Biscochitos Food

BISCOCHITOS

Steps:

• Put the flour, 3/4 cup of the sugar, the baking powder, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of the anise in a large bowl and whisk to blend.
• In a small bowl, cut the butter into pea-sized pieces.
• Using a pastry blender or your fingertips, work the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal.
• Add the egg yolk, vanilla, and ice water and mix with your fingers just until the dough comes together into a ball.
• Working on a lightly floured surface, take egg-sized pieces of the dough and smear them away from you with the heel of your hand into 6-inch streaks. (This step helps to achieve the layered texture of the authentic cookie without using lard).
• Scrape up all the streaks of dough and pile them on top of one another to form a disk.
• Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
• On a portable (this will be refrigerated again), lightly floured surface, roll the dough to a thickness of 1/4 inch.
• Refrigerate for 30 miutes, or until firm.
• Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375°F.
• Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or use a non-stick cookie sheet.
• With a cookie cutter, cut out 2 1/2-inch circles (I use stars), and place them on the cookie sheets about 2-inches apart.
• Chill the cookies 10 minutes before baking.
• Reroll the scraps of dough and cut out more cookies, chilling before baking.
• Meanwhile, mix the remaining 1 Tablespoon ground anise and 2 Tablespoon sugar together in a small bowl.
• Sprinkle a thin layer of the sugar mixture over the cookies.
• Bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges.
• Cool on the pan on a wire rack.
• May be store at room temperature, well-wrapped, for up to 5 days.

BIZCOCHITOS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
• Beat the shortening in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed until fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to low; beat in 2/3 cup sugar, then the egg. Add 2 tablespoons wine and the anise seeds and beat until combined. Gradually beat in the flour mixture. If the dough is too dry, mix in up to 2 more tablespoons wine. Cover and refrigerate 15 minutes.
• Mix the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and the cinnamon in a shallow bowl. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out cookies with a 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter. Press the top of each cookie in the cinnamon sugar to coat, then arrange on the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Bake until the edges are golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool about 3 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer the cookies to racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

BISCOCHITOS II

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Mix together shortening, margarine and sugar with a mixture until well blended. Mix in the rest of the ingredients until smooth.
• Roll out on a floured board to 1/2 or 1/4 inch thickness.
• Cut into desired shapes and place on baking sheets. Bake until golden brown, about 10 - 12 minutes. Garnish as desired or leave plain.

BISCOCHITOS

Steps:

• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix 1 cup sugar and the lard on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg; beat to combine. Add vanilla, Grand Marnier, and zest; beat to combine.
• Sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually beat flour mixture into sugar mixture on low speed. Beat in anise seeds. On medium, gradually add 2 tablespoons water or more to form a ball. Divide dough in half; shape into disks. Wrap each disk in plastic; chill 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in center. Combine cinnamon and remaining 3/4 cup sugar in a small bowl.
• On a floured surface, roll the dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut dough into moons, stars, or shapes you like with a 2-inch cutter; lightly sift cinnamon-sugar over each shape. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, 10 to 12 minutes; cookies should be set but not brown. Transfer the cookies and parchment to a wire rack to cool. Repeat with the remaining batches.

BISCOCHITOS - NEW MEXICO'S STATE COOKIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Sift flour with baking powder and salt.
• In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream lard with sugar and anise seeds until fluffy.
• Beat in egg until incorporated.
• On low speed, add milk and flour mixture to lard mixture until incorporated.
• Turn dough out on lightly floured board, knead gently to form a ball, then press to 1/4 inch thickness.
• Cut into shapes OR roll into balls (~1 inch in size).*.
• Toss shapes in cinnamon and sugar topping.**.
• On greased baking sheets, bake for 13 to 15 minutes at 350 degrees F or until bottoms of cookies are lightly browned. Yield: about 50 small cookies.
• *If you roll them into balls, be sure to press them down slightly with a fork after positioning them onto baking sheets.
• **The easiest way to do this is to put several balls/shapes and the cinnamon and sugar into a small tupperware container. Put the lid on and shake gently.

BISCOCHITOS

Steps:

• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat 1 cup sugar and the lard on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg; beat to combine. Add vanilla, liqueur, and zest; beat to combine.
• Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Gradually beat flour mixture into sugar mixture on low speed. Beat in anise seeds. On medium, gradually add the water and mix until dough forms a ball (add more water if necessary). Wrap dough in plastic wrap; chill 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in center. Combine cinnamon and remaining 3/4 cup sugar in a small bowl.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut dough into shapes with a 4-inch fleur-de-lis cutter; lightly sift cinnamon-sugar over each shape. Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Chill in freezer until dough is very firm, about 15 minutes. Bake one sheet at a time for 12 to 14 minutes, rotating halfway through; cookies should be set but not brown. Transfer the cookies and parchment to a wire rack to cool. Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

LEMON BIZCOCHITOS

Steps:

• Sift flour and baking powder into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat 1 1/2 cups sugar and butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add eggs, lemon juice, aniseed and peel; beat to blend. Stir in dry ingredients. Gathering dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic; chill until firm, about 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 2 large baking sheets. Mix in cinnamon and 1 tablespoon sugar in small bowl. Roll out dough on floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Using cookie cutter, cut out cookies. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over. Transfer cookies to sheets. Bake until golden, about 12 minutes. Transfer to racks; cool. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Store airtight.)

BISCOCHITOS TRADITIONAL COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl, and set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream together the lard and 1 1/2 cups sugar until smooth. Mix in the anise seed, and beat until fluffy. Stir in the eggs one at a time. Add the sifted ingredients and brandy, and stir until well blended.
• On a floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/2 or 1/4 inch thickness, and cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters. The traditional is fleur-de-lis. Place cookies onto baking sheets. Mix together the 1/4 cup of sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over the tops of the cookies.
• Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the bottoms are lightly browned.

EASY BIZCOCHITOS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine cookie mix, flour, orange zest and aniseed. Stir in melted butter, egg and vanilla until blended., Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm enough to roll., Preheat oven to 375°. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-in. cookie cutter., Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. In a small bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over cookies. Bake 6-9 minutes or until edges are light brown. Remove to wire racks to cool.