I myself adore apples in almost everything....... I eat them in my pies, in my morning oatmeal, I eat them in my Newtons!
Well, actually I used to eat them in my Newtons until they were tragically discontinued but Raspberry & Strawberry Newtons remained happily on the shelves! Ummm! Has the Nabisco company ever heard of " American as Apple Pie", not Raspberry, or Strawberry! A-P-P-L-E.......Apple!
Uhhhh, despite my many calls to them demanding an explanation and a timely return of the Apple Newton, I am sadly still waiting for them to come to their senses. Anyway, I'm sure my love for apples is one of the reasons I had a desire to make these cute little pies,
their shape and flaky crust remind me of the way McDonald's apple pies used to be. Oh how I loved them so ( and btw, if your lucky enough to live I Tampa, FL, after 20 years these pies are back!)
The name for these adorable pies, is actually a little joke that a good friend of mine and I have together. I say he is a " Don Juan" type of guy, and he always laughs at me and says
" No Way!, I'm a real " Apple Pie Guy!" Which means that he is no way the smooth talking, Latin lover type I like to call him. Rather an all around caring type of guy, that is as genuine, honest, innocent and as sweet as " Apple Pie".
When given the choice between the two of them.......I'd pick the pie!
Because I was in a super hurry to feed my apple addiction I use premade Goya Empanada Discs and stuffed them with already canned apples. I found a recipe here that looks pretty delicoso that is more of scratch recipe.
Ingredients
Goya premade empanada discs
1 can of Comstock canned apple filling
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Recipe
1. Be sure to thaw you frozen Goya empanada discs before you begin, once thawed using a 4 inch rectangle cookie cutter ( you can really use any cutter you want, you have options) cut out 20 rectangles.
2. Open your can of apple filling, scoop out a cup and mix in your 1/4 tsp of cinnamon, at this point you can either chop by hand or blend apple filling in a food processor for about 20 seconds. This will allow the apples to be small enough to fit into the mini empanada pie crusts.
3. Once the apples are chopped, scoop about a 1/2 tsp onto each empanada rectangle ( remember to only use half of the rectangles. Leaving the other half as the top of the pies.
4. Get a little cup of water and a small paint brush, or you can just dab your finger in a little water and run it along the edges of the apple filled empanada dough.
5. Take the other half of your empanada dough and place them on top of the one's filled with apple, press the two rectangles gently together being careful not to allow the apples to seap out the sides. Press a fork around the edges to ensure a proper seal.
6. Once all the pies are ready, gently place them into grease, be very mindful because they will golden very quickly. It will take about 1 minute for them to brown up on each side.
7. Once golden brown, remove them from the oil and place them on a paper towel lined plate. Although you will want to instantly sink your teeth into the golden flaky crust and reach the appley goodness..... you can't the hot filling will scorch your tongue. Once the minutes have slowly ticked by and the pies are cool enough to eat, take a bite and welcome yourself to my Apple Heaven!
