Cochinitos De Hojaldre Recipes

AUTHENTIC MEXICAN MARRANITOS (MOLASSES GINGERBREAD PIGS)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large mixing bowl, stir together brown sugar, shortening, baking soda, cinnamon and vanilla until the mixture forms a firm paste.
• Add, mixing after each addition until blended, the molasses, egg and milk.
• Gradually add the flour, mixing to form a dough; Roll dough out to about 1/4 inch thick; cut with a large pig-shaped cutter; Place each marranito on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
• In a cup or small bowl, beat egg; Using a pastry brush, paint tops of marranitos lightly with beaten egg.
• Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until browned.

MARRANITOS (MEXICAN PIG-SHAPED COOKIES)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, cream together brown sugar and shortening until smooth. Mix in 1 egg, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the baking soda, cinnamon, and molasses. Mix in flour until the dough is stiff enough to roll out.
• Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into cookies using a pig shaped cookie cutter. Place cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Brush the remaining beaten egg over the tops of the cookies.
• Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the centers of the cookies appear dry and edges are lightly browned.

COCHINITOS DE HOJALDRE

Steps:

• Roll out the puff pastry dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out ten 6-inch circles and place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Gather the scraps together by placing them on top of each other, overlapping a bit to stick them together (don't form into a ball!). Roll the top lightly to smooth and even it out.
• Whip the pastry cream until smooth and divide among 5 of the circles, leaving some room around the edges. Lightly beat the egg yolks with a fork and brush along the edges. Place the remaining 5 circles on top and press tightly along the edges to seal.
• Cut out five 2-inch circles for the noses and make two little holes with a toothpick or skewer; attach the noses to the tops of the pastries with some of the egg yolk. To make the ears, cut out 10 circles that are a bit smaller than the nose and pull one side slightly so they are a bit pointy, giving them a bit of movement. Seal with some egg yolk. Refrigerate while you preheat the oven.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Mix the remaining egg yolks with the milk and brush the tops of the pastries. Bake until the tops and bottoms are golden, 20 to 30 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
• To decorate, spread a little circle of the melted white chocolate to make eyeballs, allow to set, and then put a smaller circle of melted dark chocolate on top of the white to make the center of the eye. Play around and have some fun giving the piggies a personality of their own. (You can put the chocolate in separate plastic syringes or squeeze bottles and put them in the microwave for a few seconds to melt, then squeeze the chocolate onto the pastries.)