Moe's Empanadas Mendocinas

This recipe has been a major work in progress for several years now.  While in Argentina, I had many opportunities to sample empanadas but I never got a recipe of any sort from anyone (a major fail on my part).  Once I returned back home I began to miss them and have worked hard to try and replicate what I ate on my mission in Mendoza.  While I am still perfecting them, I feel they are now good enough to share.

This filling recipe is large...I used half of it and made 3 dozen empanadas.  I froze the rest for another day.

Filling:
2 lbs ground beef
4 medium onions, chopped
1/2 cup butter*
3 1/2 Tbsp Paprika
2 1/2 Tbsp Chili Powder
2 Tbsp Oregano
1 Tbsp Cumin
Sugar to taste (about 1 Tbsp)
salt and pepper to taste (1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper)

Heat butter in large pan and saute onions until they are translucent (about 8 minutes).  Add meat and cook till done.  While cooking add spices.

Two important parts to making meat:
1. Don't dry it out (don't cook all the butter out of the mix), *if you don't want to use so much butter or if you do cook it out and it looks dry, add 1/2 cup of a chicken,beef, or vegetable broth and let it reduce a bit so it cooks and reduces a bit into the meat.
2. Refrigerate!  Don't use hot filling.  Let it cool for a while so the filling doesn't make the dough soggy when you put them together.

Dough:
(two batches of this dough made 3 dozen empanadas)
Mix:
2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp salt
Add:
1 cube (1/2 cup) cold butter, cut in small cubes

Crumble the butter into the flour mix till all butter is smoothed out and mixed in (consistency of cornmeal)

In a separate bowl, whisk 1 egg and add 1/3 cup milk and 1 Tbsp white vinegar.

Make a well in the flour/butter  and pour in liquid.  Work into dough, Take ball of dough, flatten into a disc and wrap in seran wrap and let rest in fridge until ready to use.

Preparation:
 Boil 6 eggs (for 3 dozen)
1 can green olives
1 egg, beaten

Divide dough into two parts to make it easier to roll out.  On floured surface,  roll out and cut out desired size circles (tapas).

Place meat in the center with a piece of boiled egg and a few green olive slices. (Don't over fill)

Rub a bit of water on the edge before sealing up and press with a fork. (In Argentina they  do a very pretty twist around the edge...but I stink at it...so a fork pressed along the edge will do...sigh)

Whisk an egg.  Use a brush to coat each empanada with egg before sticking in oven at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.

 Enjoy!