Sopaipilla Quesitos Food

SOPAIPILLAS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Gradually add water, tossing with a fork until a loose ball forms (dough will be crumbly)., On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for 3 minutes or until smooth. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Roll out into a 12x10-in. rectangle. Cut into 12 squares with a knife or cut into 12 circles using a round biscuit cutter. , In a deep-fat fryer, heat 2 in. oil to 375°. Fry sopaipillas for 1-2 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels; keep warm. If desired, serve with honey and/or dust with confectioners' sugar.

SOPAPILLAS AT HOME

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Add the shortening, and use your hands to integrate it well with the flour.
• Pour the hot water into the bowl, little by little. Work the dough with your fingers, mixing the dry ingredients with the water until you form a dough.
• On your table or countertop, knead the dough for about 4-5 minutes until it is smooth. Form a ball with the dough and place it back in the bowl.
• Cover the dough with a plastic or kitchen napkin and let it rest for at least 20 minutes. This resting time helps the gluten to develop and make it easy for you to roll out the dough and form the sopapillas.
• After the resting time, slightly knead the dough again and then form it back into a ball. Flatten the ball a little bit, then cut it into 4 pieces using a knife or a pastry cutter.
• Pour the oil into a large pot and turn the heat to medium-low. The oil should reach an average temperature of 350ºF.
• Roll the 4 pieces of dough to form smaller balls. Place one on your working surface and set the other 3 pieces aside, covered with plastic wrap. Form a round disk with the dough using a rolling pin. The disc should be about 6 inches in diameter, and ⅛ to ¼ of an inch in thickness.
• Once you form the disc, cut it into four pieces. These pieces will look like triangles. Carefully place each one into the hot oil. Make sure you do not overcrowd the pot. Once the dough triangles are in the oil, they will inflate almost immediately. Continue cooking until the bottoms of the sopapillas are medium golden, then turn them to cook on the other side until light brown and crispy. The sopapillas will take a total of about 4-5 minutes to cook completely.
• Remove the sopaipillas from the oil using a slotted spatula, and place them on a plate covered with paper towels (to absorb any excess oil) Follow steps 6-8 to continue forming and cooking the remaining sopapillas.
• To serve the sopaipillas, dust them with the confectioner's sugar and ground cinnamon, and then drizzle them with honey (or Piloncillo syrup, if you have any).

SOPAPILLAS

Steps:

• For the sopapillas: Heat the milk and sugar in a small saucepan over low heat until the sugar melts and the milk is warm to the touch.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the flour, lard, baking powder and salt. Mix for 1 minute to incorporate the lard. With the machine running on medium, drizzle the warm milk mixture into the mixing bowl. Mix until a ball of dough forms. Cover with plastic wrap and chill the dough for at least 1 hour.
• When ready, heat 2 inches of vegetable oil to 385 degrees F in a Dutch oven. Line a baking sheet with paper towels.
• For the topping: Mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl; set aside.
• Dust your work surface with all-purpose flour and roll the dough out to a 6-by-12-inch rectangle. It should be about 1/8 inch thick. Cut the dough into 2-inch squares and fry in batches of 6 until golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes per side.
• Using a spider, remove the hot sopapillas from the oil to the paper towel-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the sopapillas and toss to coat. Transfer to a serving platter and drizzle with honey. Serve warm.

SOPAPILLA

Steps:

• Serving suggestions: honey, or beans, taco meat and pork, or New Mexican chili and cheese
• Mix the flour, baking powder and salt very well. Then add in the shortening and mix until well combined. Add 1 1/2 to 2 cups water and knead until you have a nice dough.
• With a rolling pin, roll out the dough to a 1/4-inch to 1/3-inch thickness and cut 4 to 5-inch squares or triangles of dough.
• Heat the oil in a large pan to 375 degrees F.
• Put the dough squares into the oil and carefully splash the tops, which will make the squares puff up. Flip and do this on the other side, until golden brown, about 1 minute per side.
• Eat warm with honey or make a stuffed sopapilla with beans, taco meat or pork, or smother with New Mexico chili and cheese and enjoy.

CRESCENT SOPAIPILLA / SOPAPILLA CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Using a 9 x 13 baking pan, unroll one package of refrigerated crescent rolls and line the bottom of the pan.
• Flatten.
• Mix together the cream cheese, sugar and extract.
• Spread over the crescent rolls.
• Unroll the other can of crescent rolls and place on top of cream cheese mixture.
• Pour one stick of melted butter or margarine over the top and sprinkle with about 1/2 cup of the cinnamon sugar mixture.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

REAL SOPAPILLAS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt and shortening. Stir in water; mix until dough is smooth. Cover and let stand for 20 minutes.
• Roll out on floured board until 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into 3 inch squares. Heat oil in deep-fryer to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Fry until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels and serve hot.