When you’re looking to bake a batch of cookies for friends who are butchers, it is generally advisable that the cookies be a) made from lard and b) fashioned like pigs. It is, in my opinion the gift for the butcher who has everything.
When I first bought this cookie cutter, I tried cutting everything into the shape of a pig: biscuits, blocks of cotton tofu, premade squares of mochi – you name it, I tried to piggify it. Really, though, a cookie cutter shaped like a pig is good for one thing only: cookies. The nooks and crannies in the cutter can only keep their shape if the material is thin and relatively solid, like that of a rolled out cookie dough.
Being from the land of enchantment, I’ve tried just about every kind of bizcochito recipe from every home cook in my Northern New Mexican network, but it’s this recipe, adapted from David Tanis’s excellent cookbook A Platter of Figs, that has produced reliably delicious results. The only change I’ve made is to reduce the sugar by twenty-five percent – a significant adjustment that allows the slightly porky, slightly savory flavor of the lard to come through.
And if, for whatever reason, you’re not in possession of a mammalia-inspired cookie cutter or simply don’t care to make rolled out cookies, the dough may be shaped into a cylinder and quickly cut into perfectly round cookies.
Biscochitos
- makes about 5 dozen cookies -
Adapted from A Platter of Figs by David Tanis.
Ingredients
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup rendered lard
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup brandy, sherry, or rum
2 teaspoons anise seeds
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon, mixed with 3/4 cup sugar
Directions
Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the sugar and lard in a large bowl until the lard is very fluffy. Over low speed, beat in the egg, vanilla extract, and brandy. Add the anise seeds.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix the flour mixture into the lard mixture and knead for a few minutes (by machine or hand). Add a few tablespoons water if necessary to make the dough come together.
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
If you want to make rounds of biscochitos, divide the dough in half and roll the dough into logs about 2 inches in diameter. Wrap each log in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. At this point, the dough may also be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week, or frozen for several months. Slice the dough into 1/4-inch rounds and place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Sprinkle each cookie lightly with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Bake for 12 or so minutes, until lightly golden brown. Cool on a rack.
If you want to roll out the dough, refrigerate until firm. On a lightly floured surface (it helps if you have a sleeve for the rolling pin), roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thickness and cut to size. Sprinkle each cookie lightly with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Bake for 6 or so minutes, until lightly golden brown. Cool on a rack.
The cookies, when cooled, will keep in an airtight container between sheets of parchment paper for 3 to 5 days.
Wow! I have a freezer full of lard that is going to be put to good use after I try out the pate cake recipe. Thanks, and keep it up!
Greg, you have a freezer full of lard? Then you are set for your share of rainy days. And if you haven’t already done so, try stir-frying in lard instead of vegetable oil – so much better!
[...] The Offal Cook – Lard Cookies [...]
http://www.digitalgangster.com/4um/entry.php?313-What-is-Gold-Pamp Thanks for that awesome posting. It saved MUCH time
Thanks for sharing this post.In my hometown every family makes their own lard from the fat back around the Chinese New Year time. They make enough so it’ll last for the whole year and it’s normally store in a huge glass jar.
For me the best part of making lard at home is that you get this what I call crispy lard scrap – the golden crispy pork fat after the lard has been rendered. It’s normally used as an ingredient to add more flavor to the soup or vegetables.