Mexican hojarascas cookies are crumbly, nicely flavored with cinnamon, and perfect for gifting your family and friends in the holidays. Learn how to make this easy recipe!
½cuppork lard(optional, you can double amount of butter)
⅓cupgranulated sugar
1cup water
1stickcinnamon
½teaspoonground cinnamon
2whole cloves
pinchsalt
For coating
1stickcinnamon
¾cupgranulated sugar
Instructions
Place water in a small saucepan and add 1 cinnamon stick and whole cloves.
Bring to a boil, low the heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until water has been reduced in half.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the tea to reach room temperature.
Make the dough
Place lard, butter, sugar, and salt in a stand mixer bowl. Mix at high speed until you’ll have a fluffy and light mixture (about 5 minutes).
Add flour and ground cinnamon to the bowl then mix at low speed until lightly combined.
Change to the flat beater and while running the mixer at low speed, add cinnamon tea one tablespoon at a time until everything is combined into a dough. NOTE:You won’t need all tea, so make sure to not add all at once!
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and form a ball.
Wrap with cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Make the mixture for coating
Place the cinnamon stick in a blender or a spice grinder.
Pulse a few times until the cinnamon breaks into small pieces.
Run the blender at high speed for 15-20 seconds at a time until most of it is powdered but there are still some large pieces.
Place the ground cinnamon in a small bowl, add 3/4 cup of sugar, and mix to combine. Set aside.
Make the hojarascas cookies
Preheat the oven to 360°F/180°C and prepare a cookie baking sheet with parchment paper or butter.
Lightly flour a working surface and a rolling pin and roll the dough into a sheet.
Cut the cookies with the shapes you prefer (stars, hearts, flowers, etc.) and place them on the baking sheet.
Gather the scraps, roll them, and cut out more cookies until all dough is used.
Bake
Bake for 15-17 minutes or until slightly browned on the bottom and edges.
Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
Carefully transfer small batches of cookies to the bowl with the cinnamon sugar mixture and coat on both sides until nicely covered.
Place the cookies on a wire rack and allow them to cool down completely before serving.
Notes
You can make this hojarascas recipe by hand, just make sure the butter and lard are nicely softened, and then use a hand whisk.
Make sure lard and butter are a bit softened before mixing with sugar.
Be careful when handling the cookies before they cool down as they're very fragile.