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Raspberry, goat cheese and almond empanadas

These raspberry, goat cheese and almond empanadas or sweet turnovers are a delicious dessert. These sweet empanadas are made with a filling of fresh raspberries, a sweet goat cheese mix with vanilla/orange zest, and sliced almonds.

Raspberry empanadas with sweet citrus infused goat cheese

En Español 

Who can resist freshly picked raspberries at the farmer’s market? I didn’t grow up eating raspberries, but I did have a few different varieties of moras or blackberries growing in the mountains near our farm, so it’s very hard for me to resist any type of good looking berry.

Recipe for raspberry empanadas

Summer in the Seattle area (or anywhere in the PNW) means finding an amazing selection of berries of the many different farmer’s markets. It’s inevitable that we  leave the market with a couple of flats of different berries, and raspberries are usually a must. Most of time, the berries are gone before I get a chance to make anything with them, but this time I had a recipe idea in mind, so I made sure to save some for these raspberry empanadas.

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Raspberry empanadas or hand pies

I love the combination of raspberries, goat cheese and almonds. It is a mix that works just as well in a savory combination– think of a salad with some spinach or arugula and these ingredients – or as sweet filling for baked pastries. I made these for an empanada brunch – I had the classic empanadas de viento or fried empanadas stuffed with cheese, empanadas mendocinas stuffed with meat picadillo, a new experimental empanada stuffed with spicy shrimp and mango (recipe coming soon) and these sweet empanadas.

Raspberry, goat cheese, and almond empanadas

I served these last and they received rave reviews.  Nicolas thought these were the best ones he ever had, while another friend gave an eloquent description of how the texture was just perfect. I felt like a proud mom.

On the assembly side of these sweet empanadas, I discovered that it is a lot easier to make small empanadas. The sweet dough is a lot more fragile than the standard savory empanada dough, so making the empanada discs smaller makes them easier to assemble and the disc is less likely to crack.

I’ve also noticed that with desserts- especially if like me you stuff everyone with several courses of food before you get to dessert – sometimes people like having something small, and for those who have more room for dessert, they can just eat twice as many empanadas.

Raspberry goat cheese empanadas

I’ve come to accept that sweet empanadas stuffed with any kind of fruit are likely leak a little bit and in the case of these the goat cheese and raspberries had a few almost explosion like results – basically the top part look like a small eruption took place – but it actually made them look more appealing by offering a small glimpse into what was hiding inside the empanada, and I was even asked if I made them this way on purpose.

Recipe for raspberry empanadas – these delicious sweet

Raspberry, goat cheese and almond empanadas

Recipe for raspberry empanadas – these delicious sweet empanadas or turnovers made with a filling of fresh raspberries, sweet citrusy goat cheese and sliced almonds.
4.96 from 21 votes
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Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: Ecuadorian inspired, Latin fusion
Keyword: Almonds, Berries, Goat cheese, Raspberries, Raspberry, goat cheese and almond empanadas, Sweet empanadas
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Refrigeration time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 15 -18 medium or 25-30 small sweet empanadas

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Combine the goat cheese, sugar, vanilla, orange zest in a bowl, mix well.
  • To assemble the empanadas place a spoonful of the goat cheese mixture, a couple of raspberries and a few almond slices on the center of the empanada disc.
  • Brush the edges of the empanada disc with the egg whites.
  • Fold the empanada discs and seal the edges, use a fork to help seal the empanadas.
  • Lightly brush the top of the empanadas with the egg yolk; this will give them a nice golden glow when baked.
  • Sprinkle the almond slices on the top of the empanadas, do this immediately after you brush them with the egg yolk, it will help the almond slices stick to the empanada.
  • Sprinkle each empanada with a little bit of the demerara sugar.
  • Chill the empanadas for at least 30 minutes or until ready to bake, this will help them seal better.
  • Bake the empanadas in a pre-heated oven at 375 F for 20-25 minutes or until golden.
  • Serve warm.

Notes

If you don’t like goat cheese or don’t have any available, you can replace it with cream cheese.

Recipe for homemade sweet empanada dough

Recipe for raspberry empanadas – these delicious sweet

How to make sweet empanada dough

Easy recipe for sweet empanada dough or how to make sweet pastry dough for dessert empanadas or hand pies/turnovers using a food processor.
4.71 from 798 votes
Print Pin Your Questions and Comments
Course: Appetizer, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: Latin, Latin fusion, Spanish
Keyword: Dessert empanadas, Empanada dough, Empanadas, Hand pies, Sweet empanadas, Turnovers
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 15 -18 medium sized empanada discs or 25-30 small empanada discs

Ingredients

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • ¼- ½ cup sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 8 ounces butter 8 ounces = 225grams= 2 sticks, cut into pieces
  • 2 eggs
  • 2-4 tablespoons of cold water or cold milk

Instructions

Making homemade sweet empanada dough:

  • Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor.
  • Add the butter, eggs and water until a clumpy dough forms.
  • Knead the dough for a few minutes.
  • Form dough into 2 balls, flatten into thick discs, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
  • Roll out the dough into a thin sheet and cut out round disc shapes for empanadas, use round molds or a small plate or cup as a mold, you can choose how large based on whether you want small or medium sized empanadas .
  • Use the empanada discs immediately or store in the refrigerator or freezer to use later.

Assembling and baking sweet empanadas:

  • To assemble these sweet empanadas or dessert turnovers, place the filling of your choice on the center of each empanada disc. Don’t add too much filling since it makes it harder to close or seal the empanadas when they’re overstuffed.
  • To seal the empanadas, fold the disc and seal the edges by pressing the dough with your fingers. If needed, you can brush the inside edges with egg white, it will act as a glue for the empanadas. You can do a final seal by pressing the top of a fork against the edges. You can also try a curl type seal, called repulgue or churito, by using your fingers to twist the curl the edges – this is harder with sweet empanadas than with regular savory empanada dough.
  • For best results, refrigerate the empanadas for at least 30 minutes before baking – this also helps them seal better and prevents the filling from leaking out.
  • If you want your empanadas to have a nice golden finish, then you can brush them with egg wash (a whole egg whisked or egg yolk plus a few drops of water whisked). After brushing the empanadas with egg wash, you can sprinkle sugar (I prefer brown sugar or demerara) on top. You can also sprinkle them with regular or powdered sugar after baking.
  • Bake the empanadas in a pre-heated oven. I usually bake them at 375F/190C. The baking time will vary based on the oven and size of empanadas, and should be in the range of 18-25 minutes – the empanadas will be ready once they are golden on top.

Step by step preparation photos for raspberry, goat cheese and almond empanadas

Making raspberry, goat cheese and almond empanadas
Making raspberry, goat cheese and almond empanadas
Making raspberry, goat cheese and almond empanadas
Making raspberry, goat cheese and almond empanadas
Making raspberry, goat cheese and almond empanadas
Raspberry, goat cheese and almond empanadas
Raspberry, goat cheese and almond empanadas
Raspberry, goat cheese and almond empanadas
Raspberry, goat cheese and almond empanadas
Raspberry, goat cheese and almond empanadas
Raspberry, goat cheese and almond empanadas

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37 Comments

  1. Hello, Will these be ok to prepare fully minus the almonds on top and freeze so they are ready to be baked straight from the freezer? If so, is it ok to brush egg wash on after taking it out of the freezer to bake with the almond slices??? Looking to make them for thanksgiving and take frozen to the other location to bake there.
    Thank you!

  2. Thanks so much for the recipe… I had to substitute cream cheese for the goat cheese as I had none in my pantry but they were so delicious it couldn’t have worked out better.

    All of the tiny morsels were gobbled up quickly and now my nieces want them for their birthdays instead of cake!

    Loved it.. THANK YOU!

  3. Laylita, I made these empanadas for a Southwestern-themed Christmas dinner and they were the hit of the party. I was surprised to read that we are fellow Seatteites and had to write to tell you how well my first attempt at these empanadas went. I followed your instructions exactly and mine turned out just beautiful the first time. Thanks so much for sharing.

  4. I went shopping for the ingredients, but they only had blackberries- no raspberries, and am happy to report that these work equally well! Served with some creme fraiche, they make an excellent dessert, straight from the oven. Thanks so much- delicious!

  5. I tried these for a small dinner party I was having tonight (in part as a bon voyage party to a friend who will be spending the summer in Ecuador). I am not usually so great with pastry-type items, so I was worried . . . but they turned out GREAT! Very tasty. Thanks for sharing this recipe. They were a hit!

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