Empanada Cubana (Cuban Empanadas)

In my house my grandmother would always buy the "discos goya" to make Empanadas (pre-made, empanada disks ready to fill and fry) she would stuff them with Picadillo (Cuban Ground Beef Hash) then pan-fry or deep-fry them and that's it very simple and quick. Also she would sometimes stuff them with thick slices of Guava paste and cream cheese to have a sweet if not she'd stuff wonton wrappers with cream cheese and guava paste (I will post that one soon I have everything I need for the Wontons stuffed with Guava and Cream Cheese)

Cuban Empanadas are usually stuffed with "Picadillo" (Cuban Ground Beef Hash), Chicken, and sometimes "Ropa Vieja" (Shredded Flank Steak simmered in a tomato based sauce) and the sweet kind with Gauva paste or a combination of Guava Paste and Cream CHeese.

I always wanted to know how to make a Cuban empanada dough from scratch and Marilyn from one of my other loved Cuban cooking blog called "My Cuban Traumas" was very generous and nice to me by sharing with me her Cuban Empanada dough recipe.

Ingredients for dough:
-3 cups flour (plain all purpose/ regular white flour)
-1 teaspoon salt
-2 tablespoons white sugar
-8 tablespoons shortening (I used lard because I avoid hydrogenated oils)
-2 beaten eggs yolks and whites
-6 tablespoons of dry white wine (Edmundo Vino Seco Dorado is recommended for this)

Directions:
(1)In a really large bowl mix well the flour, sugar, and salt. With a fork or your hands incorporate lard until you obtain a crumbly texture. Make a space in the middle and add beaten egg and wine. Stir in a circular motion until you achieve a dough consistency.
(2)Knead the dough and slam it against the kitchen counter a couple times to obtain a compact dough. (At this point you can wrap it up in plastic wrap and throw it in the fridge until ready to make your empanadas or proceed)
(3)Move over to a table or large surface and dust with flour, roll out the dough, cut into circles of desired size and place some of the filling, you can moist the sides with beaten egg or water and press and seal making a nice little ridge with a fork.
(4)Either pan-fry on medium high on both sides until golden brown or bake in oven at 350 degrees fahrenheit or 176 degreed celsius for 20-25 minutes. (We personally deep-fry it because it is way faster and tastier)
Possiblities for the fillings:
(1)I used leftover Chicken Fricasse I made this week, I simply deboned and shredded the Chicken in the Fricasse and used that as my filling. It is a great idea to make "Picadillo", "Ropa Vieja" or "Fricasse" and just use the leftovers the next day or whatever day as a Empanada dough filling. Make sure your filling is cooled before using it. The filling can be whatever like any type of meat dish just make sure the filling isn't something really dry or really moist if to dry it will just be chocky and nasty if to moist the juices will ruin your Empanada, etc.)

(2)Here are some links to recipes I made that you can use as filling:
-Fricasse de Pollo
-Picadillo Salteado
-Ropa Vieja