Mantecadas

I was looking for a cookie recipe called mantecados that is traditional to southern Spain.  This is a lovely crumbly holiday shortbread type treat.  These little bites are not too sweet and have a rich, lingering flavor.  I found this recipe right on my own kitchen bookshelf for something very similar that's typical of Puerto Rico.  These cookies aren't exactly the same, but they are yummy and easy to make.  Chef Daisy uses 2 sticks of butter, but the treat I was craving is made with lard for that magical crumble and crunch, so I used half and half.  That's right, I cook with lard.  Click here and here for more information about the king of fats.
You will also need almond flour, which can be bought at most grocery stores or whizzed up in a food processor. Just place your plain almonds in the machine and pulse until they become a coarse, floury meal. Click here for more about almonds. 

Mantecadas

Recipe adapted from Daisy: Mañana, Mediodía y Noche by Daisy Martinez

2 cups flour

1 cup almond flour

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick butter (4 ounces) cold 

4 ounces lard (cold)

2 large eggs, well beaten

2/3 cup jelly or jam (guava jelly is traditional, but I used tangelo marmalade and any flavor would work)

Preheat the oven to 350 and prepared two cookie pans with parchment paper.

Place the four, almond flour, sugar and salt in a medium bowl and stir to combine.  Chop the butter into pieces and add it and the chilled lard to the dry ingredients.  Remove your rings and mix the fat in with your fingertips until it begins to clump and hold together a bit.  It will be rough and crumbly.  Add the beaten eggs and stir until the mass of dough becomes smooth enough to form into cookies.Use a teaspoon to scoop out  dough and roll it into little balls.  Place them on cookie sheets and press firmly with your thumb to make and indentation in each one.  If the cookies crumble a little, just press them back together.  Place 1/2 teaspoon jam in the thumbprint on each cookie.

Bake until they become slightly golden and brown around the edges, about 25 minutes.  Allow to cool completely before serving.  Cookies will keep for about 3 days. 

 

 

Comments

[Meredith]

Looks amazing! I'm bringing you some! :) This is another tasty treat from Spain- Pan Sobao (I think Julia Child has a recipe). If you ever make it, let me know how it turns out. My roommate is from Cantabria and always brings us a box of them for her birthday each year.