Mexican Puerquitos

One of the Hispanic cops I used to work with had these cookies in his lunch everyday. I did not think much of them until I moved away to Europe and began missing all things Arizona/Mexico. When I would come home to Arizona for visits I would buy a package of these Mexican cookies to take back to Ireland. Now that I am up in Minnesota I am without them again so I have to make them myself. Good thing they are easy to make!

3 cups all purpose flour, sifted
1 tablespoon ginger
1 1/2 teaspoon ground canela or other cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla

Glaze
1 egg white
1 tablespoon water

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease two large baking sheets. Sift together flour, ginger, canela, baking soda, salt, cloves and pepper into a bowl. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the sour cream, egg, honey, molasses, and vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients and mix again until well combined. The dough should be fairly moist.

Refridgerate the dough, covered, for 2 hours. Dust counter lightly with flour. Roll the dough out to about 1/3 inch thickness and cut cookies with a pig-shaped cutter. Transfer the cookies to baking sheets, spacing them about 1 1/2 inches apart.

To prepare the glaze, combine the egg white and water in a small bowl. Brush the cookie slightly with the glaze. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes. Do not overbake because the puerquitos should be soft and chewy. Cool cookies for 5 minutes. Coverered, they will keep several days.

Yield: About 30 cookies.

Oatmeal Cookies

Baking cookies is so American I have come to find out while living abroad. But when cookies are so easy to make and delicious to eat why the heck not?! This is the best recipe I have ever used for oatmeal cookies.

1 cup (215 g) margarine
3/4 cup (165 g) brown sugar
1/4 cup (50 g) white sugar
1 package (3.5 oz)/98 g vanilla flavored instant pudding mix
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup (155 g) flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 1/2 cup (285 g) rolled oats
1 cup (165 g) raisins

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray two cookie sheets with non-stick spray. In a large bowl cream together margarine, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Blend in instant pudding, then beat in eggs until the batter is light and fluffy. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; mix into the batter. Stir in oats and raisins. Dough will be stiff. Drop dough by spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm. Cool on wire racks.

Yield: About 60 cookies

Variation: Instead of or in addition to raisins use chocolate chips and butterscotch chips.

ANZAC Biscuits

I received this recipe from my good Australian mate, Lois. These traditional Australian biscuit were sent overseas to those serving in the Australian New Zealand Army Corps during World War 1 because of their excellent keeping abilities.

1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup rolled oats
1 cup brown sugar
2/3 cups flaked coconut
125 gs. butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup (corn syrup)
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Sift flour into a bowl. Add the oats, sugar, and coconut. Melt the butter in the microwave and add the golden syrup and water. Stir in the baking soda and mix well. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Roll into small balls and place on a greased baking tray. Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove biscuits from tray and allow to cool on wire racks. Biscuits will be quite soft when you remove them from the tray but will firm up while cooling.

Yield: About 27 cookies.

Mexican Wedding Cookies

These cookies are dangerous to make as they are so easy to eat and crumble so deliciously in your mouth!






1 cup butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup chopped almonds, pecans, walnuts, or hazelnuts
powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions:
In a medium bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Stir in vanilla. Add the flour and chopped nuts, mix until blended. Cover and chill for 3 hours. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Shape dough into balls. Place on a prepared cookie sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from pan to cool on wire racks. When cookies are cool, roll in powdered sugar. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.

Yield: about 3 dozen cookies