Chocolate-banana Empanadas

Total Time: 2 hrs 40 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr 10 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients

• 4 large ripe bananas
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, broken in chunks
• confectioners' sugar, for dusting
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup masa harina
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 large egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
• butter, for greasing the pans

Recipe

• 1 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. form and bake the empanadas as directed in the recipe. dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve hot.
• 2 for the empanada dough:.
• 3 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.
• 4 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.
• 5 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.
• 6 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.