Pizza Empanada

Total Time: 40 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 9
• 3 cups flour (plus a little more for kneading)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 1 egg
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 3 tablespoons shortening
• 1 (15 ounce) can pizza sauce
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese or 2 cups pizza cheese
• 1 1/2 cups pepperoni (diced or sliced)
• oil (for frying)

Recipe

• 1 in a bowl, beat the water, egg, egg and vinegar together. set aside.
• 2 in a separate bowl, mix together the 3 cups of flour and salt.
• 3 cut the shortening into the flour mix with a pastry blender or two butter knives.
• 4 make a well in the center of the flour mix and pour the liquid ingredients from the first bowl into the center.
• 5 mix the wet and dry ingredients with a fork until it becomes stiff.
• 6 turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. knead it just until all the flour is incorporated and the dough is smooth.
• 7 wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but never more than 24 hours.
• 8 after 1 hour, place the dough on a floured counter top. roll it out into 1/8 inch thick. cut the dough into circles with round cookie cutters or biscuit cutters. for large empanadas use 6 inch cutters for empanaditas use 3 inch cutters.
• 9 tip: if you want to keep the dough longer than 24 hours, you can freeze it.
• 10 filling:.
• 11 spread a spoonful of pizza sauce on the circle of dough. do not go all the way to the edge.
• 12 sprinkle a spoonful of shredded cheese onto the pizza sauce.
• 13 place a couple slices of pepperoni on top of the cheese.
• 14 fold the dough and filling into a half circle shape and crimp the edges with a fork. if the edges won't stay sealed you can dip the fork in water before crimping or use an egg wash.
• 15 fry the filled empanadas at 360 degrees for 1 to 2 minutes per side. they should be lightly golden. drain on paper towels.
• 16 tip: do not overfill the empanadas. they will tear and you will lose your filling in the oil.