-cinnamon Thanksgiving day, I whipped up the following in lieu of the traditional pumpkin (ho-hum) pie. Both the crust and the filling are excellent. The flavors are a bit richer and more interesting than the traditional punkin' pie (at least my punkin' pie). The only problem that I encountered was that the dough was a bit hard to handle++it tended to tear and was a bit hard to roll out thin. That may be because instead of chilling it for a half-hour like the recipe says, I put it in the fridge and forgot about it for two and a half hours! It seemed to get easier to handle as it warmed up. Also, instead of making the dough by hand, I used my food processor and it turned out just fine. Just don't over process the dough if you do it that way These remind me of Mexican Dim-Sum. In fact I'm sure that they'd be good with meat fillings too++say, curried pork or beef and onions (without the final sprinkling of cinnamon sugar though). Sift together first 4 ingredients. Cut in the shortening and butter using a pastry blender or 2 knives. The mixture should resemble coarse meal. Combine brandy and milk, and drizzle over flour mixture, stirring with a fork to distribute. Do not over-blend. Form into a flat disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 200ºC . To make the filling, blend together the pumpkin, brown sugar, spices, egg and vanilla. When dough is chilled, roll out thinly on a floured board or pastry cloth. Cut into 4or 13 cm circles. Place about 2 tablespoons pumpkin filling on the lower half of each dough circle. Fold over top half. Press the edges together with a fork. Brush tops with egg wash and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until golden. While still warm, sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. These may be baked 1 day ahead. Before serving, warm in a 180ºC oven for 8 minutes. Makes 14 to 16 empanadas. Pumpkin Empanadas (Jacqueline Higuera McMahan) When Grandmama made these little pies she included anise, which grew wild around our rancho. San Francisco Chronicle, 0. 873015873015.88.