Separate the white of one large egg and place in a small bowl and lightly beat it. Pre-heat the oven to 350F degrees.
The dough should have risen into a large, round ball and have a reddish-gold color from the Paprika. Carefully divide the dough in half.
Place one half of the dough on a lightly floured cutting board and roll out to a thickness of approximately 1/8". You may make empanadas in the shape of half-circles, squares or triangles:
To make triangular-shaped empanadas - Cut the dough into 4" squares, scoop a heaping tablespoon of filling into each square and brush the egg white on to 2 edges of the dough. Fold over and press with fingers to seal.
To make half-round empanadas - Using a large-mouth jar or a large 4" diameter cookie cutter, cut out circles in the dough, scoop a heaping tablespoon of filling into each circle and brush the egg white around half of the circle. Fold over and press with fingers to seal.
An alternative to sealing with your fingers, you can seal by pressing the tines of a fork along the edges of the dough. Carefully place each empanada on a cookie sheet to bake. Continue rolling out dough, cutting and filling until all dough is used.
Bake for approximately 15 minutes at 350F degrees.
Tip! If you want to prepare empanadas ahead of time, you can! Prepare the filling and stuff them, but do not bake them. Place in a container, layering them and making sure that they do not touch each other. Wrap tightly in plastic and freeze them. Remove them from the freezer, bake and serve them hot and fresh.
