Sopaipillas

The first week after we first arrived in Chile, almost exactly one year ago (on October 18) we were greeted with a Relief Society Social. The Relief Society sisters cooked up a bunch of Sopaipillas for us. Some of them were “dry” with just powdered sugar and some were drenched in a brown sugar syrup. Chilean-style sopaipillas are delicious fried rounds of pumpkin-spiced dough drenched in a brown sugar syrup. They make a delicious fall breakfast or afternoon snack. They drink a cereal drink like Postum with these. Sopaipillas are traditionally eaten on rainy winter days in Chile. So we have eaten MANY this winter. They didn’t seem to need to serve them warm, but that was when they were the best! If you can find chancaca, a type of firm dark brown sugar (a byproduct of sugar cane processing), these will taste even more authentic. Sopaipillas are fantastic with their special syrup, but if you're short on time, serve them warm with dusting of powdered sugar. I think I like the “dry” ones best.

Prep Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 small sugar pumpkin (for baking)
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, or grated chancaca
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 3/4 cups water
• 1 teaspoon cloves
• 1 small orange

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degress. Slice the pumpkin in half, and remove seeds (reserve if desired*) and stringy parts. Rub a baking pan with the oil and place the pumpkin halves cut side down in the pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until pumpkin is soft and can be pierced with a fork. (*The seeds make a great snack, and you can roast them simultaneously wiht the pumpkin. Wash and dry the seeds and toss them in the baking pan with the pumpkin. Check frequently and remove seeds when golden brown, as seeds will roast more quickly. Toss seeds with salt and store in an airtight container.)
2. Scrape pumpkin out of shell and press through a food mill or potato ricer. You will need 1 cup of packed pumpkin.
3. Make the syrup: heat 1 cup brown sugar with 1 cup water, the cinnamon sticks and the cloves. Quarter the orange and add to the sugar mixture. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Strain and keep warm.
4. Stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda, 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar and salt in a bowl. Add the melted butter and pumpkin and mix. Add water gradually, 1-2 tablespoons at a time, until smooth dough forms. Knead dough gently until homogenous.
5. Roll out dough on floured surface to about 1/2 centimeter thickness. Let dough relax for about 5 minutes, then cut with a 4-inch diameter round cutter. Prick rounds with a fork several times
6. Heat several inches of oil in a deep skillet or deep fat fryer to 350 degrees. Fry sopaipillas in batches, turning once, until golden brown. Drain briefly on paper towels, then dip each sopaipilla in the warm syrup.
7. Serve sopaipillas warm, with extra syrup on the side.

Makes about 16 sopaipillas