Mouth: Strawberry Empanadas

First off, I want to give a big "thank you!!!" from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has blogged, commented, viewed, or even just smiled at my little Han Solo Cross Stitch this past week. It's been friggin' surreal seeing something *I* made everywhere online...and seeing people enjoying it so much. But it's also made me tremendously happy through a pretty trying week.

The last week before a vacation is always rough, and this last week was no exception. Aside from a lovely, after-work knitting lesson from my brother's girlfriend, I barely had time to craft (or do much else) before the weekend! So, when Saturday finally rolled around in all it's vacation-weekend rosiness, I felt a special breakfast was in order.



Fresh from the oven, these Strawberry Empanadas are soft, sweet little bundles of delight. The flaky crust gives way to a deliciously gooey filling of cream cheese and ripe strawberries, making this a perfect, decadent weekend breakfast.

I'll admit here, I'm totally a frozen pie crust type of girl, so my baking sensitivities weren't rankled by the thought of using store-bought, refrigerated dough. Maybe someday I'll play with my own dough recipe, but for now, "quick and easy" are the words for me on a leisurely Saturday morning.



Strawberry Empanadas
adapted from the InterCourses Cookbook*

1/4 cup reduced fat cream cheese
2 tablespoons brown sugar (I like dark)
2/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh strawberries
1 6-count package refrigerated crescent rolls

Topping (optional)
1 pat of butter
1 tablespoon cinnamon/sugar mix

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Blend the cream cheese and brown sugar in a small bowl. Gently fold in chopped strawberries.
3. Unroll the crescent dough, separating the six triangular pieces. Plop about a tablespoon of the cream cheese filling into the middle of the widest part of the triangle. Fold up the bottom, crimping the side, then wrap the remaining dough around the bundle. Make sure there's no holes where the filling can leak out.
4. Bake for 16-19 minutes, until golden brown and puffy.
5. If you want to use topping, brush the pat of butter gently over the top of oven-warm pastry, then sprinkle with a little of the cinnamon/sugar mix.

Makes 6 Strawberry Empanadas.

*InterCourses is an incredibly sexy cookbook featuring romantic and "aphrodisiac" recipes. It's more PG-13 vein than R or NC-17 rated (*I* think, at least), so its safe on your kitchen cookbook shelf. It's filled with titillating and creative photographs highlighting some really delicious recipes. The Black Russian Cake, which they have listed for free on their web site, is a truly decadent dessert for anyone who loves chocolate, coffee, and Kahlua!