Empanadas come in two basic forms -- sweet and meat -- dessert or main dish.  Today Doña Martha, daughter Martha and various grand kids are making sweet ones.  The occasion is Coco's 28th birthday.  He and his brothers will make carne asada on the charcoal grill later in the afternoon, and we'll all eat too much.  And drink some beer, too, on a hot June Sunday afternoon.

It begins with 2 kilos of flour and a handful of baking powder to which one kilo of vegetable shorting is added and well cut in by hand.

The liquid is Coke.  
Orange juice could also be used

The kneading begins in the bowl,

and continues on the counter.

When the dough is well kneaded and rested for a short while, it is rolled out very thin.

A glass is used as a cookie cutter.

(The dough didn't really change color.  My camera just gave it this  strange color.)

Any fruit jelly or marmalade can be used for the filling.  Soft fresh fruit is OK, too.  I like maraschino cherries with a chunk of dark chocolate. M&Ms make a good filling.  On another day we made some with peanut butter which I liked.

The cut away dough is reused.

After folding over, the edges are pinched to form a tight seal.

The pan is greased and lightly floured.  Her oven will hold four of these trays.

While the first oven load is cooking, 16-year old grandson Rodrigo gives the ladies a break.  In the past year he has shown a growing interest in cooking.  A chef in the making?

Hot from the oven, they are tossed until well coated with sugar mixed with cinnamon -- freshly ground cinnamon sticks, not packaged power.  As you can see, if the edges are not pinched tightly, they will leak.

The first half of today's makings.  The gang made a total of 211.  And they were all  gone by the next day.

6-year old Karina and 8-year old Iris are making a special batch for their fathers who were working this Sunday and would miss the party.  And the cooking skills pass effortlessly from generation to generation.