Pineapple Empanadas, or Empanadas de Piña

This recipe for Pineapple Empanadas, or Empanadas de Piña, is a keeper. These yummy and vegan empanadas are sweet and slightly tart. They make a great dessert for everyone in the family.

Do you know about my little brother yet? Well, he’s not so little. He’s 6’4”, smarter than the average bear, and a vegan. He is very busy right now getting his PhD in Computational Chemistry. He’s smart, remember? I decided to make him a vegan dessert. That’s why I made Pineapple Empanadas, or Empanadas de Piña.

I contacted my fellow food blogger and friend Sonia from La Piña en la Cocina and discussed what I could make for my genius brother. She suggested I use her mom’s empanada dough recipe which does not use milk but a cinnamon tea base. It’s a tough dough to work with, she said, and many have had problems with it. My response: CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!

This dough is not your average dough. It’s not your average John “DOUGH”, it’s “Juan” of a kind. (lol) Make the cinnamon anise “tea.” Once cooled, add it to your flour mixture.

This isn’t the smooth Pillsbury refrigerated dough we all know and love. I adapted her mom’s recipe slightly to make it more user friendly. I suggest adding more tea water. Enough to get the dough going. Here is the original recipe.

Here’s something else I recommend. Don’t roll out the entire dough like normal empanadas. Kinda like flour tortillas or buñuelos, make individual dough balls and roll each out. If you have a tortilla press, this will go quickly. If you don’t, roll out the dough then cut out your circle.

The beauty of this dough: There’s no dairy. No need to worry about keeping it cold or warming up the dough with your hands. Love that!

For the filling… Since I was talking to Sonia, or as some people know her, “La Piña.” I decided to make my bro Pineapple Empanadas, or Empanadas de Piña. Chop the fresh pineapple, thicken up with cornstarch, and set aside to cool.

Add a spoonful of your pineapple filling to the dough and fold. I’m not as fancy as La Piña when it comes to empanada edge. I use a fork because it’s forking easy. Ha!

Who would ever guessed these Pineapple Empanadas, or Empanadas de Piña, are this good and 100% vegan?! Confession time: My family was somewhat upset when I only gave them one each. PhD-ing is hard stuff! My little brother deserves alllll the empanadas… minus the ones I ate. For testing purposes, of course. 😉

Pineapple Empanadas, or Empanadas de Piña

This recipe for Pineapple Empanadas, or Empanadas de Piña, is a keeper. These yummy and vegan empanadas are sweet and slightly tart. They make a great dessert for everyone in the family.

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Mexican

Prep Time: 50 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes

Servings: 24

Author: Maggie Unzueta

Ingredients

• For the Dough:
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1 piece star of anise
• 1-2 inch cinnamon stick
• 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour sifted
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup shortening
• For the Filling:
• 1 fresh pineapple
• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• Additional Ingredients:
• Water
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ cup sugar

Instructions

• For the Dough:
• Combine the water, anise, and cinnamon stick in a small pot.
• Bring to a boil.
• Boil for 3 minutes.
• Set aside and let cool.
• Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
• Heat the shortening in a microwave-safe bowl just until it begins to melt.
• Cut the shortening into the flour with a pastry cutter or fork.
• Strain the anise/cinnamon from water.
• Start by mixing in 1/2 cup of warm “cinnamon tea” into the flour mixture.
• Mix until dough forms. It will look slightly lumpy (not smooth).
• Knead in a little more water and work the dough for 5-6 minutes.
• You will use about 1 cup of the warm liquid, or whatever is needed.
• Cover with a towel and let dough rest for 30 minutes.
• For the Filling:
• Cut up a fresh pineapple.
• Chop into small pieces.
• Discard the tough core.
• To a stock pot, add the pineapple, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla.
• Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
• Reduce the heat and let cook for 15 minutes.
• Continue stirring occasionally.
• With a potato masher, break up the larger pieces of pineapple.
• In a small cup, stir together cornstarch and the cold water.
• Add the cornstarch mixture to the pineapple.
• Cook until the pineapple filling starts to thicken.
• Remove from heat and let cool.
• To Assemble:
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Dust your working surface with flour.
• Make 24-28 small dough balls the size of a large golf ball.
• With a rolling pin, roll each dough out to 2 - inch circles.
• Add a 1 - 1½ tablespoons of filling to the center of each circle.
• Fold over the dough and using a fork or fingers, press edges together to seal.
• Transfer empanadas to a lined baking sheet.
• In a small bowl, mix ground cinnamon + ½ cup sugar.
• Brush water over the top of each empanada.
• (For non-vegans, you can use an egg + water mixture instead of water)
• Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture on top of the empanadas.
• Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
• While the empanadas are still warm, add more of the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
• Let cool and enjoy!

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