Thursday, December 15, 2011

Only In New Mexico..well mostly :)

Biscochitos are a New Mexican tradition. They are delicate, flaky, and perfectly sweet! I know they aren’t good for you since the recipe calls for lard, but this is the authentic way to make them and they are so good just the way they are!



Biscochitos

2 cups Lard
2 Eggs
1 cup sugar + 1 more for the cinnamon sugar mixture
6 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp anise (optional)
6 tbsp orange juice

2 Tbsp Cinnamon and 1 cup sugar mixed together in a shallow bowl. Set Aside.

Combine the flour, baking, powder, and salt together. In a separate bowl, cream the lard, eggs, and 1 cup sugar together. Add dry ingredients and mix with mixer on low speed, mixture will be crumbly. Add the orange juice and mix with your hands or with the paddle mixture until combined. At this point you can add the anise if you prefer. Press dough together to form a ball and roll out dough to about 3/16 of an inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Then place cookies face down into cinnamon and sugar mixture and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool cookies on cooling racks and then recoat the face side with more cinnamon and sugar. Store in cool dry place.
*Do not put cookies in a sealed container or in a Ziploc bag because you don’t want cookies to have any moisture.