I love pumpkin pie, but in a small household, one pie outlasts its welcome.
That’s why, when I learned about traditional Mexican pumpkin empanadillas — literally, little empanadas — I was delighted.
These small pumpkin-filled cookies make a terrific treat on a cool afternoon with a tall glass of milk or a steaming cup of chai tea. They freeze well, so you can stash some away after the luxury of having them on hand starts to pall. Pull a half-dozen or so from the freezer early in the week, keep them refrigerated and have a nosh of a couple whenever you want them.
This year, experts predict the ingredients for Thanksgiving dinner will be at a record high, as my friend Kim Severson reported last week in the New York Times. Most of that price increase is due to supply chain issues, she reported.
Even more reason to make these empanadillas for your holiday board — you’ll get nearly five dozen cookies from a single cup of pumpkin. That seems like a good use of resources to me.
Make them bigger, using store-bought empanada skins or by cutting your dough into five-inch circles (use a quarter cup of filling for those), and you have a very Southwestern substitute for the classic pumpkin pie on your Thanksgiving table. I think it would be fun to heap the larger ones in a basket for the table, and everyone can help themselves to their own personal-sized pie. Or make the smaller ones and pass them around with coffee after the big feast.
