yield: 12 prep time: 30 MINUTES cook time: 25 MINUTES additional time: 15 MINUTES total time: 1 HOUR 10 MINUTES

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup of finely milled almond flour
• 1/2 cup of coconut flour
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons salt

Egg wash

• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon of water

Ground Beef Filling

• 1 cup of keto Cuban picadillo

Instructions

1. Start by making a batch of  Keto Cuban Picadillo recipe and reserving one cup. You can do this a day or two in advance, since the picadillo needs to be fully cool before using it in the recipe. If making the same day, simply place the cup of picadillo you will be needing in the freezer while you prepare the dough so that it cools quickly.
2. Keto Pastry Dough: In a medium-sized bowl combine the coconut flour and the almond flour, and salt.
3. Melt the unsalted butter and set aside.
4. To the dry ingredients add the melted butter and combine quickly.
5. Next, add the whole eggs and combine.
6. In a separate bowl, melt the mozzarella cheese in the microwave for a total of 90 seconds stirring halfway through. Once it comes out of the microwave mix well until fully incorporated. You can also melt the mozzarella cheese in a double boiler.
7. Add the melted mozzarella cheese to the mixture and knead the dough with your hands until all the cheese is blended well into the dough. I recommend you do so between two sheets of parchment paper so that the dough doesn’t stick to your hands.
8. Wrap the dough in parchment paper and place in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes to chill.
9. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
10. In a small bowl, whisk one egg and the teaspoon of water and set aside. This will be your egg wash.
11. Once the dough has chilled, roll out into a large rectangle about 1/4″ thick. Cut out your empanadas using a mason jar lid or 3.5″ round circle cutter.
12. Lightly press the circle of dough in the palm of your hands, moving from hand to hand like making tortillas. Add one small spoonful of picadillo in the center and gently fold in half. If the dough breaks you can gently press it back together or take small pieces of softened dough and place it on any large cracks. This dough mends easily just be gentle.
13. Place on your lined baking sheet and press the tines of a fork along the edge of the keto empanada and brush with the eggwash. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Serve warm and enjoy!
14. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Notes

The dough will most likely crack when folding them but you can repair them easily. The dough is very forgiving. For small cracks you can use your finger to gently smooth them. For large cracks you can simply add some more of the dough to repair them.

If the dough gets too soft you can place it back in the refrigerator for a few minutes to make it more manageable again.

The unbaked empanadas can be frozen for up to 6 weeks. Just store the unbaked empanadas in a freezer safe container that allows enough room for them not touch. Once ready to enjoy you can bake them straight from the freezer. Bake the frozen empanadas for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.

The recipe makes 12 empanadas and the nutrition facts reflect a serving as one so that you can decide how many you can consume based on your personal keto macros.

Nutrition Information:

YIELD: 12 SERVING SIZE: 1 Amount Per Serving: CALORIES: 375TOTAL FAT: 32.9gSATURATED FAT: 16.7gCHOLESTEROL: 109mgSODIUM: 220mgCARBOHYDRATES: 3.9gNET CARBOHYDRATES: 2.1gFIBER: 1.8gSUGAR: 1.2gPROTEIN: 7.9g