Empanadas de Cajeta del Bajío

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Two rimmed baking sheets (charolas)
• •Parchment paper
• •Rolling pin
• •4-inch round cutter or small bowl
• •Fork for crimping the edges
• •Pastry brush

Instructions

1. 1

   Portion the cajeta

   Line a small sheet pan with parchment. Drop the chilled cajeta into 18 rounded 1-tablespoon mounds and freeze for 25 to 30 minutes, just until the mounds hold their shape. They will not turn hard like ice. They only need discipline. If the cajeta runs like sauce, it belongs over flan, not inside an empanada.

   If your cajeta is too loose, cook it in a small saucepan over low heat for 6 to 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until it falls slowly from the spoon and mounds. Cool it completely before portioning.
2. 2

   Mix the dry base

   In a wide bowl, whisk the flour, 1/3 cup sugar, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon canela. Use your hand to feel for lumps. Bajío empanada dough is a wheat dough, because this region has a long history of wheat baking. Corn is the soul of Mexico, yes, but this pastry is not masa. Cada estado, su propia cocina.

3. 3

   Work in the lard

   Add the cold manteca de cerdo to the flour. Rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture looks sandy with some pea-sized pieces left. Those little pieces make the flakes. Do not melt the lard into the flour and do not replace it with a tasteless shortening block. La manteca es el sabor.

4. 4

   Bring dough together

   Beat the egg yolks with the cold milk and orange juice. Pour over the flour mixture and fold with a fork until shaggy clumps form. Press the dough together with your hands just until no dry flour remains. Do not knead it like bolillo dough. A pastry dough wants pressure, not punishment.

5. 5

   Rest the dough

   Divide the dough into two disks, wrap tightly, and chill for 45 minutes. This rest hydrates the flour and firms the lard again. Skip it and the dough fights you on the table, tears at the edge, and leaks cajeta in the oven. No me vengas con atajos.

6. 6

   Roll and cut

   Heat the oven to 375F. Line two baking sheets with parchment. On a lightly floured table, roll one dough disk to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut 4-inch rounds with a cutter or the rim of a small bowl. Gather scraps once and reroll gently. If the dough cracks, let it sit for 5 minutes, then continue.

7. 7

   Fill and seal

   Place one frozen cajeta mound slightly off center on each round. Fold the dough over to make a half-moon and press out any trapped air around the filling. Seal the curved edge firmly with your fingertips, then crimp with a fork. One lazy crimp is where the cajeta escapes. The señora who taught this would check every edge before the tray went into the oven.

8. 8

   Brush and bake

   Beat the whole egg with 1 tablespoon milk. Brush the empanadas lightly, not so much that egg wash puddles at the edges. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until the crust is golden and the bottoms are lightly browned. A little cajeta may show at the crimp. A puddle means you overfilled or sealed poorly. Now you know.

9. 9

   Coat with canela

   Stir the 1/2 cup sugar with 1 teaspoon canela in a shallow bowl. Let the empanadas cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then turn them gently in the canela sugar while still warm. Too hot and the sugar melts. Too cold and it falls off. This is a small timing lesson, but pastry is made of small timing lessons.

10. 10

    Serve for merienda

    Let the empanadas rest 10 minutes before eating. Cajeta is cooked sugar and goat milk, and it burns the mouth when it is fresh from the oven. Serve on a platter with café de olla. They should be flaky at the edge, tender in the middle, and filled with cajeta thick enough to stay where you put it. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •Buy cajeta that says leche de cabra. If the label says dulce de leche and the milk is cow's milk, that is a compromise, not an upgrade. The goat milk gives cajeta its tang and depth.
• •Look for cajeta de Celaya at a Mexican market, especially from a dulcería that moves product quickly. At Mercado Morelos in Celaya, the vendors know exactly which cajeta is thick enough for baking. Pregúntale a las señoras del mercado.
• •Use fresh, clean-smelling manteca de cerdo from a butcher or Mexican market. Old lard smells stale and will ruin a sweet pastry faster than bad technique.
• •No chile belongs in this empanada. Not all Mexican food needs chile to prove where it comes from. Here the identity is goat milk, wheat pastry, canela, and the Bajío.

Advance Preparation

• •The dough can be made up to 2 days ahead and kept wrapped in the refrigerator. Let it soften for 10 minutes before rolling.
• •Cajeta mounds can be portioned and frozen up to 1 month ahead. Keep them covered once firm so they do not pick up freezer smells.
• •Baked empanadas keep for 3 days in a covered tin at room temperature. Rewarm at 300F for 6 to 8 minutes, then refresh with a little canela sugar. Do not refrigerate them; the crust toughens.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 70g)