Empanaditas & Pastelitos [Video+Recipe] 12 Options

Empanaditas & Pastelitos [Video+Recipe] 12 Options

Dominican empanadas and pastelitos add variety and Dominican flavor to your hors d'oeuvres platter. We are presenting a generic recipe and easy step-by-step. See other filling and dough choices in the notes.

Course Party

Cuisine Dominican, Latino

Keyword cheese empanada, chicken pastelitos, dominican beef empanada, dominican chicken empanada, dominican empanadas, pastelito dough

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 25

Total Time 1 10

Servings (aprox)

Calories 228kcal

Author Clara Gonzalez

Ingredients

2 egg (medium) eggs and whites separated
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons baking powder
2 cups all-purpose flour plus extra for working the dough

Filling

Empanada filling choose one from the list above the recipe

For frying

2 cups oil for frying

Instructions

1. Combine dough ingredients

Combine egg yolks, oil, salt, and baking powder. Once well combined, add the flour and mix.
By this point, the dough will be crumbly and too dry. Start adding water one tablespoon at a time, combining until it forms a cohesive ball with the least amount of extra water possible. I used seven tablespoons in the end, but it varies sometimes.

2. Form the dough

Mix everything with your hands on a lightly floured surface until everything is well mixed, but just squeezing without folding (like playdoh). Add some flour to the dough if it is too sticky, or a bit of water if it is too dry
Once the dough has the consistency of playdoh (One to two minutes at most) wrap, and let the dough rest for ten minutes.

3. Make disks

Separate a small, golf-ball-sized piece of dough.
On a lightly flour-dusted surface roll out the dough forming a small circle.

4. Assembling

How to make make pastelitos:
Cut out circles of about 2.5" [6.5 cm] in diameter. Paint the inside with egg white (which acts as glue so the layers don't separate).
Place a tablespoon of the filling in the center of each circle, cover with another circle and seal the border by pressing it with a fork.
How to make make empanadas:
Cut out circles 4" [10 cm] in diameter. Paint the inside with egg white (which acts as glue so the layers don't separate).
Place a tablespoon of the filling in the center of each circle, double over in a semi-circle, and seal the border by pressing it with a fork.

5. Fry

Heat oil over medium heat in a 1 qt [1lt] pot. Deep fry the pastelitos / empanaditas until they are golden brown on each side.
Rest on a paper towel to drain excess oil before serving.

Video

Notes

There is some important advice on the introduction to the recipe, please read it.

The nutritional information is based on the average of all ingredients.

Nutrition