Sweet Potato Empanadas

After cooking, these delicious empanadas are brushed with butter and coated with a mixture of cinnamon-sugar.

Yield: 16 empanadas

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup sweet potatoes, mashed or pureed
• 1/4 cup cream cheese, softened
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar*
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Kosher or sea salt
• 1 tube refrigerated ready-made crescent rolls (uncooked dough)**
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 3/4 cup plain yogurt

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a small bowl, mash the sweet potatoes with a fork, and mix in the cream cheese, brown sugar if using, lemon juice, and pinch of salt until creamy. Remove the dough from the tube and separate into 4 rectangles.
3. Working with 1 rectangle at a time, roll over the perforated lines in the dough to seal together. Cut the rectangle in half and then cut the halves into 2 triangles. Place a heaping teaspoon of sweet potato filling in the center of each of 4 triangles. Fold the dough over on each, as if you were making ravioli, and pinch the edges together. Use a tiny bit of water if the dough is too dry to seal. Continue making little triangle empanadas with the rest of the dough, 16 total. Place the triangles on a parchment-lined baking sheet and into the preheated oven.
4. Bake the empanadas until golden, about 10 to 12 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, in a shallow bowl, mix together the sugar, cinnamon, and pinch of salt. While still warm, brush the empanadas with melted butter, and then gently toss in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
6. Serve the empanadas with tangy plain yogurt for dipping.

Notes

* Omit the brown sugar if you are using leftover mashed potatoes which have already been sweetened.

** Or make your own turnover dough.

Attribution

Photo credit: (c) Can Stock Photo / betochagas