Marranitos
A gingerbread like cookie shaped like a pig.
Equipment
- 1 large cookie sheet
- 1 large sauce pan
- 1 pig cookie cutter
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 pastry cutter
Ingredients
Syrup
- 360 g Pilloncio
- 1 cup water
- 2 large sticks cinnamon sticks or a few small ones
- 1 whole anise
Dough
- 378 g all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter + 1 TBS
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1 egg for egg wash
Instructions
Pilloncio syrup
- Put pilloncio, water, cinnamon and star anise in pot, bring to a light boil.Lightly boil until pilloncio melts. Once the pilloncio melts, lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the pot from heat. Set aside and let it cool down (this may several minutes). I'd make this at least an hour before you make the dough. It needs to cool down before you add it to the flour. You don't want to add hot pilloncio to the four.
Dough
- Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Mix together with a whisk to incorporate. Add butter and cut it in using a pastry cutter or you can use hands. You should get a buttery sand-like consistency.Pour cool syrup into flour mixture. Dough should not be sticky. If you find that it's too sticky, add a little flour until you get a cookie dough consistency. Preheat oven to 375FPrepare a parchment lined cookie sheet. Dust work area with flour and keep some extra on the side. Place dough on floured surface. Flour a rolling pin and roll dough 1/2 inch thick. Cut out cookies using cookie cutter and place the cookies on the cookie sheet. Brush with egg wash. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let cool down a little before you eat.
Notes
It may take several minutes for syrup to cool down. But its important that it does. If you try to pour hot syrup into flour mixture, it will thin everything out.
Butter may start to soften, also making dough sticky.
You may have to be generous with flour before you roll out dough. If dough is too sticky, it will be hard to work with.
After you cut out cookies, you may need to use spatula to move onto the cookie sheet.
