Chocolate dulce de leche empanadas

User Reviews

4.9

456 reviews
Excellent
  • Prep Time

    1 hr

  • Cook Time

    20 mins

  • Additional Time

    1 hr

  • Total Time

    1 hr 20 mins

  • Servings

    24 empanadas

  • Course

    Dessert

  • Cuisine

    South American

Chocolate dulce de leche empanadas

This recipe makes chocolate empanadas filled with dulce de leche, combining a cocoa-flavored dough with a creamy caramel filling. The dough includes cocoa powder, cinnamon, and sugar for a rich chocolate note, while the filling uses dulce de leche, optionally salted for balance. After chilling, the dough is rolled thin and cut into discs for forming hand pies.

Description

The Chocolate dulce de leche empanadas feature a tender dough created by blending flour, cocoa powder, sugar, cinnamon, and butter, then binding with eggs and liquid. This dough chills for firmness before being rolled and shaped into discs. The filling consists of dulce de leche, a smooth, sweet caramel, which is spooned into each dough circle and sealed with an egg wash before sprinkling with demerara sugar to add texture and subtle sweetness. Once baked, the empanadas offer a contrast between the slightly crisp cocoa crust and the rich, creamy dulce de leche center.

These empanadas can be dusted with cocoa powder and served with scoops of vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt for a balanced dessert experience. Their chocolate base and caramel filling make them suitable for dessert or a special treat.

After forming, the dough discs can be stored in the refrigerator or frozen for later use. The recipe suggests using different liquids such as milk or coffee to customize dough flavor. Cinnamon is optional but adds a subtle warming aroma. The salted caramel variant enhances depth of flavor. Using demerara sugar on top improves the crust's texture after baking.

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Ingredients

Servings

Chocolate empanada dough

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

Dulce de leche filling and assembly

  • 32 oz dulce de leche store bought or homemade
  • salt dash, optional, 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:

  • cocoa powder sprinkled with
  • vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt, a scoop of

Instructions

Chocolate empanada dough

  1. Place all the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon powder and salt in a food processor and mix well.
  2. Add the butter pieces and pulse until mixed.
  3. 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.
  4. Remove the chocolate dough from the food processor and knead it a couple of times.
  5. Form dough into 2 balls, flatten into thick discs, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
  6. On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a thin sheet.
  7. 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.
  8. 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

  1. Place a spoonful of the dulce de leche on the center of the empanada disc.
  2. 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.
  3. Lightly brush the top of the empanadas with the egg wash; this will give them a nice golden glow when baked.
  4. Sprinkle each empanada with a little bit of the demerara sugar.
  5. Chill the empanadas for at least 30 minutes or until ready to bake, this will help them seal better.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
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4.9

456 reviews
Excellent

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