"Candied Yampanadas"

By RoketJSquerl

Ingredients

• For the Candied Yams:
• 3 large sized plump yams or sweet potatoes
• 1/2 stick salted butter
• 1/2-3/4 cup granulated sugar (I tend to like more sugar in my candied sweets)
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 3 cups water
• For the Empanadas:
• 2 Pillsbury refrigerated pie doughs
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon of water (egg wash)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
• For the Simple Cinnamon Glaze:
• 1 cup confectioner's sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-2 tablespoons milk (I used coconut milk)

Details

Adapted from grandbaby-cakes.com

Preparation

Step 1

For the candied yams, peel yams and slice them in 1/4-1/2 inch slices and place in a pot with all remaining ingredients and cook over medium to low heat covered (add water as needed) and watch occasionally to make sure nothing sticks. Once syrup has thickened (no longer watery) and yams/sweet potatoes are soft when pierced with a fork (about 45-50 minutes), turn off heat and allow the yams to cool and thicken further for about 10 minutes. Then mash together a bit to form smaller pieces of yams.


To assemble pies, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Roll out 1 Pillsbury refrigerated pie dough on a lightly floured surface. Using a cutter sized 3-4 inches round, cut dough into 10-12 rounds. Place the cut rounds on parchment paper inside a baking sheet approximately 1 inch apart. Repeat process with second refrigerated pie dough.

Place 1 heaping tablespoon of candied yams in one half of each round. Make sure to leave about a quarter of an inch of all sides around the outer edge.



Next brush the edges of the dough with egg wash and fold the dough over to cover the yams. Use a fork to seal and crimp the edges of each pie.

Brush each pie with egg wash and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture.

Bake for 25 minutes until nice and golden brown.

Optional: To make the glaze, whisk together confectioner's sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and milk until consistency is perfect for drizzling. Drizzle over the tops of pies or serve on the side as a dipping glaze.