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1
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
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2
Don't let it burn.
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3
Stir in brown sugar until it dissolves with the butter.
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4
Stir in the pumpkin and the spices.
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5
Continue to stir over medium heat for 10min.
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6
Remove the filling from heat and let cool down.
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7
After it has cooled for 15 min, put the filling in the refrigerator for 30 min before use.
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8
Mix the flour, baking powder and salt
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9
Cut in the shortening with the dry ingredients, I use my hands to work the shortening into the flour mixture.
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10
Add the eggs, milk and sugar, use a spoon at first then continue to work the dough with your hands until all ingredients all fully incorporated and you have a nice ball of dough.
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11
Split the dough in half, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and put into the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
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12
Preheat the oven to 350 f
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13
Take out half of the dough and split into 12-16 balls of dough (depending on how big you want the empanadas)
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14
Using a floured rolling pin, roll each of the dough balls into small round circles about 4-6 inches in diameter.
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15
Add a small dollop of pumpkin filling to center of dough.
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16
Wet the edge of the dough circle with water and fold the dough over to seal the empanada in half.
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17
Seal the edges by using a fork to press into the edge.
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18
Brush the top of each empanada with egg whites, then sprinkle the tops with the sugar/cinnamon topping.
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19
Place the empanadas on a greased cookie sheet and pierce each empanada with a fork to allow steam to escape during cooking.
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20
Cook empanadas for 18 minutes on middle rack in oven.
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21
If the tops aren't golden brown, you can switch the oven to broil and cook for a few more minutes until the tops are golden (make sure you don't burn em!)
