Goat Cheese Empanadas with Raspberry Chipotle Salsa

This is one of the "Spectacular Three Ingredient Recipes" from this August's Real Simple magazine. 

The three ingredients are:

4 oz. fresh goat cheese

2 store bought refrigerated, rolled pie crusts 

Store bought salsa 

This makes 16 empanadas.

I'll be honest, I'm all over anything involving a flaky pie crust.

To make these scrumptious appetizers, begin by preheating your oven to 375 degrees.

Unroll the pie crusts and use a 3 inch round cookie cutter to cut out 8 circles from each crust. 

If you don't have a round cookie cutter, use the opening of a drinking glass that is about 3 inches. 

Tip: Cut the circles as close as you can to each other around the rim of the pie crust. This should give you seven dough circles, and then cut the last one from the center. 

Divide the goat cheese up among the 16 dough circles, placing each portion on half the circle. 

Dip your fingertip in water and lightly graze half the rim of each dough circle. Fold them in half and press the edges with a fork. Making each empanada takes a little time (15-20minutes), but I enjoyed the process. I imagined I was one of those busy chefs, making something for Anthony Bourdain to eat, that he will praise by comparing it to sex. Although to make that scenario work, I also had to imagine that I was in the kitchen of the farm where the goat cheese was made that morning, using pie crust made from my great, great-grandmother's recipe, and a salsa made from the fresh fruits of my orchard and vegetables of my garden. A girl can dream. A girl may have been watching too many episodes of No Reservations.  

Bake the yummy cheese-filled dough pouches (empanadas) for about 15-20 minutes or until golden. 

The magazine called for a store bought corn salsa, but I recommend a salsa made with fruit. I used a raspberry chipotle salsa, which was fabulous. Another great fruity salsa is Newman's Own, Peach Salsa. 

The combination of the buttery, flaky crust, the tangy cheese, and the spicy-sweet salsa is superb!

Note: You will have leftover dough. I rolled it all up into a ball and put it in the fridge. No need to waste good pie crust. I will find something to put in that dough. Nutella empanadas?