Chilean Pumpkin Sopaipillas With Honey (2024)

These authentic Chilean pumpkin sopaipillas with a drizzle of honey are an easy and delicious dessert or appetizer. Today I will teach you how to make them from scratch.

Sopaipillas are basically a fried dough made with pumpkin puree that is traditional in Chile.

Sopaipillas are similar to buñuelos or gorditas so you can get an idea of their texture and flavor. They are usually a bit plain so you can add any type of sauce or filling that you like.

You can also use a deep fryer to make the process easier and without too many oil splatters.

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Is it sopaipilas or sopapilas?

The real name is sopaipillas but when the recipe came to New Mexico, people in the US started calling it sopapillas. And the name has remained since then in America.

How to make the sopaipilla’s dough from scratch?

This is a pretty easy dough that you can easily make without using a stand mixer. It doesn’t require a huge amount of kneading.

This is a pretty elastic dough that requires some grease to work. So, this recipe includes a good amount of melted butter that will prevent the dough from cracking.

The ingredients for the dough are:

• 2 cups flour (+¼ cup for kneading)
• 400 gr pumpkin (or 1 cup pumpkin puree)
• 3 tbsp melted butter
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt

I start boiling the pumpkin until it is fork-tender. I let it cool completely before smashing it and making the puree.

You can use unsweetened pumpkin puree to skip this step.

Then in a big bowl, I mix the flour, baking powder, and salt. Then I toss the wet ingredients: pumpkin puree and melted butter. I mix with the help of a spatula.

If the dough is too sticky, add a bit of flour. Add small batches of flour slowly.

If the dough is too hard, add some of the pumpkin water.

Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

Then, on a clean surface, sprinkle a bit of flour and knead until the dough is bouncy and is not sticking to the table.

Flatten with the help of a rolling pin. Cut medium size circles. I use a glass and it does the work just fine.

It’s important to pierce the surface of the rounds with a fork (like in the pictures) to remove air. This way, the sopaipillas will remain flat while frying.

Finally, fry each round and serve with a drizzle of honey!

What can you serve with sopaipillas

There is a huge amount of sauces and dressings that can go with sopaipillas. You can either serve them savory or sweet.

Savory options:

• Pebre
• Butter
• Cheese
• Mustard

Sweet options:

• Melted chocolate
• Dulce de leche (in Chile is called manjar)
• Honey (my favorite)
• Powdered sugar