empanadas (baked filled pastries)

PASTRY To prepare the filling: Heat a large skillet. Add the ground beef and cook, stirring, until it begins to brown and release some of its fat. Stir in the onion and cook until transparent. Darin off excess fat and add the rest of the ingredients to the skillet. Simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring often. Transfer to a mixing bowl and set aside to cool while you prepare the pastry. To prepare the pastry: Combine the flour, salt, and sugar and mix well. Cut the shortening and butter into the flour mixture until it becomes coarse and crumbly, like cornmeal. Sprinkle ¼ cup of ice water onto the mixture and stir with a fork, adding more water by the spoonful, if necessary, to make the dough form a ball. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and divide it into 24 equal parts. Roll each part into a ball. Preheat the oven to 400F. In a small bowl, beat the egg white with 1 tsp of water until frothy. Roll each ball of dough out into a circle 4 inches in diameter and a little until ⅛-inch thick. Place a Tbsp of filling on one half of each sircle, leaving a ¼-½-inch margin around the edges. Moisten the edges with the egg white mixture, then fold the other half of the circle over. Press the edges together firmly and crimp with a fork to seal (or use a cutter-crimper tool.) Transfer the pastries to a large baking sheet. Lightly beat the egg yolk with 2 tsp of milk. Brush the pastries with this mixture, then bake in preheated oven for about 15 minutes, or until golden. Serve hot or warm. Makes 24 Recipe by: Homemade Good News (Vol 5 No 6) Posted to MC-Recipe Digest V1 #472 by Sean Coate on Feb 04, 1997.