Mexican Dessert Recipes
Mexican Cochinos
Called gingerbread pigs, cochinos or puerquitos in some communities, these delightful cookies get their color and flavor from molasses. You might like to add some ground ginger to the recipe or even some allspice for a spicier flavor. The cochino is very popular all over Mexico and, as you can see from the recipe, this is one of the easiest Mexican dessert recipes to make.
Cochino cookies can be served at special occasions such as Christmas, Easter, weddings and christenings. Alternatively they make a nice treat at any time of the day and are tasty eaten with hot chocolate or coffee. If you don't have a pig-shaped cookie cutter, don't worry - they taste just as good round or square!
Authentic Mexican Gingerbread Pigs Recipe
Ingredients -
2 beaten eggs
6 cups flour
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1 cup unsulfured molasses
¼ cup shortening
¼ cup milk
1¼ cups brown sugar
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Use parchment paper to line cookie sheets.
Beat the shortening with the brown sugar in a large bowl until smooth. Mix in 1 egg, vanilla and milk until you get a smooth paste.
Stir in the cinnamon, baking soda and molasses. Add the flour until the dough is stiff enough to roll out.
Roll it out on a lightly floured surface until ¼ inch thick. Use a pig-shaped cookie cutter to cut the cookies.
Place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheets.
Brush the other egg over the cookie tops and bake for about 16 minutes until the cookies are dry in the center and the edges are golden.
(Makes 15 cookies)
