When the weather turns cool, pumpkin empanadas are a tradition around these parts. I love pumpkin flavor, and dulce de leche, so I thought I would put them together for a sweet holiday treat.
Roasted Apple and Pumpkin Empanadas are great for Fall
What I changed was taking out the sugar from the empanada, which actually allowed the delicate pumpkin flavor to shine through in this recipe. So, if you are cutting back the sugar this holiday, you might want to consider this option.
But once the dulce de leche glaze entered the arena, I kinda gave up on my notion of sugar free. Dulce de leche just has that beautiful burnt caramel flavor that really accentuates the clean plant goodness of pumpkin. The perfect blend of naughty and nice. This recipe is me in baked form.
Sometimes you can buy pumpkins already cut into portions. If not, bread knives work fairly well as a pumpkin saw. Only use gentle force please; don’t try to hack or chop the pumpkin in half. And for heaven’s sake, don’t stab at the thing. I promise you, brute force with a pumpkin will go horribly wrong.
Different Types of Dulce de Leche
Each Latin American culture has its own version of dulce de leche, which is a sweet caramel made of milk and toasted sugar. Some versions can be sliced from a loaf like cheese, others are syrupy and gooey – more of a sauce, or spoon candy. Both types are deliciously authentic. For drizzling over your empanadas, the gooey version is what you will need. If you can’t find it, any yummy caramel sauce will do. If the caramel you find seems too thick for drizzling, simply heat your dulce de leche for about 30 seconds in the microwave, and then add a few spoonfuls of water, milk, or (even better) kirsh, brandy, or rum. Don’t heat with the added alcohol, as it can sometimes ignite. (yes, it has happened to me!)
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