Spinach Empanadas (sorry, no chicken)

If you wish serve these tasty little pastries with salsa.

Ingredients

• Makes 60 empanadas
• Pastry:
• 2- 8 oz. pkgs.creamcheese, softened
• 3/4 C.butter or marg., softened
• 2 1/2 C. flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• Filling:
• 1/4 C. finely chopped onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4-5 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (reserve 1 tbs. bacon drippings)
• 1- 10 oz. pkg.frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1- 8 oz.container cottage cheese (1 C.)
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1/8 tsp. grnd. nutmeg
• 1 egg, beaten

Directions

To make pastry: In a large bowl beat together the cream cheese and butter or marg. w/elect. mixer til smooth. Gradually beat in the flour & salt. Knead the dough lightly by hand. Cover the dough w/ plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours.

To make filling: In a medium skillet, cook the onion and garlic in the reserved bacon drippings for 3-4 minutes or until the onion is tender but not brown. Stir in the crumbled bacon, te spinach, cottage cheese, pepper and nutmeg. Let mixture cool.
Preheat oven to 450'.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry until it is 1/8 inch thick. Using a 3-inch bisquit cutter, cut out as many pastry circles as possible. Place 1 tsp. of the filling on one half of each pastry circle. Moisten the edges of the circle with the egg and fold the other half of the circle over the filling.
Place the pastries on ungreased baking sheets. Gently seal the edges of empanadas with the tines of a fork . Brush empanadas with the egg. Use tines of fork to prick a small vent in each. Bake in oven 10-12 minutes or until goldn.

Submitted 6/13/05.
Source: Market to Market Hickory, N.C.
Submitted By: Susan
henrynoella@webtv.net
Spinach Empanadas (sorry, no chicken)