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1
Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Rub the cold lard into the dry ingredients with the fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the cold water a little at a time, mixing only until the dough just comes together. The dough is ready when it holds its shape when pressed but remains short and crumbly to the touch, not smooth or elastic.
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2
Wrap the dough and rest it while the filling is prepared. In a heavy pan over medium heat, cook the ground or finely minced meat, breaking it apart, until no pink remains. Add the raisins, piñon nuts, piloncillo or brown sugar, cinnamon, and cloves. Stir and cook until the sugar has dissolved fully into the meat and the mixture coheres as a moist, fragrant, sweet-savoury mass. Taste: the sweetness must be substantial — this is a medieval Spanish sweet meat preparation, not a savoury filling with a hint of spice. Remove from heat and cool completely before filling the pastry.
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3
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to approximately 3 mm thickness. Cut into rounds of roughly 10–12 cm diameter. Place a spoonful of the cooled bizcochacito filling at the centre of each round, leaving a clear border. Fold the circle over to form a half-moon. Press the edges firmly together with the fingers, then crimp the full seam with the tines of a fork. This is where the dish lives or dies: a seal that fails in the hot oil will release the filling, collapse the pastry, and ruin the batch — press and crimp with deliberate, even pressure so no gap remains along the entire seam.
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4
Heat the lard or oil in a deep, heavy pot to 175°C. Fry the empanadas in small batches, turning once, until the pastry is golden on both sides and the surface shows the characteristic short, slightly blistered texture of a lard crust. Do not crowd the pot: the temperature must not drop or the pastry will absorb fat rather than crisp.
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5
Lift the empanadas from the oil and drain briefly. Immediately — while still hot — dust generously with powdered sugar. The sugar must be applied at once; on a cool surface it will not adhere in the same way.