By Annabel Adams

“Chilean fried squash bread with brown sugar sauce. Sinfully delicious but takes a bit of work to make…and some practice.” – Judy Szewczyk 

I’ve had a fascination with my Chilean heritage ever since I was a little girl. I was curious to know what it meant to be from a different country and would endlessly pry my mom and grandma for stories about their time in Chile.

Fortunately for me, my grandma had compiled a book of family recipes a few years before I was born. When I was old enough to use the stove, I dug through the book and picked out my favorite Chilean recipes.

 Once I came across Sopaipillas, I knew they were the perfect appetizer for a rainy day or a springtime tea party. If you want a real taste of Chilea at home, try my family recipe below. You will not be disappointed.

Ingredients (makes about 8 Sopaipillas)

Bread

• 2 pounds flour
• ¼ pound Crisco, heated until liquid
• 1 cup salmuera (hot water with 1 teaspoon of salt)
• ½ pound mashed cooked summer squash OR ½ pound pumpkin puree 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar

Sauce

• 6 cups of water
• 1 pound dark brown sugar
• 1 cup sugar
• Peel of 1 lemon
• Peel of 1 orange
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch 

Instructions

For the bread:

1. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Add salmuera and Crisco and mix. 
3. Knead dough with hands until soft.
4. Form into medium palm-sized circles
5. Fry in a pan with hot oil or Crisco until golden brown. Then, flip and fry on the other side until golden brown.
6. Place on a paper towel to get rid of excess oil.

For the sauce:

You can skip the sauce and serve the sopaipillas with powdered sugar, pebre, or guacamole.

1. Boil water in a large pan and add the rest of the sauce ingredients.
2. Cook at medium heat until the sugar melts, stirring often.
3. Put a few of the fried sopaipillas into the pot of sauce at a time. Let the sopaipillas soak in the sauce for about 3 minutes.
4. Remove from sauce and serve in a bowl.
5. ¡Disfruta!