Pan De Polvo (Mexican Shortbread)

Submitted by Ernesto Carreon

"Pan de Polvo is traditionally served at Christmas, Weddings, and Quinceneras. This recipe is one of my families favorites at Christmas time, and I know your family will enjoy it also."

 

• Ready In: 3hrs
• Ingredients: 7
• Yields: 60 cookies

ingredients

• Cookie

• 2 lbs flour
• 1 lb vegetable shortening

• Cinnamon Anise Tea

• 6 cinnamon sticks
• 4 tablespoons anise seeds
• 2 cups water

• Coating

• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 1⁄4 cup ground cinnamon

directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cut shortening into flour until mixture resemble coarse corn meal.
3. Add hot cinnamon and 1/4 cup anise tea and kneed dough until smooth.
4. This will take a while.
5. Roll dough into 1 inch diameter logs about 12 inch long.
6. Cut logs into 1/4 in thick circles.
7. Place close together on cookie sheet, but not touching.
8. They spread very little to not at all.
9. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until bottom side of cookie become lightly golden brown, and when cookie is cut in half, it looks baked all the way through.
10. Combine granulated sugar and ground cinnamon.
11. While cookies are still hot, roll each one in sugar and cinnamon coating with a fork until well coated.
12. Place the cookies on cooling rack and cool completely.

Reviews

[rosegarza401]

Followed the recipe and they came out awesome,secret is work with the dough till it's totally soft I kneed the dough for at least 45 miutes and they just melted in our mouths first time I ever made

 

[Judy B.]

I don't typically review, but these are awful- I followed the recipe exactly- tasted like a mouthful of flour,

 

[Being E.]

This is a simple and delicious recipe. I did half kerry gold butter and half crisco. I also added crushed pecans. They are delicious. I used 2 and 1/4 cups of flour, 2 sticks of butter and 1/3 crisco shortening. For my tea I used 6 cinnamon sticks I ?? cinamon. And 2 tablespoons of organic chinese five spice. They came out perfect. Thanks for sharing. I made pan de polvo. I would wait to see which aunt would make these so I could get my hands on them. Now I will cook them.??x

 

[Cathy C.]

This is the recipe. I make these every Xmas with butter flavored shortening. I prefer to roll them thin, closer to 1/8 inch and use cookie cutters. They bake quicker, ~13 min and they're so cute. Important that they bake completely thru or they'll taste funny. Thank you so much for posting.

 

[PibbityBibbity]

I have been looking for a recipe like the wonderful cookies we ate growing up in South Texas, but I find one of the steps in the recipe above to be confusing. "Add hot cinnamon and 1/4 cup anise tea and knead dough until smooth." Is the tea made using the two cups of water, anise, and the cinnamon sticks, then I only use 1/4 cup of it and discard the rest? Are the whole sticks put in the water or is it ground up? Or is the cinnamon made hot some other way and ground up? (Asking because I've read other recipes that called for toasting the cinnamon sticks, then grinding them directly into the dough mixture.) I apologize if I'm being completely dense and making this harder than it needs to be.