anise : Pati's Mexican Table

December 21, 2011

Buñuelos: High Maintenance, But So Worth It!

When I was about 10 years old, my parents developed a habit of traveling during the December holidays without my sisters and I. Don’t ask me why they thought it was a good idea.

It was an awful, terrible, horrible idea.

The sweet highlight was that our babysitter Sari, whom we call Nana Tochito and who came from the mountainous regions of Oaxaca, prepared a full blown Christmas style meal to spoil and help us celebrate the holidays. No, we didn’t have the tree like our friends in school. But, thanks to my Nana we couldn’t care less. We exchanged gifts, ate lots of gelt, had the traditional big roasted turkey, drank ponche, and what we loved the most, ate buñuelos.

Mostly found around Christmas and New Year’s, buñuelos speak of nothing but celebration. And truly, what one has to celebrate is being lucky enough to find buñuelos at markets, fairs and street stands or having the time, patience and a reliable recipe to make them at home.

Buñuelos may be one of the most high maintenance treats one can make: but to cut to the chase, they are completely worth it.

Now with that said, you can skip to the end where I give you my most reliable recipe or read a bit more about why I – and everyone in Mexico- love them so, including their demanding and time consuming nature…

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Buñuelos: High Maintenance, But So Worth It!

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April 9, 2011

Rosquitas: Sweet Anise Ropes

ROSQUITAS: SWEET ANISE ROPES
Rosquitas de Anis
Makes about 24

INGREDIENTS
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
A pinch of salt
1 tsp anise seeds
4 oz, or 1/2 cup butter, cut into chunks
4 oz, or 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1/3 cup warm water
Confectioners’ sugar, optional

TO PREPARE
Mix the all purpose flour, baking powder, salt and anise seeds in a large mixing bowl. Toss in the butter chunks and the vegetable shortening in spoonfuls. Begin to mix it with your hands, until the butter and vegetable shortening are mixed in with the rest of the ingredients.

Add the sugar, egg yolks and warm water, working everything together with your hands. In less than a minute, the dough should be soft and malleable enough to be turned into a ball. Don’t knead it more than necessary, as soon as it all comes together in a homogeneous mass it is good enough.

Butter a large cookie sheet. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

One by one, make cookie balls with the palms of your hands, of about 1 1/2″. Then roll it out either with your hands or on a lightly floured surface, into a short rope form, of about 3 to 4″ long and less than 1″ wide. Twist the rope a bit and close the two ends making a loop. It is very easy! Like a doughnut shape!

Place the finished rosquitas on a buttered cookie sheet until you have finished the dough. Place them in the oven anywhere from 20 to 25 minutes, or until cooked and lightly browned on top. Remove them from the oven, let them cool, and sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.