Skip to main content

Puerquitos (Gingerbread Pigs)

By

'Tis the season...for gingerbread! I decided to finally tackle puerquitos. These Mexican gingerbread pigs have been on my to-bake list for a few years. I was cooking dinner for friends, one of whom adores all things pigs. So, I figured: this is the year of the puerquitos. We really love ginger, so I used ginger paste - instead of the traditional vanilla - and added candied ginger bits, too.

Ingredients

  • 1¼ C organic dark brown sugar
  • ¼ C butter, room temperature
  • 2 large eggs, 1 for dough and 1 for finishing
  • ⅓ C milk (I used whole milk)
  • 1½ t ginger paste (you can use vanilla bean paste also)
  • 1½ t baking soda
  • 1½ t ground cinnamon
  • 1 t ground ginger
  • ¾ cup molasses
  • ¼ C honey
  • 6 C flour
  • ½ C candied ginger (diced or use flakes)

Procedure
Beat brown sugar and butter together in a large bowl until well-combined. Add 1 egg, milk, and ginger paste; beat again until smooth. Add baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, molasses, honey, and candied ginger. Beat again.

Stir in 4 C of flour. Gradually add remaining flour, using a wooden spoon. Once the dough starts to become stiff , quickly knead in the flour. It should come together into a ball.


Split dough into two balls. Each ball makes 2 dozen small pigs. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

When you are ready to bake, reheat the oven to 350° F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Roll the dough out between two pieces of parchment paper to approximately ¼" thickness. Use a pig-shaped cookie cutter to cut out your puerquitos.


Place on prepared baking sheet. Re-roll dough and repeat until your dough is gone.


Beat the remaining egg, then brush a thin coat over the dough before you put it into the oven.


Place in preheated oven and bake for approximately 15 minutes - until cookies just start to turn golden around the edges and are slightly raised.


Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack. Once they are cooled, keep them covered so they stay soft.

Because I love the combination of gingerbread and lemon, I served two puerquitos with a cordial of limoncello. Cin cin!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hot Chocolate Agasajo-Style {Spice It Up!}

By
photo by D For my Spice It Up! kiddos this week, I was looking for an exotic drink to serve while we learned about saffron. I found a recipe from food historian Maricel Presilla that mimicked traditional Spanish hot chocolate from the 17th century where it was served at lavish receptions called agasajos . When I teach, I don't always get to shoot photos. Thankfully, D grabbed my camera and snapped a few. Ingredients serves 14-16 1 gallon organic whole milk 3 T dried rosebuds - or 2 t rosewater 2 t saffron threads, lightly crushed 3 T ground cinnamon 3 whole tepin chiles, crushed 2 vanilla beans, split lengthwise 1 C organic granulated sugar 1 lb. bittersweet chocolate Procedure In a large soup pot that can hold a gallon plus, combine milk, dried rosebuds (or rosewater, if you are using that), saffron threads, ground cinnamon, chiles, vanilla beans, and sugar and warm over medium heat till it steams. Whisk to dissolve sugar, then lower heat an...
183 comments
Read more

Frozen Art Gourmet Ice Cream

By
As we headed inland from the coast, I cringed as the temperature gauge in the car for outside temp climbed into the triple digits. Ugh. I'm a rather wimpy central coastal Californian who begins to wilt when it's 70 degrees outside. Thank goodness for air conditioning and a planned ice cream stop. When I parked the car outside Frozen Art Gourmet Ice Cream in Santa Rosa, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. We knew that we still had to get to the campsite...and set up our tents in the heat. But we were going to enjoy the cool, sweet treats from Frozen Art first! Michoacana ice creameries are the equivalent of Starbucks in Mexico; they're ubiquitous. Purists, however, claim that operating a true Michoacana ice cream shop require ties to Tocumbo. It's estimated that almost ninety percent of the Tocumban population is currently employed in the ice cream business from making ice cream itself to making equipment. But the real art of Tocumban ice creams: imaginat...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Cheese Board Anchored on a Trio of Italian Cheeses + A Pinot Nero from Alto Adige #ItalianFWT on CulinaryCam.Com

By
I am in the process of migrating over to my new domain. Come on over to read " A Cheese Board Anchored on a Trio of Italian Cheeses + A Pinot Nero from Alto Adige " for December's #ItalianFWT.
Post a Comment
Read more