Gansito Cookies
10.20.2023, recipes, notes
Recently I’ve been testing out the homemade version of industrial cakes found at Oxxo. Oxxo is a chain convenience store found all over Mexico. It’s where you go to buy staples, chips, soda, candy…all sorts of snacks. Essentially like Family Mart in Japan or a bodega in New York.
Gansitos are small, individually wrapped Mexican snack cakes created by Marinela (Bimbo’s pastry subdivision) in 1957. The original Gansito is made up of spongy cake filled with strawberry jam, crème filling and coated with chocolate and sprinkles. Nowadays Gansitos are part of a nostalgic culture similar to the one fueling Twinkies in America.
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Gansitos are small, individually wrapped Mexican snack cakes created by Marinela (Bimbo’s pastry subdivision) in 1957. The original Gansito is made up of spongy cake filled with strawberry jam, crème filling and coated with chocolate and sprinkles. Nowadays Gansitos are part of a nostalgic culture similar to the one fueling Twinkies in America.
Makes 12 sandwich cookies
For the cornstarch cookies:
230g butter at room temperature
150g sugar
4 egg yolks
1tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
200g cornstarch
200g flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
50g powdered sugar
For the cornstarch cookies:
230g butter at room temperature
150g sugar
4 egg yolks
1tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
200g cornstarch
200g flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
50g powdered sugar
Sift all dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, cream butter with sugar until smooth. Slowly add the egg yolks one at a time followed by the vanilla.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet in batches until combined. Transfer the dough to a clean surface and roll into a ball. Cover with plastic and refrigerate the dough for at least one hour or overnight.
Remove from fridge and allow the dough to reach room temperature, divide into two and roll out to about 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out the sandwich circles* and bake for 10-12 minutes. Do not let the cookies brown! They are ready right before they begin to brown. It takes practice to know when to take them out, but when it doubt remove from the oven and let them cook on the hot tray for a few minutes. Allow the cookies to cool completely before sandwiching them.
*Depending on the size of cookie cutter you use, you may have leftover dough. I used a 5.5cm diameter cutter. The dough freezes very well rolled in a ball and wrapped in film. You can then thaw, roll out and bake as usual.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet in batches until combined. Transfer the dough to a clean surface and roll into a ball. Cover with plastic and refrigerate the dough for at least one hour or overnight.
Remove from fridge and allow the dough to reach room temperature, divide into two and roll out to about 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out the sandwich circles* and bake for 10-12 minutes. Do not let the cookies brown! They are ready right before they begin to brown. It takes practice to know when to take them out, but when it doubt remove from the oven and let them cook on the hot tray for a few minutes. Allow the cookies to cool completely before sandwiching them.
*Depending on the size of cookie cutter you use, you may have leftover dough. I used a 5.5cm diameter cutter. The dough freezes very well rolled in a ball and wrapped in film. You can then thaw, roll out and bake as usual.
For the cream cheese filling:
Beat one part butter to two parts cream cheese until fluffy. Slowly add powdered sugar to taste. Add vanilla bean paste and salt to taste. The making of this filling is more intuitive than the cookie dough. I like to salt mine very well and go easy on the sugar since this will be paired with both strawberry jam and chocolate.
For the chocolate coating:
Chop about 250g of bittersweet chocolate and melt it over a water bath. Keep slightly lukewarm to coat the cookies. This helps maintain a fluid consistency which is easier to handle when dipping the cookies into it.
Take half of your cookie rounds and dip the top side of each into the melted chocolate. Decorate with chocolate sprinkles before the chocolate sets. Lay them out on a rack for a few minutes.
Take the other half of the cookie rounds and carefully spread the cream cheese filling and strawberry jam (I used Bonne Maman) over the bottom side of each. Top your sandwich with the chocolate covered rounds. Place them in an airtight container and store in the fridge!
