Pan de Polvo (Mexican Cookies)

By cherichavez

These cookies are very popular for a good reason - they're DELICIOUS! Very simple to make, just make sure to coat them in the cinnamon sugar mixture while still warm so it melts into the cookies.

Ingredients

• 1 small Package cinnamon sticks
• 2 teaspoon Anise seed
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 can of 3 pound shortening
• 1/2 small box lard
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 5 pounds flour
• Powder cinnamon

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Make some tea out of the cinnamon sticks, anise, and water in a pan and boil. Boil till there is only about 1 cup left. Strain the spices out, so it is a clear liquid. You will only use 1/2 a cup, put that a side.

Make the dough, cream the shortening and lard till it is light and creamy looking. Then add the tea and sugar and cream again.

Start adding the flour a little at a time. Start with 2 cups. then add the powder cinnamon till the dough has a medium brown color. Now finish adding the rest of the flour. This is a sticky dough, so keep adding flour just until it is not sticky anymore and is workable.

Flour the surface, your hands and the rolling pin. and then pull out a workable amount of dough.

Roll the dough out till it is a little less the 1/4-inch thick. Cut with round cookie cutter.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Pull out of the oven to cool on the cooling racks.

As soon as touchable, coat them in the sugar/cinnamon bath. The cookies must be warm, so the sugar will melt on them.

Put them back on the cooling racks to finish cooling down.

Repeat till all dough used and baked.