Pear empanadas are a delicious and sweet twist on the traditional savory empanada. A popular dish in many Latin American and Spanish-speaking countries, empanadas consist of pastry dough folded around a filling, which can be sweet or savory. Pear empanadas typically feature a sweet pear filling and are often spiced with cinnamon and sugar.
Chilean pears are known for their high quality and excellent flavor. The country is one of the major exporters of pears, and its diverse climate and geography contribute to producing top-notch fruit. Some popular varieties of Chilean pears include Packham’s Triumph, D’Anjou, and Abate Fetel.
In Chile, some of the production is reserved for dried pears, a popular and nutritious snack resulting from removing the moisture content from fresh pears. The dehydration process concentrates the fruit’s flavors, natural sugars, and nutrients while extending its shelf life. This can be done through various methods, including sun drying (the traditional way), air drying, or using dehydrators.
Dehydrators are common in commercial production as they offer controlled temperature and airflow. Before drying, pears are usually peeled, cored, and sliced to facilitate the drying process. Dried pears have a chewy and somewhat leathery texture. Water removal concentrates the sugars, giving them a sweeter taste than fresh pears.
Seldom do I publish a recipe that brings me so many memories. Pear empanadas were my favorite snack as a girl. My grandmother used to buy them, and we ate them with tea in the afternoon when I came home from school. In the years I’ve been in the USA, I have thought of the empanadas often.
My husband laughs because I have a terrible memory of many things. I can see a movie a thousand times and have no idea what will happen at the end because I forget, but with flavors, it’s quite the opposite. I can evoke some dishes in my head like yesterday, and these empanadas are accurate. I feel like a girl again eating them. If someone grew up eating them, please make them. I have rarely felt such joy eating something.
You may also like the recipe: Chilean Alfajores.
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Dried Pear Empanadas
Amazing sweet empanadas.
- Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- Yield: 24
Ingredients
for the filling,
- 250 grams of dried pears
- 100 grams of sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch of nutmeg
for the dough,
- 3 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup or 125 grams of cold butter
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 egg for brushing
- sugar
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, place the pears and mostly submerge them in boiling water. Let stand for 15 minutes. Place over medium heat and add sugar, stirring until sugar dissolves.
- Grind the pears to a puree using a blender or food processor. Add the cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Cook until it boils softly and you can see the bottom of the pot when you stir.
- Allow cooling completely.
- Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Add the butter, which should be chopped into small pieces, and work with two knives or the mixer’s paddle attachment until the mixture looks like coarse sand.
- Add eggs, sugar, milk, and pumpkin. Mix everything into a smooth dough.
- Beat the egg with one tablespoon of water until blended, 20 seconds.
- Divide the dough into two halves and place one half in the refrigerator. On a floured counter, roll the dough until it is about 2-3 mm thick. Cut circles 12 cm in diameter. Place a tablespoon of filling into the center of each circle. Wet the border with the egg wash, close, and make small indentations with a fork to seal. Repeat with the other half of the dough.
- Preheat oven to 350F or 180C. Place empanadas on a parchment paper-covered or a greased baking sheet. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar. Use a fork to pierce each empanada.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until browned up and down.
- Let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet and move to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Serve cold.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Sweets
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Chilean
I am so happy to have found this recipe! My son lives in Chile and we visited him in February. We’re all train buffs, so he took us on the buscarril from Talca to Constitución. At one of the stops (I believe it was González Bastías) the train had a long stop and women sold baked goods from baskets. We had the most delicious empanadas, but we could not identify the filling dark as dates or prunes but clearly neither. It must have been pears! Pumpkin in the dough, how clever. Thanks for bringing back a wonderful taste and family memory. (We loved the buscarril!)
What an amazing story. I’m almost sure you ate Pear Empanadas, my grandmother was born and raised in the Constitución area.
Thanks for commenting.
Dear Pilar,
Thank you so much for the receipt Look so yummy. I have to try. Also I will like to know if you have a receipt for the “empanadas de arroz con leche “
Thanks you again
Marcia
Hi Marcia, I don’t have that recipe. Sorry.
Hola pilar, no he podido encontrar zapallo como el de chile aqui en new jersey, con que tipo de pumpkin o squash ke recomiendas reemplazarlo?
Para las masas yo uso el zapallo (pumpkin) en lata ya molido, compró uno de buena marca y listo. Si no en general prefiero el butternut squah.
Gracias por el dato, ahora podre hacerle charquican a mi marido
Súper! Saludos.
Hola Pilar,
Vivo en Inglaterra y no he encontrado peras secas. Como se pueden adaptar peras frescas para poder hacer la receta? Funcionara igual?
Saludos y gracias!
Loreto
No, prueba con manzanas secas mezcladas con duraznos o algo así. No se puede usar fruta fresca. Suerte.
Buenos dias Pilar, si hay algo que llevo grabado en mi memoria son las empanadas de pera. Por anos he estado anorandolas pero lo que no se y quisiera saber que tipo/variedad de pera seca es la que se usa. Cuando estoy en USA quedo mareada con tanta variedad y cuanto vengo a mi patria Chile casi no se encuentran o hay un tipo que le llaman “fancy”. Ud sabe cual es?.
Agradecida por su receta y espero tratar ahorita que estoy en el Sur de nuestro Chile.
Saludos cordiales, SGT
Yo compre acá en el supermercado en EEUU, era la única variedad de peras secas que vendían, sin apellido. Así que no te puedo ayudar mucho. Lo siento.