Galletas Polvorosas Recipes

POLVORONES DE CANELE (CINNAMON COOKIES)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
• In a medium bowl, cream together 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar and butter until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Combine flour, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon; stir into the creamed mixture to form a stiff dough. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Mix together 1 cup confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon; roll balls in cinnamon mixture.
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in preheated oven, or until nicely browned. Cool cookies on wire racks.

POLVORONES (MEXICAN WEDDING COOKIES)

Steps:

• Put 1/2 cup of the walnuts and the salt in a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Roughly chop the remaining 1 cup walnuts.
• Position two oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F.
• Beat the butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the granulated sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the flour, then the ground and chopped walnuts. Divide the dough in half, forming each half into a ball. Wrap separately in plastic and chill until cold, about 30 minutes.
• Put the confectioners' sugar in a large bowl.
• Working with half of the chilled dough at a time and keeping the rest in the fridge, roll the dough by 2 teaspoonfuls between your palms into balls. Arrange the balls on a large baking sheet, spacing them 1/2 inch apart.
• Bake the cookies until golden brown on the bottom and just pale golden on top, about 18 minutes. Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. Toss the warm cookies in the powdered sugar. Transfer the sugar-coated cookies to a rack to cool completely. The cookies can be prepared up to 2 days ahead. Once cooled, store them in an airtight container. You need to make sure they are cooled before storing them, otherwise they will get soggy. Sift additional powdered sugar and cinnamon over the cookies if desired before serving.

POLVOROSAS (COLOMBIAN BUTTER AND SUGAR COOKIES)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 F.
• To clarify the butter: Place the unsalted butter in a medium pot over low heat, until it is melted.
• Let it simmer until the foam goes to the top of the melted butter.
• Remove the pan from the heat and let stand for about 5 minutes.
• Skim the foam from the top and discard. Pour it into a bowl using a fine mesh strainer.
• With an electric mixer, beat the butter for about 3 minutes. Add the sugar,vanilla and beat until well blended. Add the flour, and continue beating for 2 minutes.
• orm the dough into a ball. Wrap in plastic and place in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
• oll 2 tablespoons of dough between your palms into balls. Place the balls on a large greased baking sheet about 1/2-inch apart. Flatten the balls using your hands.
• Bake the cookies until golden on top, about 20 minutes. Let them cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet. Dust the cookies with the powdered sugar.

POLVORONES MEXICANOS

Steps:

• First, adjust the oven rack to the middle position and turn the oven on to 325 degrees. Grease 2 baking sheets or line with parchment paper.
• In a medium size bowl mix the flour, baking powder and baking soda.
• Using a stand mixer, beat shortening and sugar on medium speed until it turns fluffy and creamy, for about 3 minutes. Add egg and orange zest or vanilla and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low and add the flour mixture one cup at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. The dough will become a little stiff. If you don't have a stand mixer, mix the ingredients in the same order in a large bowl using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. I had made them using a stand mixer and by hand and both methods work fine. Of course, it will be faster using the stand mixer.
• Divide the dough in half forming a disc with each piece of dough. Roll each disk of dough into a large circle using your rolling pin, about 1/3 inch thick, on the lightly floured surface. Using the 3 1/4 biscuit cutter, cut out 8 circles, re-rolling dough scraps just once to form more circles. Roll out the second disk of dough and proceed to form the rest of the circle as you did with the first tone.
• Place dough circles on prepared baking sheets spacing the cookies 1/2 inch apart. Dust center of the cookies with granulated sugar. Bake until edges are lightly browned, about 18 minutes, switching and rotating baking sheets halfway through baking time. Let the cookies cool on sheets on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling wire racks.
• When baking cakes, bread or cookies, I prefer to use grams instead of ounces or cups, tablespoons or teaspoons. When using grams, your measurement of ingredients will be more precise every time. Baking is a little bit of science and art, and every time you change the amount of an ingredient the results are going to be different. Kitchen scales are not expensive and are a very useful tool for your baking.
• This is another common shape for polvorones, and for this, you will need a very highly sophisticated gadget: a glass bottle! Yes, use the tip of a glass bottle to stamp that little circle at the center of the cookies.
• Place about 1/2 cup of granulated sugar in shallow dish. Divide the dough into medium size balls (65 grams), with your hand roll 16 balls. Roll balls in sugar to coat.
• Place the balls on a lightly floured surface and with the bottom of a thick glass gently press down one at a time to a 1/3" inch thick. Dust tip of the glass bottle with flour and then gently press the center of the cookie. Some bakeries add 1/4 teaspoon of strawberry preserves in the center circle.
• Make sure to space cookies 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets and bake for about 18-20 minutes, until edges are golden.
• Form a log with the dough and refrigerate about 30 minutes, wrapped with plastic film.
• When ready to bake, cut in 1/3-IN slices, place on baking sheet, sprinkle with sugar, and bake 18-20 minutes.
• To form these cookies divide the dough into 65 grams balls, roll them with your hands in a long shape resembling a banana. Gently press your finger into the dough slightly flattening the top.
• Mix one egg yolk with few drops of water. Brush the top part of the dough with egg yolk. With a fork scratch the top surface of the dough. Brush egg yolk once again over the top of the cookie dough.
• Bake as instructed above.
• As mentioned before, this dough is very versatile, you can just brush the tops with egg yolk before baking to get a glossy cookie, or brush with egg yolk and cover with multicolor sprinkles, or once the cookies are baked and cool down dust them with confectioners sugar.

GALLETAS GRAGEAS, POLVORONES CON CHOCHITOS (MEXICAN SUGAR COOKIES WITH SPRINKLES)

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt, then set aside.
• In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar for about 2 minutes on medium speed, until fluffy and pale in color. Reduce the speed to low and add the egg yolks one at a time, waiting until the first one has been fully incorporated before adding the second egg. Add the vanilla, then gradually add the flour mixture, one cup at a time, until it's all fully combined.
• Place plastic wrap over a bowl and pour in the cookie dough. Wrap up your dough and place it in the refrigerator for one hour.
• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• Cut your cookie dough into 4 equal sized balls. (Place any dough you aren't working with back in the fridge) Roll your dough out on a floured surface to abut a ½ inch in thickness.
• Use your cookie cutter to cut out the cookies, then evenly space them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. (You should be able to get 4 cookies per ball of dough with a 4-inch cookie cutter).
• Once you have your cookies on your cookie sheet, brush on the egg wash, add sprinkles and then bake for 9-10 minutes. Place your cookies on a cooling rack and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

VENEZUELAN POLVOROSAS COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350º F (180º C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix shortening on medium speed until softened and creamy, about 1 -2 minutes. Add in sugar, salt, vanilla, and cinnamon; continue mixing for 2 - 3 minutes.
• Reduce the mixer speed to low, add in flour slowly; mix just until combined.
• Roll balls of dough (about 1 tablespoon of dough per cookie). Arrange the balls on a large baking sheet, spacing them 1/2 inch apart. Press fork into the tops to flatten them a little.
• Bake for 18 - 20 minutes, or until very lightly browned on the sides. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for just 5 minutes. Then, transfer to a wire rack to cool, then once cookies are cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired. NOTE: Make sure your bake the cookies until they are JUST golden around the outside. The cookies might still look a little raw in the center, but once they cool, they will be perfect.

MANTECADITOS (PUERTO RICAN COOKIES)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper, or use an ungreased cookie pan.
• In a large bowl, cream butter, shortening (or lard) and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
• Stir in almond extract, salt and flour until well combined.
• Divide dough into small balls, about 1 ½ teaspoons each.
• Create an indent in each cookie with your thumb.
• Add sprinkles or a small cube of guava paste (about ½ inch cube).
• Bake for 15-20 minutes or until edges are golden.
• Cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

GALLETAS POLVOROSAS

Steps:

• Revolver todo y hacer bolitas. Poner en molde sin engrasar. Hornear en horno precalentado a 350°F Cuando estén doradas, abajo ya están listas. Revolver en Nevazúcar.