Biscochitos Recipe #266482
Biscochitos are the state cookie of New Mexico. They traditionally use lard, but in this version from Wayne Harley Brachman's Cakes and Cowpokes, they are made with butter. I made this to serve at a Posada Celebration in the shape of stars - beautiful and delicious! (Chilling and rolling times are included in the preparation time).
by acerast
4¼ hours | 3¾ hours prep
SERVES 15 , 30 2 1/2-inch cookies
- 2 cups flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon ground aniseed
- 1/2 teaspoon ground aniseed
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 tablespoons ice water
- Put the flour, 3/4 cup of the sugar, the baking powder, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of the anise in a large bowl and whisk to blend.
- In a small bowl, cut the butter into pea-sized pieces.
- Using a pastry blender or your fingertips, work the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal.
- Add the egg yolk, vanilla, and ice water and mix with your fingers just until the dough comes together into a ball.
- Working on a lightly floured surface, take egg-sized pieces of the dough and smear them away from you with the heel of your hand into 6-inch streaks. (This step helps to achieve the layered texture of the authentic cookie without using lard).
- Scrape up all the streaks of dough and pile them on top of one another to form a disk.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- On a portable (this will be refrigerated again), lightly floured surface, roll the dough to a thickness of 1/4 inch.
- Refrigerate for 30 miutes, or until firm.
- Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375°F.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or use a non-stick cookie sheet.
- With a cookie cutter, cut out 2 1/2-inch circles (I use stars), and place them on the cookie sheets about 2-inches apart.
- Chill the cookies 10 minutes before baking.
- Reroll the scraps of dough and cut out more cookies, chilling before baking.
- Meanwhile, mix the remaining 1 Tablespoon ground anise and 2 Tablespoon sugar together in a small bowl.
- Sprinkle a thin layer of the sugar mixture over the cookies.
- Bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges.
- Cool on the pan on a wire rack.
- May be store at room temperature, well-wrapped, for up to 5 days.
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5 stars