Yummy! Empanadas have got to be one of our all-time favorite foods. Beef, chicken, seafood, cheese, chocolate—pretty much any kind of empanada you put down on that plate will be devoured in record time. So imagine how psyched we were to find this delicious recipe for pumpkin empanadas, just in time for Halloween and all the pumpkin carving festivities that the holiday brings! It was definitely meant to be.

In writing our homage to the empanada we came across some super interesting facts about how this humble food came to have a place in almost every traditional Latino kitchen. Empanadas, contrary to popular belief, actually have their origins in a traditional Arabic food called fatay. The folks in Galicia, Spain loved the dish so much that long after the Moors were gone from their country they continued making the tasty morsels. The name emapanada comes from the Spanish word empanar, which literally means "to wrap something in bread" (every carb-phobic dieters nightmare). When the Spaniards came and conquered Latin America, they brought there favorite food along with them, and we were blessed with these little pockets of heaven. OK, so enough with the history lesson, here's our delicious recipe for Pumpkin empanadas. Try it out and let us know how it works out and be sure to share your empanada recipes with us!

Pastry Dough
7 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ice cold water
1 large egg

Pumpkin Filling
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup firmly-packed dark brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree (if buying from a can, be sure to buy puree and NOT pumpkin pie filling)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
Grated orange zest (rind) of half an orange

1 egg
1 teaspoon water
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar

Preparation:
To make pastry dough: Place butter and shortening in freezer for 15 minutes then cut both into small pieces. In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour and salt by pulsing 3 to 4 times. Add butter and pulse 5 to 6 times until it is blended uniformly. Add shortening and pulse another 3 to 4 times. Remove lid of food processor and pour in the ice water and egg. Replace lid and pulse 5 times. Stop to scrape down the sides and process for another 5 pulses. The dough should hold together when clinched in your fist. Place mixture in a large zip-top bag, squeeze together until it forms a ball, press into a rounded disk, and then refrigerate for 30 minutes.

To make pumpkin filling:
In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter; stir in the brown sugar. Let this heat for a few minutes until the brown sugar is dissolved into the butter. Stir in the pumpkin and the spices. Continue to stir over medium heat for about 3 to 5 minutes, or long enough that the pumpkin begins to stiffen and hold its shape. Test this by picking up a small amount in a spoon. Remove from heat and stir in the orange peel.

In a small bowl, combine cinnamon and sugar; set aside. Prepare oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly grease a large baking sheet. Take the chilled pastry dough and divide it in half. Divide each half into eight pieces. On a floured board, roll each of the pieces into a circle about 4 inches across and 1/8-inch thick. Fill each with a generous tablespoon of the cooled pumpkin filling. Fold the circle into a half-moon shape enclosing filling. Using a fork, press down the edges into a crimped border. Not only will this look nice, it will help keep the empanada closed after baking. With a pastry brush, paint the top with the egg wash (made by combining one egg with a teaspoon of water).

Bake approximately 15 minutes or until tops are golden and the edges are lightly browned. Sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar immediately after removing from the oven.

Makes 14 to 16 empanadas.