Chocolate Dulce De Leche Empanadas

Total Time: 1 hr Preparation Time: 40 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour (all purpose)
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
• 1/4-1/2 cup sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 2 eggs
• 4 -6 tablespoons water, milk or 4 -6 tablespoons coffee
• 2 (16 ounce) jars dulce de leche, store bought
• 1 dash salt, if you like the salted caramel flavor
• 1 egg, whisked with 1 tablespoon water to be used as egg wash
• 1/4 cup demerara sugar, to sprinkle on top of empanadas
• sprinkled with cocoa powder
• 1 scoop vanilla ice cream or 1 scoop frozen yogurt

Recipe

• 1 chocolate empanada dough.
• 2 place all the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon powder and salt in a food processor and mix well.
• 3 add the butter pieces and pulse until mixed.
• 4 add the eggs and 4 tablespoons of water/milk/coffee, mix until a clumpy dough forms. add the additional liquid one tablespoon at a time if needed.
• 5 remove the chocolate dough from the food processor and knead it a couple of times.
• 6 form dough into 2 balls, flatten into thick discs, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
• 7 on a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a thin sheet.
• 8 cut out round disc shapes for empanadas, use a round dough cutter as a mold. if you don’t have a dough cutter you can also use a small plate or cup and then use a knife to gently cut around. you can also you other shapes (hearts, etc). choose how large based on whether you want small or medium sized empanadas.
• 9 use the empanada discs immediately or store in the refrigerator until ready to use. you can also layer them with wax paper and freeze to use later.
• 10 chocolate dulce de leche empanada assembly.
• 11 place a spoonful of the dulce de leche on the center of the empanada disc.
• 12 fold the empanada discs and seal the edges gently with your fingers, then use the tip of a fork to further seal the edges. you can also try to make a repulgue or churito which means to twist and fold the edges gently with your fingers, however sweet empanada dough is more fragile than savory empanada dough and it’s much easier to use a fork to seal the edges.
• 13 lightly brush the top of the empanadas with the egg wash; this will give them a nice golden glow when baked.
• 14 sprinkle each empanada with a little bit of the demerara sugar.
• 15 chill the empanadas for at least 30 minutes or until ready to bake, this will help them seal better.
• 16 bake the empanadas in a pre-heated oven at 375 f for 15-20 minutes. the exact time will vary based on your oven and size of the empanadas.
• 17 serve the dulce de leche empanadas warm. they are still good served cold, but taste much better when eaten warm. you can sprinkle them with a little bit of cocoa powder and i highly recommend serving them with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.