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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!
These sound tasty. I don’t think I’ve ever had cookies like this so I am excited to try them. I love cookies!
So good right? We love this one too
Those cookies are making me hungry. They seem to be not too hard to make and look fantastic. I will try and make a batch for my son this week.
You will this cookies. Hope you try this recipe!
ive never heard of these cookies but they sound delicious- maybe ill try it this weekend with my kids
Your kids will love this recipe!
OK now these sound delicious – I have to admit I do love a good piece of shortbread with a cup of tea. I don’t think I’ve ever tried making some myself before though – I must change that!
This recipe is simple and delicious. Hope you try it!
I had never heard of these before but they are adorable and with those ingredients I bet they are delicious as well.
Delicious indeed! Hope you try them.
Those look really good! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. I will have to try it very soon.
Glad you enjoyed it Bonnie!
Those look so good. I’d love to have a batch of them right now! We also have Tres Leches cake at our house often after we discovered it on a trip to Mexico.
Glad you liked the recipe. It’s delicious!
These sound delicious! I love the addition of the cinnamon. This would be a fun recipe to make with the kids.
It’s delicious. Hope you try it!
I can’t wait to impress my Mexican friend by making these for her. I hope they turn out as good as yours!
Your friend will be very impressed!
These look so yummy! I’ve never heard of Hojarascas (Mexican shortbread cookies) but I do love shortbread cookies, so I am going to try to make this.
Glad you like this recipe. Hope you try it!
Hmmm yum! These Mexican Shortbread Cookies look sooo mouthwatering! I love the idea that it’s covered with a sweet cinnamon and sugar coating.
It’s a really yummy recipe, hope you try it!
I indulged in cookies during the holidays and now I want cookies again after seeing this. LOL. They look good and I love the shape.
So good right? We love this one too
These seem similar to the shortbread cookies we bake at Christmas with the exception of the added cinnamon. I’ll have to try them!
Great. It’s a really yummy recipe, hope you try it
I have never tried these before, but they sure look delicious. I’ve had shortbread cookies, but not Mexican shortbread yet. I’ll have to give these a try since I do love shortbread.
This recipe is amazing! Hope you try it
Yum. These cookies sound amazing. I don’t typically like shortbread cookies because they are bland but the added sugar/cinnamon mixture will give it added flavor.
I think so too delicious glad you liked it