Pecan Puerquitos
11.10.2023, recipes, notes
Puerquitos are a traditional Mexican sweet bread sold mostly by street vendors or specialty bakeries. Its origin is obscure, but the presence of Indian spices and use of pork lard in the original recipes indicate a colonial/post-colonial introduction.
Not unlike gingerbread, they are fragrant and dark in color. This is mostly due to the piloncillo incorporated in the dough. My version also calls for molasses.
This cookie is soft and thick but holds when dipped in hot coffee. If you leave it a few extra minutes in the oven or roll the dough out thinner, you can achieve something closer to a ginger snap.
This cookie is soft and thick but holds when dipped in hot coffee. If you leave it a few extra minutes in the oven or roll the dough out thinner, you can achieve something closer to a ginger snap.
120g rye flour
130g whole wheat flour
30g flour
114g cream cheese
113g butter
100g piloncillo
25g sugar
50g molasses
1/2tsp salt
1tsp cinnamon
1/4tsp ginger
1/4tsp nutmeg
1/4tsp clove
30g chopped dried apricot
50g chopped pecans
130g whole wheat flour
30g flour
114g cream cheese
113g butter
100g piloncillo
25g sugar
50g molasses
1/2tsp salt
1tsp cinnamon
1/4tsp ginger
1/4tsp nutmeg
1/4tsp clove
30g chopped dried apricot
50g chopped pecans
Mix together the three types of flours and salt. Add the apricots and pecans.
In a separate bowl, cream the butter with the sugar and piloncillo. Add the cream cheese and continue to beat. Add the molasses, salt and spices and combine until fully incorporated. Add the dry to your butter mixture and mix until a dough ball forms. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for two hours or preferable overnight.
The next day, preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C and bring the dough to room temperature. Roll out the dough to about 1cm thickness and cut out the pig shaped cookies. I drew a pig on a piece of card stock, cut it out and used it as a guide to cut the dough with a sharp knife around the paper. This was time consuming, but I didn’t have a pig shaped cookie cutter on hand.
Bake the cookies on a lined sheet for 12-15min.
In a separate bowl, cream the butter with the sugar and piloncillo. Add the cream cheese and continue to beat. Add the molasses, salt and spices and combine until fully incorporated. Add the dry to your butter mixture and mix until a dough ball forms. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for two hours or preferable overnight.
The next day, preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C and bring the dough to room temperature. Roll out the dough to about 1cm thickness and cut out the pig shaped cookies. I drew a pig on a piece of card stock, cut it out and used it as a guide to cut the dough with a sharp knife around the paper. This was time consuming, but I didn’t have a pig shaped cookie cutter on hand.
Bake the cookies on a lined sheet for 12-15min.
