Friday, May 15, 2009

Chocolate Banana Empanadas -- Tyler Florence Fridays


Time for Tyler Florence Fridays, this weekend eve I have a fun treat with south of the border flair...Tyler's Chocolate Banana Empanadas! I stumbled across this recipe on the foodnetwork site and knew I had to try it.

Chocolate Banana Empanadas

4 large ripe bananas
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 recipe empanada dough, recipe follows
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, broken in chunks (I used semisweet chocolate chips)
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting


Mash the bananas, sugar, and cinnamon together in a mixing bowl until creamy, but not completely smooth – you should still have pieces of banana chunks.

Spoon a generous tablespoon of the banana filling on the empanada pastry circles and stick a piece of chocolate on top. I actually just mixed the chocolate in with the mashed banana.

Form and bake the empanadas as directed in the recipe.

Empanada Dough

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup masa harina
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash (I skipped the egg wash)
Butter, for greasing the pans (not need on baking mat)


In a large bowl, sift together the flour, masa harina, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the melted butter. Gradually add 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of water, working it in with your hands to incorporate; the dough should be easy to handle and not sticky.

Form the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic, and chill for 30 minutes. I did not chill my dough, I think I would have had a really tough time rolling out if I had.


Lightly flour your rolling pin and counter. Divide the dough in 1/2 so it will be easier to work with and roll it out to 1/8-inch thickness. Using a 4-inch cookie or biscuit cutter, cut out 10 circles of dough; repeat with the other 1/2.



Spoon 2 generous tablespoons of filling into the center of each pastry circle, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Brush the edges with the egg wash and then fold the dough over in 1/2 to enclose the filling and form a semi-circle. Tightly seal the edges by crimping with the tines of a fork. Chill at least 30 minutes before baking. I also skipped this chilling, I just didn't think it was necessary. I'm often skipping chilling times I deem unessential to the final result, so naughty :)



Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place the empanadas on a buttered baking sheet and brush the tops with additional egg wash. Using a fork, prick a few holes in the top of the empanadas for steam to escape. Bake for 30 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown.



Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve hot.


Results & Changes: My only change was to add about 1/4 sugar to the empanada dough, I had read some reviews that it was bland. These little empanadas were a really fun little treat and the kids loved them. Picky husband was not even remotely interested in trying one, I thought they were pretty good. They are not difficult and the empanada dough is really easy to work with, I would say this is a great recipe to do with kids since it's really basic, even though there are a few different steps. Thank you for visiting, head on over to Tyler Florence Fridays to see what other delicious Tyler dishes people picked to try this week :)

13 comments:

Cristine said...

YUM YUM YUM! Those look and sound fantastic!

Kim said...

I'm still jealous of your Mickey and Minnie waffles!! I've been eyeing the waffle irons on ebay : ) These look terrific! I know what you mean about picky husbands. I made chocolate covered bananas and my husband wouldn't even try one. Instead he had chocolate milk and a banana!!?? I tease him all the time that he just isn't right in the head : )

Debbie said...

Does that ever look good! Absolutely delicious!

NKP said...

Wow! What a treat. So creative, I have never seen dessert empanadas before. Great idea. The kids must have been thrilled.

Anonymous said...

Oh, gosh. I so have to make these.

Deb in Hawaii said...

I love empanandas and these look amazing! Love the banana and chocolate pairing in them!

Jenny said...

This is on my to do list this week, and yes, I'm planning on doing it with the kids. Great minds think alike? :-)

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure what I think of bananas and chocolate in empanadas, but I won't knock it either! A sweet nosh sounds really good right now, and these look fabulous!

Michele said...

Yum! I would love to try these.

Arlene Delloro said...

These look incredible (as do your gnocchi). Lucky kids!!!

Anonymous said...

these look so good, i have this recipe bookmarked. i love chocolate and bananas together.

Elyse said...

OH MY GAH. Do these empanadas look amazing or what?! What a fabulous choice for TFF. I found myself reaching for my screen to grab one. Fabulous job! Sorry that I've been an absent commenter; I just finished up my law school exams and am finally getting around to my google reader.

Trish said...

These look seriously delicious! Wow....okay...something new to try for sure!

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