Recipe Box, Hawaiian Pizza Empanadas

the Painted Apron

10 years ago

I seem to be in an Hawaiian mood this week, drinking Pineapple Cocktails, so I decided to whip up some little bites to go with them

Hawaiian Pizza [pineapple with Canadian bacon or ham] is one of our favorite combos so I decided to try it in an empanada version. An empanada is a stuffed turnover or pastry.

Roll out a refrigerated pie crust dough round just a little

Cut circles with a glass or biscuit cutter, about 3″ diameter. Reroll the scraps once or twice, but don’t let the rounds get too thin. You should have 12-14

Chop your filling ingredients~I used pepperoni instead of ham, pineapple, green onions, and orange bell pepper along with packaged Italian cheese blend. If you grate your own it will taste even better!

Smear about 1 T of sauce on dough rounds with the back of a spoon, leaving a 1/4″ clean border edge

Add toppings on 1/2 of the dough round, trying to keep in mind that this all has to fit inside!

Fold them in half, taco style

Pinch edges to seal as you are stuffing the filling, that is trying to pop out, back in!

Use a fork to crimp the edges

Not all of mine are perfect little packages. Ahem…

The ones that are torn are the reason you don’t want your dough to get too thin! Don’t worry though, I have a plan!

Bake at 425 for about 6 minutes until the crust has just begun to brown…looks like a hot mess, right?

Never fear! Parmesan cheese to the rescue! Put a generous mound of cheese on each empanada and return to the oven for another 6 minutes or until pies are golden and cheese has started to brown.

[Note: I baked mine on a silicone baking mat for easy clean up]

Now they all look deliciously the same!

Go on, take them outside and enjoy them with your cocktail!

Don’t worry about the calories, you are going to hula dance them off!

I think we are all going to enjoy summer especially this year, don’t you?

NOTE: Make these ahead, refrigerate and reheat at 400 for 7-10 minutes, they are just as good if not better!

HAWAIIAN PIZZA EMPANADAS

All your favorite Hawaiian pizza ingredients tucked into a portable hand pie!

Course Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword appetizer, empanadas, hand pies, Hawaiian pizza, pepperoni, pie crust dough, pineapple,

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 12

Servings 12

Ingredients

1 refrigerated pie crust dough round unbaked
12-18 pepperoni slices chopped, or 2-4 oz. chopped ham or Canadian bacon
2 green onions chopped
1/4 of a colored pepper chopped
6-8 pineapple chunks. chopped
1/4-1/2 cup prepared pizza sauce
4 oz. shredded Parmesan cheese or Italian blend divided

Instructions

Roll out dough until it is about 1″ bigger in diameter. Cut 3″ dough circles with a glass or biscuit cutter.
Spread 1 T of pizza sauce on the dough rounds with the back of a spoon, leaving a 1/4″ border.
Place filling ingredients, reserving some cheese, on dough rounds, mounding it slightly on one side. Fold dough edges together like a taco, gently enclosing the filling and pinching edges together.
Lay pies down on a cutting board and crimp edges with a fork. Transfer pies to a baking sheet.
Bake at 425 for 6 minutes. Remove from oven and top each with a pile of reserved shredded cheese. Return to oven and bake for another 6 minutes or until golden.