BAKED GROUND TURKEY EMPANADAS

The dough:

3 cups flour (whole wheat or unbleached all-purpose)
1 tsp salt
1/2 stick (4 Tbsp) very cold butter
1/2 cup cold water
1 egg white
1 Tbsp vinegar (apple cider, champagne, or red wine)

The filling:

1 - 1 1/4 lbs ground turkey
1 tsp minced chilis (optional)
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground corriander
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp garlic salt (or 1 tsp each garlic powder and salt)
1 tsp paprika (sweet or smoked)
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheese (cheddar, etc.)

Other:

a little water
1 egg yolk

To make the dough, mix together the flour and salt, and then cut in the butter using two knives or a pastry cutter.  You want most of the big chunks to disappear into the flour.

Mix together the water, egg white, and vinegar.  Add to the dry ingredients and mix with a fork until a very stiff and dry dough forms.  Turn the dough onto a work surface and knead until all the flour is incorporated.  It will be very dry and a little crumbly at this stage, but that's o.k.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and then place it inside a zipper bag.  Put the dough into the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, but never more than 24 hours.  This will allow the flour to soak up all the liquid and form a more stable dough.

To make the filling, brown the turkey, working it as it cooks to break it into small pieces.  Add the chilis and allow them to cook through.  Drain off any excess liquid, and put the turkey into a bowl.

Work the meat with a fork to further break it down into smaller pieces.  Add all of the spices, and mix with the fork.  Allow to cool to room temperature.  Add the cheese, stirring to combine.

Retrieve the dough from the fridge, and cut it into 12 pieces (for 4-inch empanadas) or 24 pieces (for 2-inch empanadas).  Roll these into a ball in your hands.  Put a piece of parchment paper over your work surface and dust it very lightly with flour.  Using a rolling pin, roll out the first ball very thin until it is a little larger than the size that you're shooting for.  The dough will be about 1/8 inch thick in the end.

Pre-heat the oven to 375 F.

Cut the rolled-out dough into a circle.  For 2-inch empanadas, I'd recommend cutting the dough with a 2-inch biscuit cutter.  For the 4-inch, most mixing bowl sets come with the smallest bowl being about 4-inches across.  Use anything that you want, but you want something that you can push down through the dough.  A little twisting is fine, but you want to keep the round shape.

Now to fill the empanadas.  If you're using the smaller size, you won't be able to fit more than a tablespoon of filing in.  For the larger size, you can get 2-3 tablespoons.  Put some filling off to one side of the center of the round, not exactly in the center.  Now, dip a finger into some water (or use a pastry brush) and go around the edge of the dough.  You only need to go 1/2 way around.  Fold the dough over the filling so that the dry side touches the wet side, and pinch it to seal.

Repeat until you run out of either dough or filling.  If you wish for glossy-topped empanadas, mix the egg yolk with 1 tbsp water, and brush the tops of all the empanadas with it.  Cut a small slit in the top of each to allow steam to escape while cooking.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until heated through.  Allow to cool slightly.  Serve warm with salsa or chili con queso.