Receta Mexican Sweet and Savory Treats.
“Here I sit, broken
hearted.
Wanted dip, but out of
salsa.
It’s on sale, at the
store.
Add beans and cheese, now
what more?
Oh wait, bakery has ginger
pigs.
Well now, don’t they hit
the spot?”
There are times I am a
very sincere and deep meaning poet, and then the comedian just cannot keep
silent. For several months, Blue
Mountain Foods sold, and I have recently seen them selling at City Market in
Cortez, ginger pig cookies in the bakery section. Ginger pigs?
Why pigs, why not cows, sheep, horses?
Pigs are not a popular stock on local farms and ranches, so what is the
attraction?
Research led me to Mexico,
and a popular sweet treat sold in every bakery.
A pan dulce, or sweet bread, Cochinitos de piloncillo, also known as
marranitos, cochinitos and puerquitos (all meaning “pig” or “little pigs"
in Spanish) are often referred to as “ginger pigs” or “gingerbread pigs”. However, they typically do not contain ginger
or cinnamon and a traditional recipe uses unsulfured molasses, giving the
cookies their dark brown coloring.
Origin of the cookie dates back to the 16th century, but the
explorers and colonists of Spain introduced the Mesoamerican people to the
addition of other ingredients such as honey and cinnamon.
In later centuries, as
Mexicans traveled to the United States, and brought their recipes with them,
they were further introduced to baking soda, baking powder, and the addition of
eggs to create puffy cookies. Brushing
with egg wash (mixture of egg with milk or water) produced a sheen on the
little piggys
While, in Mexican culture,
these cookies are often enjoyed for breakfast, with milk or coffee, I find them
to be a tasty treat for any reason. As
with gingerbread cookies, a smear of lemon curd gives the taste buds a
zing! Want the zing to be all cookie,
then additions of ground ginger and cinnamon will give the desired effect.
I found a food blog, Isabel Eats, written by a first-generation
Mexican American who loves to cook favorite authentic Mexican recipes,
sometimes with a twist. It is her recipe I will share with you.
Marranitos (Mexican Gingerbread Pigs)
(https://www.isabeleats.com/marranitos-mexican-gingerbread-pigs/)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter,
softened
1 cup dark brown sugar,
packed
2 large eggs
3/4 cup unsulfured
molasses
1/4 cup milk
1 and 1/2 tsps. vanilla
extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp ground ginger
1 and 1/2 tsps. baking
soda
1 and 1/2 tsps. ground
cinnamon
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand
mixer, cream butter until smooth. Add the dark brown sugar and mix until well
combined. Add in one egg, molasses, milk and vanilla extract. Mix together
until smooth.
In a separate large bowl,
add flour, ground ginger, baking soda and cinnamon. Mix together to
combine. Add the dry ingredients into
the wet ingredients 1 cup at a time and mix until well combined. The dough
should cleanly pull away from the mixing bowl.
Transfer the dough onto a
lightly floured surface and roll out to 3/8 inch thickness (or a little less
than 1/2 inch). Use a pig shaped cookie cutter to cut into pigs. Place pigs 1
1/2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. In a small bowl, crack open the remaining egg
and whisk. Brush the beaten egg over the tops of the pigs using a pastry brush.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes,
until the edges are lightly browned.
Makes approx. 2 dozen,
dependent on size of cookie cutter used.
(Note: Want more “bite” to
the cookies? Add an extra ½ tsp. of
ginger and cinnamon to the recipe.)
Now back to my little poem
at the beginning. Did you ever see the
commercial for Velveeta cheese which adds in a jar of salsa? Easy, cheesy salsa dip, right? I developed my own recipe that I served at
Dungeons and Dragons games, and it was always a huge hit (without rolling a
D20!)
Mexican Dip
Ingredients:
1 (15.5 oz.) jar mild or
medium salsa
1 (16 oz.) can refried
beans
Cheese – this is the “your
choice” part #1 – 16 oz. cubed Velveeta
#2 – 1 (15.5 oz.) jar of queso dip
(yes, it has some salsa in it, but more is always better)
#3 – 1 (8 oz.) bag of shredded Mexican
cheese mix
Chips for dipping
(Tostitos scoops are great for this!)
Preparation:
In a microwaveable safe,
medium sized bowl, mix salsa, beans and cheese.
Cover bowl and microwave, on high, for 3 minutes; stir well; repeat microwaving
and stirring. Enjoy and do not be
surprised to find yourself making another bowl of this. Mary Cokenour