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Hojarascas, pan de polvo, or Mexican shortbread cookies. What do you call these cookies?
I grew up calling them “pan de polvo,” but my good friend Sonia from La Pina en la Cocina is from Monterey. She calls them Hojarascas, and well, that’s what I’ve started calling them.
Her recipe is different since it uses lard. Here is an adapted version that is 100% vegan and equally yummy.
These are the ingredients that you need to make these Mexican cookies.
- Shortening
- Vanilla
- Flour
- Sugar
- Ground Cinnamon
- Salt
- Cinnamon Tea (see below)
Lard adds flavor and texture to the cookies. You very well can use butter too. In this case, use shortening to make these Mexican vegan cookies.
More Mexican Vegan Desserts: Pineapple Empanadas and Sweet Tamales.
- In a small pot, add water and whole cinnamon.
- Bring to a boil. Turn off the heat.
- Let sit until completely cool.
Some people will use whole cloves or anise seeds in making the spice tea. You can use just cinnamon, two, or all of three to make the tea.
These spices are commonly used to make other authentic Mexican desserts like Capirotada and Arroz con Leche.
- Add sugar and shortening to the KitchenAid mixer.
- Mix well to combine.
- Then add vanilla.
You can also use a hand mixer to accomplish this.
Swap Out Option: For an extra special touch, use scrape out the beans from two vanilla pods instead.
- Next add salt and ground cinnamon to the mixer.
- Add half of the flour. Mix only until everything is incorporated. Don’t over-mix.
- Add flour in stages.
Over mixing will result in dense cookies.
If you add the flour all at once and turn on the KitchenAid, it will fly everywhere.
Word to the Wise: Add the flour little by little to get everything fully incorporated, and your kitchen doesn’t get covered in flour.
Scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl with a spatula.
This will help in making sure everything is completely mixed in.
- Add 1/4 cup cinnamon tea. Mix.
- Add 1/4 cup more of the tea. Mix again.
You want to do this in stages, using ONLY the amount of tea necessary to bring the dough together.
- Add flour to a clean surface.
- Remove the dough from the mixer and place it on the flour.
- Dust the rolling pin with flour.
- Roll out the dough.
The dough will be slightly sticky.
Do not add too much flour. Only the amount necessary to roll out and cut out the cookies. Adding too much flour will result in tough hojarascas.
- Using a cookie cutter, cut out the cookies.
- Gather up any leftover scraps. Roll out and cut out again.
Hojarascas come in all shapes and sizes. Look for a shape that is not difficult to remove from the dough.
- Place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake at degrees for minutes.
You can place the unbaked hojarascas on wax paper to prevent them from sticking.
In the meantime, mix sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
This is the same mixture used in Buñuelos, or Mexican Fritters.
FYI: Hojarascas are sometimes referred to as “Cinnamon Shortbread Cookies” because of all the cinnamon used in the recipe.
- Place the baked Hojarascas on a cooling rack.
- Once they are cool to the touch, cover them in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
The Hojarascas are very fragile.
Word to the Wise: Let them cool completely before covering with the sugar cinnamon mixture, or they will break apart on you.
Like most Mexican desserts, these cookies are not overly sweet.
Hojarascas are very delicate and soft cookies. They literally melt in your mouth. YUM!
What do they eat for dessert in Mexico?
- Flan
- Pan Dulce like Conchas
- Pastel de Tres Leches
- Toast covered in Cajeta
- etc.
How to Freeze These Cookies
- Add the cookies in a freezer container. Use wax paper to separate.
- Don’t pack them too tight, or they will break.
- Or, freeze raw dough. Thaw for 1-2 hours before using. Bake immediately after thawing.
- Frozen baked cookies need to be thawed for several hours before consuming.
Serve with champurrado, or in the morning, with some cafe de la olla. Hope you enjoy these Mexican cookies.
Hojarascas
Ingredients
For the Cinnamon Tea:
- 1 cup water
- 1 stick whole cinnamon
For the Dough:
- 8 oz shortening
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tspn salt
- 2 tbsp vanilla
- 1 tspn ground cinnamon
- 3 cups flour
For the Sugar Coating:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
For the Cinnamon Tea:
- In a small pot, add 1 cup water and the cinnamon stick.
- Bring to a boil. Turn off heat and set aside.
- Let this cool completely.
For the Dough:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a mixing bowl, add the shortening and sugar.
- Mix well.
- Add salt, vanilla, cinnamon, and mix well.
- Turn mixer off.
- Add 1/2 of the flour. Mix only until combined.
- Turn mixer off again.
- Add the remaining 1/2 of the flour.
- Mix only until combined.
- Turn mixer off again.
- Add half of the cooled cinnamon tea.
- Turn mixer on low.
- Add only the amount of tea necessary to bring the dough together. About 1/2 cup.
- Turn mixer off and dust a clean surface and a rolling pin with flour.
- Place cookie dough on the surface and roll it out evenly.
- Cut out shapes using a cookies cutter.
- Place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
For the Sugar Coating:
- Mix the sugar and ground cinnamon in a small bowl.
- Cool the cookies completely on a rack.
- Carefully and gently add each cookie to the bowl and cover with the sugar coating.
- Repeat until all the cookies have been coated.
- Makes about 45 cookies. Enjoy!
Oh my gosh these are so perfect. I’m going to make these for my grandmother
Great. It’s a really yummy recipe, hope you try it
I love cookies and cinnamon and it’s nice to have a treat like this! Thanks for the recipe, it’s simple enough to make so I can definitely have fun in the kitchen making this!
Right? So easy and delicious
The sugar and cinnamon coating is such a lovely touch on the cookies! How gorgeous! These are perfect with my morning coffee!
These cookies are delicious! And with coffee fe even better
These Mexican shortbread cookies are so yummy!
Right? So yummy
I never heard of them before you posted the recipe, but they are so tasteful! Thank you for sharing.
Glad you liked it!
These cookies were served at every Mexican wedding I’ve ever attended. I must say that the recipe is as close to my mother’s that I’ve ever found.
Lard is a must for a real authentic taste. I am thankful to add this recipe to my collection.
Happy baking
So glad you enjoyed this!
These cookies are sooo good and I love all the cinnamon flavor!
Isn’t it the best? Glad you liked it
I love shortbread cookies and these hojarascas were SO amazing! The cinnamon in these cookies is the best.
So delicious! Glad you liked this recipe.
Lovely cookies….and no, one batch isn’t enough!
These cookies are delicious!
Love the cinnamon! And thanks for the tips on freezing them – very helpful
Cinnamon makes all the difference!
These Mexican Shortbread Cookies look sooo scrumptious! Will be a perfect treat!
Glad you liked them! these are really yummy.
These look so delish! I love cinnamon sugar!
It’s the best. So yummy!
Everything you could want in a shortbread cookie!!
Right? So delicious
Those shortbread cookies are delicious
Thank you very much. So glad you liked them!
The cookies looks fabulous. I love using cinnamon in baking.
So good right? We love this recipe too!
Attempted the recipe for the first time and wow!! My mom was surprised my cookies tasted better than her recipe. From her village in Mexico. Gracias maggie
That’s quite the compliment! Thank you. So happy to hear that you liked them.