I have an empanadilla recipe already in the blog (recipe here). After tinkering with it, I have made a second recipe that remind me of the empanadillas that I got after school (the ones that you ran with your backpack and used said backpack as a weapon/shield to be first in line, hunger games style).

Dough Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups of flour
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 2 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening (lard works too)
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 3/4 cup of water
• vegetable oil for frying

How to make the dough

1. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl.
2. Add flour and shortening in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter or fork cut the shortening into the flour. Add the egg and mix using a fork.
3. Add the water a little at a time, mixing with a fork. When done mixing the dough will be brittle or in pieces.
4. Dust a work surface with flour, turn the dough out on the work surface. Press the dough together into a rough ball. Knead the dough using your palm.
5. Knead until the dough is soft and smooth. Form into a ball, cover with a plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes. This will help the dough rehydrate and not crack later on.
6. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Roll dough out into a rope about 15 inches long. This next step makes me feel like I am a noodle chef from Japan.
   
   Once rolled out cut off disks about ¾ of an inch thick. Dust your rolling pin and workspace and roll out into a 1/8 thin circle. If you do not have a rolling pin a bottle of wine works!
   
7. If you have a pasta roller, you can use it to roll out the dough rounds. Lay dough rounds on a prepared sheet pan and cover with a clean kitchen towel. If you need to layer, the rounds place a piece of parchment between the layers.

This makes approximately 18 empanadillas. You can make these and freeze for about 2-3 months!