Banana Chocolate Hazelnut Empanada

Happy New Years, out with the old and in with the new :)! I know it’s only a few hours ’till the clock strikes twelve and we welcome in 2011,  but you still have time to whip up something delicious. This super simple recipe will get you out of the kitchen fast and back to the fun (you could even cheat with a refrigerated pie crust).  A perfect treat to pair with a glass of Champagne and it’s so yummy, everyone will be toasting you.

Banana and Chocolate Hazelnut Empanadas

Yield: 16-20 Empanadas

Filling:

• 1 cup of Nutella spread
• 1 large banana, cut into small dices

For the pie pasty/dough:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbs. sugar
• 16 Tbs. (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut
  into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup ice water
• 1/8 cup of milk or cream for wash
• Sparkling Sugar

Directions:

To make the dough, in a bowl, combine the flour, salt, and sugar. Put the butter in a separate bowl. Place both bowls in the freezer for 10 minutes.

In a food processor, pulse the flour mixture until the ingredients are combined, about 5 pulses. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 15 to 20 pulses. Add 1/3 cup of the ice water and pulse twice. The dough should hold together when squeezed with your fingers but should not be sticky. If it is crumbly, add more water 1 Tbs. at a time, pulsing twice after each addition. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, divide in half and shape each half into a disk. Wrap the disks separately in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Remove 1 of the dough disks from the refrigerator and let stand for 5 minutes. Place the dough between 2 sheets of lightly floured waxed paper and roll out into a 12-inch round about 3/16 inch thick. Cut out 8-10  circles with a 3” cookie or biscuit cutter. Repeat the above steps with the second disc of dough

Preheat oven to 375°F. Mix Nutella and diced banana together and drop 2- 2.5 teaspoons of filling in center of dough circle. Fold pie dough together and pinch together. Use a fork to seal off the ends of the pinched edges. Brush with milk/cream wash and sprinkle with Sparkling sugar.

Bake for 20 minutes on a greased cookie sheet. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack.