Mexican Shortbread Cookies Ojarascas Recipes

HOJARASCAS

Steps:

• In a small pot, add 1 cup water and the cinnamon stick.
• Bring to a boil. Turn off heat and set aside.
• Let this cool completely.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a mixing bowl, add the shortening and sugar.
• Mix well.
• Add salt, vanilla, cinnamon, and mix well.
• Turn mixer off.
• Add 1/2 of the flour. Mix only until combined.
• Turn mixer off again.
• Add the remaining 1/2 of the flour.
• Mix only until combined.
• Turn mixer off again.
• Add half of the cooled cinnamon tea.
• Turn mixer on low.
• Add only the amount of tea necessary to bring the dough together. About 1/2 cup.
• Turn mixer off and dust a clean surface and a rolling pin with flour.
• Place cookie dough on the surface and roll it out evenly.
• Cut out shapes using a cookies cutter.
• Place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake for 15 minutes.
• Mix the sugar and ground cinnamon in a small bowl.
• Cool the cookies completely on a rack.
• Carefully and gently add each cookie to the bowl and cover with the sugar coating.
• Repeat until all the cookies have been coated.
• Makes about 45 cookies. Enjoy!

MEXICAN SHORTBREAD COOKIES (OJARASCAS)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Measure ¼ cup of water in a measuring glass. Add anise extract. Stir to combine and set aside.
• Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, shortening, sugar, and cinnamon together on medium speed for about 2 minutes.
• Turn your mixer to low speed, then starting and ending with the flour, alternately add 1 cup of flour, half of the anise water, 1 cup of flour, and the remaining anise water. The dough will begin to pull away from the sides, but if the dough is still sticky, add more flour ½ cup at a time. Do not overmix or add too much flour or your dough will be tough and crumbly.
• Using your hands, shape 1 inch balls of dough and transfer to a baking sheet. Using the bottom of a cup or another flat surface, gently press on top of each ball to slightly flatten.
• Bake for 12 to 20 minutes, or until the cookies turn slightly brown on the edges.
• In a small bowl, add 3 teaspoons of cinnamon to 1 cup of sugar and stir to combine. Once you remove the cookies from the oven, let them cool slightly so you can pick them up (you want them to be warm though) and toss in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Transfer to parchment paper to cool completely.
• Store in an airtight container for up to one week.

MEXICAN OJARASCAS COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Sift together all dry ingredients into a bowl and set aside.
• In a large bowl, whip together the shortening and lard until nice and light.
• Add the dry mixture slowly, one cup at a time (6 cups only first).
• Place the mixture on the countertop or on a table.
• Add the remaining dry mixture with the water and continue to knead the dough by hand until you form a good nice dough ball.
• Sprinkle some flour on the countertop or on the table and spread out the dough with a rolling pin to a thickness of 1/2 inches and use a cookie cutter to make cookies.
• Place on a cookie sheet.
• Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes.
• While cookies are being baked, mix together the topping ingredients in a bowl.
• Once the cookies come out of the oven, place one by one in the sugar and cinnamon mixture one at a time and sprinkle them with this mixture.
• Place on a cooling rack to finish cooling.

PECAN SHORTBREAD COOKIES (MEXICAN WEDDING COOKIES)

Steps:

• Combine butter and sugar in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla extract, orange juice, water, and orange zest; beat until blended. Add flour and pecans and mix with a spoon until blended but crumbly. Cover and place in the refrigerator until chilled, 3 hours to overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Scoop up about a golf-ball-size of dough and press together into a ball. Flatten and smooth the edges, making sure the dough is firm and not flaky or crumbly, or else cookies will not rise or expand as they bake. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
• Bake in the preheated oven until edges are golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute before removing to a wire rack to cool, 8 to 10 minutes more.
• Sift some confectioners' sugar into a small bowl. Drop a cookie into the sugar, shake the bowl, flip the cookie, and agitate again to cover in sugar. Repeat with remaining cookies, adding more sugar as necessary.

MEXICAN SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the almonds and the flour on separate baking sheets. Place both in the oven and bake until the almonds are toasted and the flour is a deep creamy color, about 12 to 15 minutes, stirring the flour and the almonds once. Set aside to cool completely.
• Place the almonds and the sugar in a food processor and process until the nuts are ground. Sift the flour with the salt and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the almond mixture. Add the butter and shortening, working it in with your fingers until you have a crumbly dough.
• Press the dough together, flatten and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
• Butter a cookie sheet well. Unwrap the dough and place it on top of the plastic wrap; cover it with another sheet of plastic wrap. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out between the sheets of plastic with quick, short movements until it is about 1/4 inch thick; it will be crumbly around the edges.
• Using a cookie cutter 2 inches in diameter, cut out as many cookies as you can. Transfer them to the cookie sheet with a spatula, being very careful or they will break apart. Gather up the remaining dough and roll out and cut out more cookies. Repeat until all of the dough has been used.
• Bake the cookies on the top rack of the oven until they are pale golden in color, about 10 to 15 minutes. Sift the confectioners' sugar over them and set them aside to cool before removing them from the cookie sheet. Store the cookies in an airtight container.