Cheese empanada recipe

This cheese empanada (really a cheese and onion empanada) can be baked like regular empanadas but can also be fried and sprinkled with sugar for an interesting take on sweet and savory.

For the pastry:
At most Latin food stores you can find frozen empanada dough discs, which are more expensive but also more convenient. Making dough from scratch doesn't taste much different but is obviously more labor-intensive. You can also customize the ingredients by adding spices and herbs to compliment or contrast with the flavors of the filling.

For around fifteen medium or twenty-five small empanadas you'll need:

•      3 cups of all purpose flour
•     ¼ teaspoon of salt
•     6 oz of unsalted butter cut into 12 pieces, fresh out of the fridge
•     1 egg
•     4-5 tablespoons of water
•     1 egg, beaten with a little milk

Method:
1.    Combine the flour and salt in a bowl or food processor.
2.    Add the butter, egg and water and mix until it forms into a single lump of dough. No especially vigorous kneading is required. 
3.    Roll into a ball and place in the fridge for about half-an-hour.
4.    Roll out the dough on a cutting board and cut out discs around a small plate or with an appropriately-sized cutter.
5.    They can be used immediately or refrigerated/frozen for later.

For the filling:
You'll need:

•     2 ½ cups grated cheese (quesillo, Monterey jack, mozzarella, Oaxaca or any other cheese you like suitable for melting)
•     1 cup finely chopped onion
•     ½ cup granulated sugar for sprinkling
•     Sunflower or canola oil for frying

Method:
1.    Just mix together the cheese and onions

To make the empanadas:
1.    Spoon the cheese filling on the center of the each pastry disc.
2.    Fold the pastry in half and glue the edges together with egg wash, first pressing gently with your fingers, then using the tines of a fork to press down and seal.
3.    To prevent leaks (in dishes like these, cheese has a stubborn tendency to leak out), chill in the fridge for an hour.
4.    Fry the empanadas in a deep fryer until golden brown.
5.    Drain on kitchen towels and sprinkle with sugar while they're hot; it helps the sugar stick to the crust.
6.    Let cool for five minutes and serve.