Dried Fruit Pastelitos
- Total Time
- 2 hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1pound mixed dried fruit, like prunes, apples and apricots
- ½cup orange juice
- ½cup sugar
- ½teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼teaspoon ground cloves or grated nutmeg
- 2½cups flour
- 1teaspoon baking powder
- ¾teaspoon salt
- 1cup shortening or lard
- 1tablespoon milk
- 1½teaspoons sugar
- ½teaspoon cinnamon
For the Filling
For the Crust
Nutritional analysis per serving (20 servings)
182 calories; 11 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 20 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 107 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
For the Filling
- Step 1
To make the filling, combine the dried fruit and 1½ cups water in a pot over medium-low heat and simmer until fruit is almost mushy, 20 to 30 minutes. Add a little water if needed. Drain the liquid. Working in batches if necessary, put fruit and orange juice in a blender and purée until smooth. Return to the pot, add ½ cup sugar, ½ teaspoon cinnamon and cloves or nutmeg, and simmer over medium-low heat until thick and jammy.
- Step 2
To make the crust, heat oven to 400 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Using your fingertips, rub in the shortening or lard. Make a well in the center and add 4 to 6 tablespoons water, a small amount at a time, and work it into a dough.
- Step 3
Divide dough in half and roll each half on a lightly floured board to fit a shallow square or rectangular baking pan, about 9 by 12 inches. Line the pan with one sheet of pastry. Spread the fruit mixture evenly over the pastry, leaving a half-inch border. Place second sheet of pastry over the fruit mixture. Cut the pastry edges to just fit inside the rim of the pan. Press the edges of pastry together to seal around the edges. Brush top with milk. Mix 1½ teaspoons sugar and ½ teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle over the pastry. Poke holes in pastry with a fork. Bake 30 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and cut into square.
Private Notes
Comments
Could you use butter rather than shortening or lard?
Hello, I live in the same area and know Mrs. Manzanares. You could try using butter. I have never personally tried it, but was always told by the little Spanish ladies of the community that the lard/shortening is the key to getting the right consistency in the crust. You want it to be a light flaky crust, hence the lard
These remind me of the pastries my relatives from Lawrence, Mass would bring our family in the 60's and 70's when were were staying at a beach cottage in Seabrook, NH. No one would ever think to come empty handed. They were always in paper in a white box wrapped with string. We called them fruit squares (even though, come to think of it, they were rectangular). I also loved the lemon squares and will try this recipe with lemon curd. These were just delicious. Even better than the ones from the bakery. Thank you for bringing back such happy memories for me.
Make pastelitos all the time. Have some friends and family that ask every holiday when they will get their pastelito. Always use an all butter crust. Agree - not the same as past generations, but delicious. Mostly use apricots (trees have been producing a lot), usually add some apples or applesauce for sweetness.
I had the hardest time with this dough. (I made three batches.) No matter how I assembled it, I could not roll it out and transport it from the board to the pan. It was a shame, because the texture of the dough was lovely, but just would not stay together. I eventually gave up and tossed the whole thing on the last batch that crumbled as I tried to put it on top of the filling. Too, bad. I was really looking forward to them for our Easter celebration.
Just made this for the first time and I agree. The dough was an utter disaster. I used an 8x8 pan as there was no way there was enough dough for a 9x12, but this meant that the fruit layer was far too thick and the top layer of dough was useless and impossible to seal as directed. Utter waste of time.