Hojarascas de manteca are delicate Mexican cookies with a tender, sandy crumb and a generous cinnamon-sugar coating. Rendered pork lard gives them their characteristic short texture, while a small amount of cinnamon tea perfumes the dough without making the cookies heavy. They are often cut into flowers, stars, or scalloped rounds and served at holidays, weddings, family gatherings, or simply alongside coffee.
This version uses ingredients available in American supermarkets while keeping lard at the center of the recipe. The dough contains no eggs, so careful mixing matters: cream the lard until airy, add only enough cooled cinnamon tea to bring the crumbs together, and avoid working in extra flour. Rolling the dough between parchment keeps the cookies tender and makes the fragile cutouts easier to transfer.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Pork lard creates the traditional melt-in-your-mouth texture.
- A simple cinnamon-stick tea flavors the dough from within.
- The cookies use familiar pantry ingredients and no eggs.
- They hold decorative cookie-cutter shapes without icing.
- Hojarascas keep well and are excellent for cookie trays or edible gifts.
Hojarascas de Manteca (Traditional Mexican Lard Cookies)
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 2 (3-inch) Mexican cinnamon sticks (canela), lightly crushed
- 3 cups (360 grams), plus more only if needed all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup (8 ounces) rendered pork lard, softened but not melted
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup granulated sugar, for coating
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, for coating
- 1 pinch fine salt, for coating
Instructions
- Brew the cinnamon tea
Combine the water and cinnamon sticks in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer uncovered for 8 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover, and steep for 10 minutes. Strain and cool completely. Measure 1/4 cup tea for the dough; reserve another tablespoon in case the dough needs it.
- Prepare the dry ingredients
Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon together in a medium bowl until evenly combined. Set aside.
- Cream the lard
Place the softened lard and 2/3 cup sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, or use a large bowl and a hand mixer. Beat on medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes, scraping the bowl once, until noticeably lighter and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla.
- Mix the dough
With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the measured 1/4 cup cooled cinnamon tea. Stop mixing as soon as moist clumps form. Squeeze a small handful; it should hold together without feeling wet. If it falls apart, mix in the reserved tea 1 teaspoon at a time. Do not add more than 1 tablespoon.
- Chill the dough
Turn the dough onto a clean surface and press it together gently without kneading. Divide it in half and flatten each half into a disk. Wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes, until firm enough to roll but not hard.
- Roll and cut
Heat the oven to 350°F with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Roll one disk between two sheets of parchment to an even 1/3-inch thickness. Cut with 2- to 2 1/2-inch flower, star, or round cutters. Transfer the shapes carefully to the prepared pans, spacing them 1 inch apart. Gather scraps once, press them together gently, and reroll. Repeat with the second disk.
- Bake
Bake two pans at a time for 12 to 14 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through. The cookies are ready when the surfaces look dry and the bottom edges are pale golden; the tops should not become dark brown. Let them rest on the pans for 4 minutes.
- Coat with cinnamon sugar
While the cookies bake, stir the coating sugar, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, and a pinch of salt in a shallow bowl. Working carefully while the cookies are still warm, turn each cookie gently in the cinnamon sugar to coat both sides. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Repeat with any remaining batch.
Recipe Tips
- Use fresh rendered pork lard with a clean aroma; shelf-stable hydrogenated lard can leave a waxier aftertaste.
- Mexican canela has a softer, floral flavor, but an ordinary cinnamon stick works if canela is unavailable.
- Weighing the flour prevents an overly dry dough; if measuring by cups, spoon flour into the cup and level it without packing.
- The lard should be soft enough to beat but never melted, or the cookies may spread and lose their short texture.
- Avoid kneading or repeatedly rerolling scraps because excess handling makes hojarascas firm instead of crumbly.
- Coat the cookies when warm, not hot from the oven; a four-minute rest keeps fragile shapes from breaking.
- If the chilled dough cracks when rolled, let it sit at room temperature for 5 minutes before trying again.
Estimated calories: 245 per serving.
Nutrition information is an estimate and may vary based on ingredients and portions.
Serving Suggestions
Serve two hojarascas per person with café de olla, Mexican hot chocolate, black coffee, or cold milk. Their cinnamon flavor also fits naturally on a holiday cookie tray with polvorones and marranitos. For gifting, let the cookies cool completely, then layer them between parchment in a shallow tin so the delicate shapes do not crush.
Storage and Reheating
Store completely cooled hojarascas in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days, separating layers with parchment. Keep them in a cool, dry place because humidity softens the cinnamon-sugar coating. Freeze uncoated baked cookies for up to 2 months; thaw at room temperature and toss with fresh cinnamon sugar before serving. These cookies do not need reheating, but 3 minutes in a 275°F oven can refresh cookies that have softened. Cool them again before serving.