Dulce de Leche Empanadas

Empanadas are a common food staple in Latin cuisine, and they vary from sweet to savory. Traditionally, we make these around the Holidays and enjoy them in the morning with coffee or as an afternoon snack. My great grandmother passed this recipe down to my grandma, who passed it down to my mother, who now passed it down to me! We made Dulce de Leche Empanadas this weekend and I’m so excited to share the recipe with y’all! This recipe yields about 40 individual empanadas. This recipe makes me feel at home, and is an easy recipe to make alongside loved ones. If you have kids, invite them to join in by grinding the pecans, or forming the small balls of dough, I recall these being my special tasks growing up.

Author: Yadira Torres

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: Mexican

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 40 mins

Serves: 40

My great grandmother's recipe for Dulce de Leche Empanadas.

Ingredients

2 cups sugar for coating empanadas
2 tbsp ground Cinnamon
¼ cup fresh ground pecans
1 can dulce de leche
12 oz beer or coke a cola
1 cup sugar for dough
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 lb all-vegetable shortening
2 lbs flour
1 egg whisked in a small bowl

Instructions

Carefully crack open a handful of pecans and take out the pecan seed. Grind them into small bits using a nut chopper or by placing them inside a zip lock bag and crushing them with a rolling pin.
In a medium sized bowl, empty out the dulce de leche and mix in the pecans, set aside. This will be your filling.
In a separate bowl, add the sugar and cinnamon, mix with a spoon and set aside as well. This is for coating the warm empanadas once they're baked.
In a large mixing bowl, add the all-vegetable shortening and using a hand mixer, blend on medium speed for 1 minute or until the shortening fluffs up and peaks are formed.
Add the flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt, then start kneading the dough by hand. Slowly add in the beer. Begin forming the dough by hand, and split the dough into 2 large balls.
Place a towel over the dough and let it rest for 10 minutes. Pat with flour and begin to form 1.5 inch sized balls. Try to get them to be as even as possible.
Once you have your small balls of dough, use a tortilla press to get a flat piece of dough. Fill with a teaspoon of the dulce de leche/pecan mix.
Dip a brush or fork into the whisked egg, and lightly brush the inside edges of the empanada with the egg. This will glue the empanada together.
Fold the empanada in half, and using a fork, pinch the ends to close the empanada. Using the fork, poke two holes at the top of the empanada and place on a baking sheet. Repeat the process until you fill up your baking sheets.
Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes, the empanadas are done when the edges and the tops are lightly browned.
Remove from oven and immediately toss in the sugar/cinnamon bowl. Place on a separate dish and enjoy warm!

The Filling

My Mom says that the store bought peeled pecans just don’t have the same taste, so cracking the pecans by hand is worth it once you taste the empanadas! Mama knows best, so we got to cracking!

Dulce de leche is a rich, thick sauce similar to caramel. It can be made by simmering a can of sweetened condensed milk in a pot of water for 2-3 hours. But luckily, you can buy it in the same can with all the work pre done for you! Not to mention it’s safer! Open the can and taste it, I promise you’ll keep finding excuses to dip your finger in it, it’s addicting!

The Dough

This is where you get your hands dirty, you have to mix the dough mostly by hand, you’re looking for a texture similar to making tortillas. If it’s too sticky, keep adding flour a little at a time. If the dough cracks when you flatten it out, it may be too dry, so add in a small amount of beer. The beer helps the dough rise, it doesn’t give it any special flavor, so use the beer you have on hand or a can of coke will do.