lil room, lots of time, lil frankie’s

the goal was to find a spot where 6 or 7 (somewhat finicky) eaters could enjoy a reasonably priced, unpretentious meal, while we debate (trash talk) our oscar pool selections.

lil’ frankie’s on 1st and 1st fit the bill. their $15.95 prix fixe menu, includes a cocktail and coffee/tea/juice and a fairly extensive list of  sandwiches (basics like grilled cheese, a blt, or a bacon-egg-cheese, with italiante flourishes, like fontina cheese and cibatta bread),  salads (pear and gorgonzola–very tempting), eggs (baked or fried or poached or “omeletted”)  and for those with a more dominant sweet tooth: pancakes and french toast and tartines with peanut butter and jelly and banana or…nutella and strawberries.

i was in the mood for lil’ meatballs, so it was an easy choice for me (though i did spend the two days prior thinking about it. because that’s just what i like to do. menu gaze…).

lil’ frankie’s is actually spacious, but our table for 6 was way too cozy. an attentive waitstaff would have noticed and would have at least asked if the setup was suitable, especially since there was no one else in the place and it didn’t seem it would take much to seat us elsewhere, or bring over another table for two. my dining companions didn’t seem to mind the inconvenience enough to complain, but it was not a good way to start things off.

the service was, objectively, slow to arrive, but it was balanced out by the amount of time they allowed us to linger over our meal. so i would call it a “draw.”

polpettine and eggs: the meatballs are the cutest i’ve ever seen. it’s like they’re made with elfin magic.

the gravy/sauce had nicely balanced acidity and a kiss of sweetness.

the simple description of this dish inspired dreams: i imagined, with a prick of the fork, the  yolk of gently baked eggs spreading like lava all over the ragu, and my emergency crew (that nice piece of cibatta) could get to the work of cleaning it all up. sadly, the eggs were overdone.

but it wasn’t enough to dissuade me from another visit, and my friends and i departed thinking we’d found for our “oscar club” il ristorante perfetto.

“vederla l’anno prossimo…”

***

lil’ frankie’s, at 19 first avenue, is a cash only establishment.

have a look at their menus, which are updated with daily specials. i’ve enjoyed their pasta, but i’ve not yet had their neapolitan pies, so if you go (or have been) feel free to send along your thoughts or recommendations….

recipe: tarte tatin

i love anything with apples in it. apple pie, apple bread, apple crisp – you name it, i’ll eat it. just mention “tarte tatin” and i’ll start salivating. this classic french dessert with a layer of apples covered in caramel, sheltered with dough, baked and inverted, is kind of like a more refined version of an upside down cake. i don’t know why, but i have always been intimidated by this dessert. sitting in my kitchen with a bag of apples and not knowing what to do with them, it dawned on me: i will make tarte tatin! i’m up for the challenge!

the dessert proved to be much easier than i had imagined. i used clotilde dusolier’s recipe from her book, chocolate and zucchini. it was perfect!

recipe: tarte tatin

(from the chocolate & zucchini cookbook, by clotilde dusolier), serves 8

ingredients:

for the dough:

½ cup sugar

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, sifted

¼ tsp. fine sea salt

8 tbsp. butter (1 stick) chilled, plus more for greasing the pan

1 to 2 tbsp. milk

for the caramel and filling:

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

¼ tsp. fine sea salt

3 tbsp. unsalted butter at room temperature

2 lbs. apples (about 4 medium)

directions:

1. prepare the dough: in a medium mixing bowl, combine the sugar, flour, and salt. add the butter and rub it into the dry ingredients with the tips of your fingers or a wire pastry blender, until the mixture resembles course meal. add 1 tbsp. milk and knead the dough gently until it forms a smooth ball. if the dough doesn’t come together after a minute, add a little more milk and knead again. this can all also be done in a food processor. gather into a ball, flatten slightly, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2. butter the sides of a 9 or 10-inch cake pan (not springform) or quiche pan with the pat of butter.

3. combine the brown sugar and 1 tbsp. water in a small saucepan and melt the sugar slowly over medium heat. swish the pan around from time to time, but don’t stir. as soon as bubbles form on the surface (avoid overcooking the caramel – it can get bitter), remove from heat. add the salt and butter and stir with a wooden spoon until the butter is melted and blended into a paste with the caramel. pour immediately into the pan and use the back of your spoon to spread it over the bottom of the pan. the entire surface doesn’t need to be covered, but make it as even as you can. set aside.

4. preheat the oven to 350 degrees and remove the dough from the fridge. rinse, core and peel the apples and slice into eighths. arrange the apple pieces in a circular pattern over the caramel in the pan, stirring from the outside.

5. roll the dough into a circle, about 10 inches in diameter if you use a 9-inch pan, 11 inches if you use a 10-inch pan. prick the dough all over with a fork and fold loosely over the rolling pin, lay it over the apples in the pan and tuck in the flaps of dough.

6. bake for 45 minutes or until the dough turns golden.

7. take the pan out of the oven, run a knife around the sides and turn onto a serving dish (serve warm but not piping hot). you can always reheat this at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. best enjoyed with a scoop of vanilla gelato!

extra virgin: the first time

i was still living in the west village when extra virgin opened, but never made it there before packing up and away to the LES and murray hill, and it simply fell off my radar until this weekend when my friend zovig suggested it for brunch. i welcomed her idea in part because i was just so happy that it still lived there. the notion of a basque scramble (pepperonata, creamy polenta, salsa verde, avocado puree, and…chorizo), a smoked salmon and potato tart, or roasted artichoke provençal, cinched the deal.

we were lucky, at 12:30 to snag a window table for two, a high counter, right above the  heater (set to HIGH) to warm our toes. the whole scene, overlooking west 4th street and its parade of strollers (with strollers?) was a nice comfort, a way to soothe the readjustment back to WINTER, after a sunny, tease of spring the day before.

we loved the coffee cups….

i opted for the roasted artichoke provençal…

it was a gorgeous dish, really fresh and really simple.

can you see the grain of the parmesan, the delicately poached egg white?

i love the graceful neck of the artichoke.

and the contralto to this heavenly chorus:  nice smoky bites of pancetta.

there was one thing missing for me: a few slices of hearty peasant bread to soak up the medley of yolk and cheese bits and dressing (presumably made of extra virgin olive oil). shouldn’t good bread be compuslory at an establishment that purports to offer choice olive oils?

maybe the olive oil was so dipping delicious the night before that there was none left over?

(maybe  i get lucky next time.)

***

extra virgin is at 259 west 4th street. reservations for parties of 6 or more; call 212.691.9359

recipe: roast chicken with stuffing

why do we only eat stuffing on thanksgiving? this is a question that has really irked me for quite some time. stuffing is one of my favorite foods, and i only get to have it once a year! seems unfair. however, it dawned on me that i could make an easy, virtually no-fuss stuffing inside of a simple roast chicken. roast chicken itself makes for an excellent weeknight dinner, and now that you’ve got stuffing, you no longer need to make a side dish! the leftover chicken is perfect for sandwiches the next day, too.

recipe:

ingredients:

directions:

below: the ingredients for the stuffing (i also included scallions because i had them in my fridge)

below: the chicken, stuffed, right before it went in the oven

below: the roasted, stuffed chicken, crisp on the outside and packed with a delicious, moist and really flavorful stuffing

below:  the stuffing!

recipe: (irresistible) sticky buns

if you’re as much of a sweet tooth as i am, then i can guarantee you something. you will not, i mean, WILL NOT be able to resist these sticky buns. i first saw them on an episode of throwdown with bobby flay, then read about them on serious eats, then heard from a friend who tried them that they were life-changing. i was basically ready to take a trip to boston’s flour bakery to buy these sticky buns of my dreams. but wait! i got ahold of the recipe in the flour bakery cookbook (it is also in the throwdown cookbook) and knew instantly that i need to bake this treat as soon as possible. and what better excuse to eat sugary things than valentine’s day?

i adapted the recipe slightly by omitting the pecans and substituting whole wheat flour for bread flour. i must admit that this recipe was a ton of work. not  a throw-everything-in-a-bowl-and-mix type of project. this is definitely a weekend event, as the dough needs time to proof and such, but if you ask me (and my deliciously happy belly), it was completely worth it. these sticky buns were the best i’ve ever tasted! the brioche dough is super soft and moist, with a cinnamon-sugar filling, oodles of goo on the bottom and some more goo spooned on top. these are best served warm, but are quite easy to reheat in the oven.

the dough (below) was quite easy to roll out

the “goo” was incredibly easy to make (and involves more butter and sugar than i cared to tell the people who were eating the buns)

the goo pours right into the bottom of the pan, and the cinnamon rolls just bake on top of it, soaking up all of the decadent flavor

the finished product, with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top

recipe for sticky buns courtesy of flour bakery

ingredients for the goo:

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks; 170 grams, 6 ounces) unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups (345 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup (110 grams) honey
• 1/3 cup (80 grams) heavy cream
• 1/3 cup (80 grams) water
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• Basic Brioche Dough, recipe follows
• 1/4 cup (55 grams) light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup (100 grams) pecan halves, toasted and chopped

First, make the goo. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the brown sugar and cook, stirring, to combine (it may look separated, that’s ok). Remove from the heat and whisk in the honey, cream, water, and salt. Strain to remove any undissolved lumps of brown sugar. Let cool for about 30 minutes, or until cooled to room temperature. You should have about 3 cups. (The mixture can be made up to 2 weeks in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.)

Divide the dough in half. Use half for this recipe and reserve the other half for another use.

On a floured work surface, roll out the brioche into rectangle about 12 by 16 inches and 1/4-inch thick. It will have the consistency of cold, damp Play-Doh and should be fairly easy to roll. Position the rectangle so a short side is facing you.

In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and half of the pecans. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the entire surface of the dough. Starting from the short side farthest from you and working your way down, roll up the rectangle like a jelly roll. Try to roll tightly, so you have a nice round spiral. Trim off about 1/4- inch from each end of the roll to make them even.

Use a bench scraper or a chef’s knife to cut the roll into 8 equal pieces, each about 1 1/2-inches wide. (At this point, the unbaked buns can be tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen for up to 1 week. When ready to bake, thaw them, still wrapped, in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours, then proceed as directed.)

Pour the goo into a 9 by 13-inch baking dish, covering the bottom evenly. Sprinkle the remaining pecans evenly over the surface. Arrange the buns, evenly spaced, in the baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and put in a warm spot to proof until the dough is puffy, pillowy, and soft and the buns are touching-almost tripled in size, about 2 hours.

Position a rack in the center of the oven, and heat to 350 degrees F.

Bake until golden brown, about 35 to 45 minutes. Let cool in the dish on a wire rack for 20 to 30 minutes. One at a time, invert the buns onto a serving platter, and spoon any extra goo and pecans from the bottom of the dish over the top.

The buns are best served warm or within 4 hours of baking. They can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day, and then warmed in a 325 degree F oven for 10 to 12 minutes before serving.

ingredients for brioche dough:

• 2 1/2 cups (350 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more if needed
• 2 1/4 cups (340 grams) bread flour
• 1 1/2 packages (3 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast or 1-ounce (28 grams) fresh cake yeast
• 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (82 grams) sugar
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 6 eggs
• 1 3/8 cups (2 3/4 sticks; 310 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 10 to 12 pieces

Using a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the all-purpose flour, bread flour, yeast, sugar, salt, water, and 5 of the eggs. Beat on low speed for 3 to 4 minutes, or until all the ingredients are combined. Stop the mixer, as needed, to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure all the flour is incorporated into the wet ingredients. Once the dough has come together, beat on low speed for another 3 to 4 minutes. The dough will be very stiff and seem quite dry.

With the mixer on low speed, add the butter, 1 piece at a time, mixing after each addition until it disappears into the dough. Continue mixing on low speed for about 10 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. It is important for all the butter to be thoroughly mixed into the dough. If necessary, stop the mixer occasionally and break up the dough with your hands to help mix in the butter.

Once the butter is completely incorporated, turn up the speed to medium and beat until the dough becomes sticky, soft, and somewhat shiny, another 15 minutes. It will take some time to come together. It will look shaggy and questionable at the start and then eventually it will turn smooth and silky. Turn the speed to medium-high and beat for about 1 minute. You should hear the dough make a slap-slap-slap sound as it hits the sides of the bowl. Test the dough by pulling at it; it should stretch a bit and have a little give. If it seems wet and loose and more like a batter than a dough, add a few tablespoons of flour and mix until it comes together. If it breaks off into pieces when you pull at it, continue to mix on medium speed for another 2 to 3 minutes, or until it develops more strength and stretches when you grab it. It is ready when you can gather it all together and pick it up in 1 piece.

Put the dough in a large bowl or plastic container and cover it with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap directly onto the surface of the dough. Let the dough proof (that is, grow and develop flavor) in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or up to overnight At this point you can freeze the dough in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

the c’mon get happy meal: telepan

the thought of restaurant week lunch is enough to make me cheery throughout my entire workday. instead of sitting at my desk, cramming down a boring sandwich, i get to indulge in a three-course sit-down lunch at a nice place that is probably outside of my normal lunch budget. so when anita and i were choosing our annual restaurant week lunch this winter, we decided on telepan, a locally and seasonally driven restaurant from chef bill telepan, on the upper west side.

the walk to the restaurant was freezing, but i knew it would all be worth it once we were feasting on the winter’s goodies. the restaurant’s interior was simple and clean, but not overly designed. anita and i sat at a corner table and quickly chose our meals, knowing, of course that we would share everything. also, i should note that anita will be adding her comments to this post, so keep an eye out!

we started with house-smoked brook trout and chickpea pancakes. the trout was served over a buckwheat potato blini with black radish sour cream and was simply divine. i have never had better trout in my life. the smoky flavor lingered in my mouth long after my bite was over, and was perfectly complemented with the buckwheat blini. the chickpea pancakes were paired with spicy carrots, root vegetables, spinach and a carrot puree. they were definitely the more simple of the two dishes, but perfectly executed nonetheless.

anita’s note: i had been having a terrible, stressful week and arrived at lunch without much of an appetite–which was even more distressing as allison and i had been trying to make it to telepan for months. was i going to miss this chance?

but after one bite of this trout, i understood this meal was going to be special. it was going to be my “c’mon get happy” meal. my senses snapped to attention.  this trout glistened, piled prettily and high — you could have mistaken it for dessert. it was exquisite...

of "the sea": house smoked brook trout, buckwheat-potato blini, black radish sour cream

chickpea pancakes, spicy carrots, black kale & oregano

next up, the entrees. i ordered the wild striped bass with artichokes, farro, shell beans and arugula. the generous serving of bass was seared, slightly crispy and cooked beautifully and the shell beans still had a bite to them, which i love.

anita ordered the kobacha squash pierogi with aged balsamic and walnuts. usually, my family pigs out on endless amounts of potato cheese pierogies on christmas, but let me tell you, these were ages beyond your normal pierogi. they were so delicate, sweet, and indulgent, without being too heavy. the balsamic countered the sweetness of the squash and the walnuts added a crunch to the otherwise smooth texture of the dish.

wild striped bass, artichokes, farro, shell beans and arugula

of the earth: kobacha squash pierogi, aged balsamic, & walnuts

anita’s note: the kobacha squash pierogi were earthbound, but no less delightful. emphasis on light. and the firm walnuts were a terrific contrast.

and can i even begin to tell you about the desserts without drooling over my keyboard? we shared the apple fritters with vanilla gelato and caramel sauce and the dark chocolate bread pudding with malted chocolate cream, and black & white ice cream. each was excellent; the fritters were crispy with succulent pieces of apple inside and the bread pudding was gooey, crusty and oozing with dark chocolate flavor. these certainly satiated our need for both a fruit-based and chocolate-based treat.

apple fritters, vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce

of the heavens: dark chocolate bread pudding, malted chocolate cream, and black and white ice cream

black and white ice cream--is that a fancy way of saying "milk chocolate" ice cream"? love the chocolate top hat.

these sweetsaltythings would 100% revisit the upper west side gem.

note from anita: i definitely want to go back with allison. she is a gem. between her company and the exceptional fare, i left telepan happy, indeed…

reservations can be made through opentable

location: 72 west 69th st. between columbus and central park west

***

all photos © anita aguilar

easy cranberry & apple cake

i really love that the name of this recipe begins with the word “easy.” when i am searching for a new dessert recipe, i am frequently overwhelmed by the number of steps and ingredients many entail. sometimes i’m up for a challenge, but sometimes i just want something quick, delicious and….easy.

leave it to ina garten to create such a thing. this easy cranberry & apple cake comes from her new book, how easy is that? and the name of the recipe did not mislead me. the cake truly was a cinch, and the tart cranberries in this cake complement the sweet apples so well.

recipe:

easy cranberry & apple cake

serves 6 to 8

12 ounces fresh cranberries, rinsed and picked over for stems
1 granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and diced
½ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 tablespoon grated orange zest (2 oranges)
¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
11⁄8 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ cup sour cream
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

combine the cranberries, apple, brown sugar, orange zest, orange juice, and 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon in a medium bowl. set aside.

in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs on medium-high speed for 2 minutes. with the mixer on medium, add 1 cup of the granulated sugar, the butter, vanilla, and sour cream and beat just until combined. on low speed, slowly add the flour and salt.

pour the fruit mixture evenly into a 10-inch glass pie plate. pour the batter over the fruit, covering it completely. combine the remaining 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar and 1⁄8 teaspoon of cinnamon and sprinkle it over the batter. bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean and the fruit is bubbling around the edges. serve warm or at room temperature.

while baking this cake, i wondered if cranberries were a fruit or vegetable. i figured they were a fruit, but i thought i’d check nonetheless.  indeed, they are a fruit (a cousin of blueberries). i am probably the only one who didn’t know that.

the cake slides easily out of the pan, only leaving behind a few lone pieces of fruit (which i gladly ate).

moist, fruity, not too sweet and still warm from the oven. the perfect slice!

bringing the cheer: pumpkin empandas

as i write this, i have no idea what punxsutawney phil is going to say about winter, but i do know that some spirits are sagging under the weight of all the snow, shoulders are tired from being hunched up against the wind, the sight of muddy snowpiles isn’t terribly inspiring, and slush is just a treacherous mess. i’m not going to even mention the ice.

allison and i tested this recipe, courtesy of chef alan bergman, a new twist on a comfort food that just may revive a little holiday spirit to lift us through the next few cold ones (hopefully it will be mere days, and not weeks more of this wintery mix). and, since this is our first cooking endeavor together for the blog, we’re going to team up for this post. so look for allison’s notes here, too!

if you can get your hands on fresh or frozen pumpkin meat, you will appreciate the deep caramelization from roasting it in the butter and spices. but these empanadas will be popular with pumpkin pie fans if you use good quality canned stuff.

a note about chef bergman’s recipe.
it calls for 1 pie pumpkin. this seemed alarmingly vague to me, being not so familiar with fresh pie pumpkin purchasing. should it be 5 lbs? 2 or 3, before peeling? but as my boss likes to say, when confronted with an uneasy situation, “i view this as an opportunity…” and so it seemed like allison and i could “play” with the proportions, and adjust the balance of pumpkin to apple, according to our own taste. *note from allison: we ended up doubling the sugar, too, to bring out the sweet flavors of the pumpkin. we should note that these empanadas are not for fans of the super-sweet. they’ve got a faint hint of sweetness, but it really seems to work perfectly with the dough.

i would say, err toward something small (though if you wind up with extra roasted pumpkin you can either freeze the leftover filling, or incorporate it into some other dish or savory side). *note from allison: we were so inspired by the idea of savory pumpkin empanadas, that we’ve decided to use the rest of the pumpkin filling we have leftover to create a savory version of the empanadas. possibly goat cheese and walnuts? possibly fontina cheese and hazelnuts? stay tuned for “round two.”

we doubled everything–two apples, twice the amount of spices and butter– and it turned out we had twice the amount of filling we needed for the amount of empanada dough that we made.

as for the dough–chef bergman’s recipe is tailored for a store bought empanada or puff pastry dough. we sweetsaltythings wanted to make our own. we decided to use “mad hungry” lucinda scala quinn’s recipe. *note from allison: using a puff pastry dough would probably give these empanadas a much lighter texture, and we preferred using something a little more substantial.

i have made many an empanada in my day (my mom used to do a bit of catering and i used to help make the empanadas, filled with beef or chicken or a sweet walnut paste) and this cream cheese-based recipe is very similar to what mom and i have worked with before. *note from allison: i did not know this fact about anita and am thoroughly impressed (and will now be requesting batches of empanadas from her frequently).

i creamed the butter and cream cheese with a mixer, and mixed the rest by hand–and you really can do it all by hand, which is nice.
it’s easy to make and work with–you can feel confident rolling the dough many times, pinching and poking it, too. intense manipulation by the most inexperienced hands will not compromise the flakiness, though you may want to keep the dough on the cool side, it’s easier to shape that way. and of course, keep the board and rolling pin floured.

you don’t even really need a rolling pin, but i like to roll any chance i get.

you also don’t need to use a biscuit cutter (my mom and i used to roll the dough into balls of a roughly even shape, pound  and stretch them out with our fingers, and crimp the sides by stretching and folding the edges)

we used two kinds of apples (granny smith and fuji) *note from allison: we roasted the apples until they were soft, but not falling apart. we wanted them to still have some bite!

we decided to opt for the cinnamon sugar topping

but we got so carried away, chatting away over coffee, with the i love lucy marathon on in the background, we forgot to add the cinnamon sugar to the first batch…so most of our empanadas received a dusting of confectioner’s sugar…

a finished cinnamon-sugar dusted empanada

our first batch…

***

a note about the baking time: if you use the lucinda scala quinn cream cheese pastry dough recipe or another rather sturdy dough recipe, your oven temperature and baking time should correspond to the instructions for the dough.

stick to chef bergman’s timing, of 15-20 minutes, if you use a delicate or store-bought puff pastry…

***

pumpkin empanadas, courtesy of chef alan bergman of johnson and wales university

Yield: 20

Ingredients

Filling:
Pie Pumpkin 1
Apple: Green or Honey Crisp 1 medium
Cinnamon 1 T
Nutmeg 1 tsp
Brown Sugar 2 T
Granulated Sugar 1 T
Butter, softened 3 T
Egg, beaten 1

Method of Preparation

1. Peel the pie pumpkin and remove all seeds.

2. Cut the pumpkin into one inch cubes and place in medium sauce pot. Cover with water and simmer over moderate heat until tender.

3. Meanwhile, peel the apple and chop into small pieces. Place the apple in a small bowl. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and softened butter.

4. Next, drain the pumpkin and add to the seasoned apple mixture. Use your hands to toss the pumpkin and apple in the holiday spices until they are thoroughly covered.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

6. Place the filling mixture in a shallow baking pan and roast in oven for approximately 25 minutes or until fork tender.

7. Remove the caramelized filling and slightly mash with a fork. Once finished, the filling should remain chunky and have a stringy texture.

8. Roll out the empanada dough on a floured surface. Use a four inch round cookie cutter to make twenty circles of dough.

9. Place one rounded tablespoon of pumpkin filling in the center of each dough round. Fold the dough over the filling and secure the edges with your fingertips. Finish the empanadas by pinching the edges with a fork.

10. Place the empanadas on a piece of parchment paper over a baking
sheet. Lightly brush with the beaten egg.

11. If you are serving the empanadas as a dessert, you can sprinkle each with additional cinnamon sugar before baking.

12. Bake the empanadas in a 350 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

***