Directions: |
Directions:Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
Whisk in anise seed and orange zest.
In separate bowl, combine the sugar and lard, Using an electric mixer, cream the lard and sugar until light in color and fluffy—about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, vanilla and liqueur; stir, then beat to combine. Gradually beat in the flour mixture and stop as soon as mixture is combined. Dough should be thick and similar in consistency to a pie crust dough. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.
Preheat the over to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line baking sheet with parchment paper (or I just use my well-seasoned cookie sheets without the paper). In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon for topping.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to ¼ inch thickness (or thinner—my husband says they should be thin and crispy but that’s not how they are made in Albuquerque or Santa Fe). Cut out cookies using shaped cookie cutters or a beverage glass—about 2½ inches in diameter. Place cookies on lined baking sheet and bake until just barely golden and set, about 10 to 12 minutes (be careful not to overbake). Let the cookies cool for 1 minute and then carefully dunk them into the topping. Place on cookie rack until cooled.
We like to decorate about ½ of them like Christmas sugar cookies. For some reason, they taste better and better as they age. |
Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: One day, after being married for quite awhile, my husband said, “I miss my mom’s biscochitos at Christmas.” Turns out that these are traditional New Mexican cookies. The family in Albuquerque dug around and finally found the recipe in her handwriting. It took some trial and error, but he says I make them just right now. Grandma Fina’s Biscochitos has been slightly updated. She used wine or orange juice for the liqueur which we like. And I prefer not to use lard.
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This recipe for Grandma Fina’s Biscochitos is from