• Pastry: Leave refrigerated puff pastry at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes before unrolling it, but not longer, or it will get too soft. If using frozen, thaw it completely.

  2 packets ready-rolled puff pastry

Make the filling:

• Saute onions: Heat the oil in the pan and cook the finely diced onions for 2-3 minutes or until softer. Add the minced garlic and stir for another minute.

  1 tablespoon oil + 1 small onion + 2 garlic cloves
• Add ground beef and all the spices. Cook for 2 minutes, breaking the lumps of meat with a wooden spoon.

  9 oz ground beef + ½ teaspoon sweet paprika + ½ teaspoon sweet smoked paprika + 1 teaspoon cumin + 1 teaspoon coriander + 1 pinch of red pepper flakes + ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt + ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• Cook the filling: Add tomato paste and cook for another 5 minutes, occasionally stirring. Let cool slightly. In the meantime, preheat the oven and cut the puff pastry into discs.

  1 tablespoon tomato paste
• Preheat the oven to 400°F/ 200°C and line the baking sheets with parchment paper. If you are using a convection oven, you can bake two trays simultaneously. In this case, preheat the convection oven to 375°F/ 180°C.

Cut the puff pastry discs:

• Cut the pastry: If the pastry is already rolled, simply unroll it and cut out the discs. If it's not rolled, gently roll it out to about ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick to get a sheet roughly 10 x 16 inches (25 x 40 cm). You should be able to cut 7-8 discs out of each pastry sheet. Cut the discs using a cookie cutter or a small bowl of appropriate size.
• Handle the scraps: Gather the scraps and stack them lightly, then roll them out gently. Try not to roll too much to keep the texture. You should get 2–3 more empanadas from each sheet, for a total of 4–6 extra empanadas.
• Tip: If your dough feels warm or soft, place the discs on a baking sheet and chill them for 10–15 minutes. This helps the layers stay intact when baking.

Fill and bake the empanadas

• Fill the empanadas: Place about 1 ½ to 2 teaspoons of ground beef filling in the center of each disc. Fold the pastry over the filling to form a half-moon shape. Press the edges together gently to seal, then crimp with a fork or pinch the edges with your fingers to ensure they stay closed while baking.
• Egg wash: Place the empanadas on the prepared baking sheets. Mix the egg and the milk in a small bowl. Use this mixture to brush the empanadas.

  1 small egg + 1 tablespoon milk
• Bake them in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F/ 180°C and bake the empanadas for 10-15 more minutes until they are golden brown and cooked through.