Empanada Dough Recipe - Masa Para Empanadas - cooking recipe

Ingredients

4 cups flour
1 -2 teaspoon salt
2 -3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter, chilled
12 tablespoons lard or 12 tablespoons vegetable shortening, chilled
3/4 - 1 cup water
2 egg yolks

Preparation

Sift the flour into a bowl. Stir in the salt and the sugar.
Blend the butter and shortening (or lard) into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or with two knives, until fairly well blended.
Whisk the egg yolks wiht 3/4 cups water. Stir in the 1/2 cup of water/egg mixture, a little at a time until the dough starts to come together smoothly. Keep kneading the dough, adding more water/egg a little bit at a time as necessary (you made need a few tablespoons extra of water), until the dough is smooth. The dough will seem a bit shaggy until it has thoroughly chilled.
Cover the dough with saran wrap and refrigerate for about an hour. (Dough can also be kept overnight (or a couple of days) in the refrigerator) Dough should be soft and smooth, and not elastic - if you poke a hole in it with your finger, the indentation should remain.
Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and roll into desired thickness.
Makes enough dough for 10-12 large empanadas.