre-made refrigerated pie crusts. The package I bought had two pie crusts in there, lucky me. The written recipe calls for the use of a round cookie or biscuit cutter about 3 inches in diameter. I just used the bottom of the condensed milk can since I don't have a round cookie cutter.


Once I had as many circles cut out as I could get from the dough, I used the tablespoon sized measuring spoon to scoop the pumpkin stuff into the circles. Again, this is eyeballed. I put too much in some and it squished out the sides.

And if you know how to 'pinch and fold' dough edges then fill free. For me, I haven't had a lot of practice pinching and folding so I just used a fork to seal the edges together.


Spray a baking sheet down with non-stick spray before putting the empanadas on it. Last step before going in the oven. Use a basting brush or whatever tool you prefer to brush the tops of the empanadas with the condensed milk. It helps the dough turn that golden brown and it gives it a little sweetness.

Pop all of it in the oven for about 10-15 minutes. Mine only took 10 minutes, so keep an eye on them.


When they are done put them out on a cooling rack for a few minutes. MMmmm, look at the golden goodness. And trust me, you won't mind the sloppiness of the pumpkin stuff leaking out when you taste them. So good.