Empanadas, little savory pies or turnovers, are a classic Latin American appetizer. They often sport a variety of fillings, like cheese, vegetables, meat, poultry or seafood. These feature beef and currants for an appealing sweet-savory contrast. 

1 recipe Savory Cream Cheese Pastry, chilled
12 oz. ground beef (85% lean)
1 tablespoon butter
2/3 cup finely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup currants
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons pine nuts
1 egg white

1. Cut each chilled pastry round in half; cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

2. Cook and stir beef in large skillet over medium-high heat 6 to 8 minutes or until browned and no longer pink. Remove beef.

3. Melt butter in same skillet over medium-low to low heat. Cook onion 5 minutes or until soft, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; cook and stir 30 seconds or until fragrant. Remove from heat. Stir in beef, currants, tomato paste, salt and pepper until well-blended. Stir in parsley and pine nuts. Cool completely.

4. On lightly floured surface, roll 1 dough half 1/8 inch thick (keep remaining dough refrigerated until needed). With 3-inch round cookie cutter, cut out circles. Roll and fill each round before going to the next round, rerolling scraps of dough once after letting dough rest 5 minutes. (You should get 12 or 13 circles from each piece of dough for a total of 50 pastry circles.)

5. Brush outside edges of pastry circles with water. Place slightly rounded 2 teaspoons filling in center of each circle; fold in half, pinching edges together. Seal edges by pressing with fork. Arrange on parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.*

6. Heat oven to 350°F. Whisk egg white with 1 tablespoon water; brush over fresh or frozen pastries. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

TIP *Empanadas can be made ahead to this point. Cover baking sheet with plastic wrap; refrigerate overnight or freeze 2 hours or until firm. Place empanadas in freezer bags; freeze up to 3 weeks. When ready to bake, place frozen empanadas on parchment paper-lined baking sheets.

50 appetizers

PER APPETIZER: 80 calories, 6 g total fat (3.5 g saturated fat), 2 g protein, 5 g carbohydrate, 15 mg cholesterol, 75 mg sodium, .5 g fiber