What makes empanadas special?

From the sweet to the savory, there's no filling that isn't made better when it's wrapped in a delicate, flaky pastry . Therein lies the magic of empanadas. This popular Latin American food is renowned around the world as a decadent and filling main course.

Do you refrigerate dulce de leche?

Your dulce de leche will last about two weeks in the fridge if kept in a sealed container or three months if left in the unopened can . If you're employing the boiling method it's better to use the cans that do not have tab openers although I have not had an issue with them personally.

Do you eat dulce de leche by itself?

Primarily it's a dessert and baking ingredient, but it can also be eaten on its own just with a spoon ! Dulce de leche is often paired with ice cream, spread on bread, and used to fill cookies and cakes.

Do empanadas taste better baked or fried?

Both cooking methods produce delicious empanadas. If you want a healthier merienda, bake them in the oven. If you're working with less time, frying them is the way to go . Try both and ask your loved ones to vote on their favorite.

What nationality makes the best empanadas?

Argentina has become world-famous for their empanadas which are widely available in Buenos Aires and across the country as fast-food options and restaurant staples. As with many recipes, that of empanadas was shared through generations and carried to many other nations.

Are empanadas deep fried or baked?

They derive from the Spanish word “empanar” which means to envelope or wrap something. Makes sense because empanadas are wrapped over some sort of filling mixture. Empanadas are either baked or fried.

What do people in Argentina eat with dulce de leche?

What: Dulce de Leche is a type of caramel, a sticky and sweet Argentine specialty that seems to go in and on just about every breakfast, snack and dessert. Pastries of all shapes and sizes, especially croissants, known as medialunas , are filled with dulce de leche.

How do you eat condensed milk?

Use it as a dessert topping. While you can transform it into caramel sauce, sweet and rich condensed milk is great as a dessert topping on it's own, too. Simply spoon your desired amount onto ice cream, brownies, pie or pancakes. Yum!

Is it safe to cook dulce de leche in can?

This question was answered by a scientist here, explaining why it's very unlikely to get toxins transferred to the condensed milk as it cooks in the can . Basically, he says that the metals in the can are very unlikely to leak out at relatively low temps such as boiling water.

Chocolate dulce de leche empanadas - Laylita's Recipes (2024)

March 7, 2013June 14, 2020

These chocolate dulce de leche empanadas are made with a homemade chocolate empanada dough and filled with creamy dulce de leche or caramel.

Jump to Recipe

Chocolate dulce de leche empanadas - Laylita's Recipes (1)

En Español

Dulce de leche is very popular in our house, sometimes we make it home from scratch, other times we buy it at the store; regardless it doesn’t last long around here. Empanadas are also another very popular food in our home. I wanted to combine these two favorites into one, but I also happen to love the taste of chocolate + dulce de leche so wanted to try making a chocolate empanada dough instead of the standard sweet empanada dough. I was a little bit concerned that adding cocoa powder to the dough would make it very fragile and hard to handle, however it worked out fine and tasted great when baked.

Chocolate dulce de leche empanadas - Laylita's Recipes (2)

In general, sweet empanada dough is more fragile than savory dough because of the addition of sugar, but it just needs a little extra care and it works great – plus, for any type of sweet dessert empanadas it is completely worth it to make your own homemade sweet dough. The taste is so much better than the store bought savory discs – which I do like for savory fillings, but not so much for sweet ones.

Chocolate dulce de leche empanadas - Laylita's Recipes (3)

There is high chance that these chocolate dulce de leche empanadas will leak out some of the caramel when baking. Most of it does stay inside in the empanada and all you need to do is just wait for them cool down enough to be safe to handle and scoop the leaked dulce de leche from around them. I tried making a couple of small cuts in the top of them, it still leaks out, but it at least leaks over the empanada.

I also noticed that the empanadas that were sealed with a fork were more likely to leak than those were sealed using a manual twist and fold repulgue technique. If you love the taste of chocolate and cinnamon you can optionally add a little bit of cinnamon powder to the empanada dough.

Chocolate dulce de leche empanadas

Chocolate dulce de leche empanadas made with a homemade chocolate empanada dough and filled with creamy dulce de leche or caramel

4.87 from 152 votes

Print Pin Your Questions and Comments

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Latin American

Keyword: Chocolate empanadas, Dessert empanadas, Dulce de leche, Empanadas

Ingredients

Chocolate empanada dough

3 cups flour all purpose
¾ cup cocoa powder unsweetened
¼ – ½ cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder – optional if you want a hint of cinnamon
2 sticks of unsalted butter or 8 oz/226grams cut into small pieces
2 eggs
4-6 tablespoons of water milk, or coffee

Dulce de leche filling and assembly

32 oz dulce de leche store bought or homemade
Optional: Dash of salt if you like the salted caramel flavor
1 egg whisked with 1 tablespoon water to be used as egg wash
¼ cup demerara sugar to sprinkle on top of empanadas

To serve:

Sprinkled with cocoa powder
A scoop of vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt

Instructions

Chocolate empanada dough

Place all the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon powder and salt in a food processor and mix well.
Add the butter pieces and pulse until mixed.
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.
Remove the chocolate dough from the food processor and knead it a couple of times.
Form dough into 2 balls, flatten into thick discs, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a thin sheet.
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.
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.

Chocolate dulce de leche empanada assembly

Place a spoonful of the dulce de leche on the center of the empanada disc.
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.
Lightly brush the top of the empanadas with the egg wash; this will give them a nice golden glow when baked.
Sprinkle each empanada with a little bit of the demerara sugar.
Chill the empanadas for at least 30 minutes or until ready to bake, this will help them seal better.
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.
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.