Pastechi de Keshi

Anyone can make this quick and easy, homemade Pastechi. It is a Caribbean pastry filled with Gouda cheese and fried up delicious. They can be served for breakfast and they are ridiculously addictive.

INGREDIENTS

5 cups of flour

5 tblsp. of butter (room temperature)

5 tblsp. of shortening (Crisco) (room temperature)

 3 tblsp. of sugar

salt (to taste)

1 large egg

1 to 1.5 cups of cold water

vegetable oil (for frying)

Smoked Gouda cheese (for filling)

DIRECTIONS

1. Add the flour, butter, shortening, sugar, salt. egg, and 1 cup of cold water to a stand mixer with the dough attachment. Knead the dough until it's totally smooth and no longer sticky. If it's still sticky, you can use small amounts of flour to fix this - if it's too dry, you can add small amounts of cold water. Let your dough rest for half an hour, covered with a cold kitchen towel at room temperature.

2. Make tennis ball sized balls out of the dough. Roll the balls out to create a flat, thin circle out of every ball.

3. Fill each flat circle with several thin slices of the Gouda cheese. Now fold the circle over and use a fork to pinch the half-circle together. You can use a bit of water to seal them if needed.

4. Fry the pastechi's in hot oil until golden brown. Remove and enjoy while they are hot.