Name: Pumpkin Turnovers
Yield: Makes 24 empanadas
Ingredients: 4 to 5 pound pumpkin (orange or striped); 2 cups water; 3 cinnamon sticks; 5 whole cloves; 16 ounces piloncillo or 2 cups packed dark brown sugar; 3 cups all-purpose flour; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/2 cup shortening; 2 eggs; 1/2 cup milk; 2 tablespoons granulated sugar; 1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional); Canned evaporated milk or egg white; Cinnamon-sugar mixture (1 teaspoon ground cinnamon mixed with 1/4 cup sugar)

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Pumpkin TurnoversJeanine Thurston

Empanadas de Calabaza
At our house we welcome fall with sweet, tasty empanadas made with fresh pumpkin. The pumpkin simmering with piloncillo, cinnamon, and cloves gives off a sweet and earthy scent, reminding us that fall has arrived. To this day, whenever I smell cinnamon it evokes great memories of mi mamá baking in the kitchen. During the fall she would request that I bring her a pumpkin so she could make her delicious homemade pies and empanadas. She preferred the green striped pumpkins or the dark green ones, saying they were meatier. But if I could not find those, the orange ones were acceptable. She always made things work.

Recipe notes

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