Step 1

Heat olive oil over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often.

Step 2

Add garlic and diced red pepper. Cook for another 10 minutes, stirring often. Add chili powder, cumin, sweet paprika, and oregano. Cook for 2 minutes.

Step 3

Increase heat to medium and add the ground beef. Season with salt and pepper and cook, crumbling into small pieces, until browned. Stir in beef boullion.

Step 4

Remove from heat and transfer mixture to a bowl to cool for 10 minutes. Then, stir in green onion, olives, parsley, and hard-boiled eggs.

Step 5

Cover and chill mixture for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days (depending on freshness of ingredients). It’s important that the mixture is chilled before filling the empanadas.

Step 6

Add flour and salt to a large bowl and stir to combine. Add egg and butter and stir well to combine. Add oil and warm water and stir until the mixture starts to come together into a dough ball. Add more water if it’s too dry.

Step 7

Place dough in clean greased bowl and cover tightly. Allow to rest at room temperature for 1 hour. (Or, refrigerate for up to 1 day, removing from the fridge 20 minutes before using.)

Step 8

Divide the dough into two pieces. On a greased countertop roll each piece into a very large circle, about 1/8in thick (not so thin that it might break when filling or baking).

Step 9

Use a small bowl or round cookie cutters to cut the dough into circles about 6in in diameter for regular size empanadas or 3 inch for mini empanadas (empanaditas).

Step 10

Remove the excess dough from around the cut circles and keep the circles where they are for filling them (so they hold their perfect circle shape). Leftover scraps can be re-rolled to make more dough to cut out.

Step 11

Place about 2 tablespoons of filling (for regular size empanadas) in the center of each circle, leaving plenty of space around the border. Moisten the edges of the circle with water, then fold the dough over and match the ends together to form a semi-circle.

Step 12

Pinch the edges together and then seal the ends by crimping them with a fork or pinching and twisting/folding it over.

Step 13

Baked Empanadas: Place empanadas on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush with a little bit of egg wash and bake at 375° For 25-30 minutes until golden brown and fully cooked.

Step 14

Fried Empanadas: (I’ve found it best to refrigerate the empanadas for 20 minutes before frying to help the dough firm up and hold its shape before placing in the hot oil). Add several inches of hot oil to a pot and heat to about 365° F. Fry one or two empanadas at a time, flipping once, until golden on both sides (1-2 minutes per side). Place on a paper-towel lined plate.