Pastissets (Powdered Sugar Cookies from Spain)

Submitted by Acerast

"A delicate cookie from the Catalunya and Baleares Region of Spain. From Penelope Casa's book "Delicioso!" She recommends using lard for authenticity and best flavor."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 15mins
• Ingredients: 8
• Yields: 24 cookies

ingredients

• 2⁄3 cup lard or 2/3 cup vegetable shortening, softened
• 1⁄3 cup unsalted butter
• 1⁄2 cup sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 1⁄2 teaspoon lemon peel, grated
• 1⁄4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 cups flour
• confectioners' sugar, Sifted (for dusting)

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. In a large bowl, with a wooden spoon, beat together the lard and butter.
3. Incorporate the sugar, egg yolk and lemon peel into the lard/butter mixture.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the cinnamon and flour; work into the lard mixture with your hands to form a smooth dough.
5. On a floured surface, roll the dough 1/4 inch thick and cut with a 3-inch scalloped cookie cutter (or other shape).
6. Arrange cookies on a greased or parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, or until golden.
7. Allow to cool briefly on the cookie sheet as they are delicate when warm.
8. When cool, coat with confectioner's sugar.

Reviews

[sada.jewel]

I used Indian Ghee, instead of lard because my family cannot eat lard and we didn't have vegetable shortening available at the moment. However, the ghee works wonders, it gives a slight indian flavor.

 

[William B.]

If I make these again I'd use 1/2 lard and 1/2 butter. I suspect lard is used to keep the cookies firm at room temperature, but it seems the cookies are a bit "lardy," and I'd prefer a buttery taste. I don't think there's enough cinnamon, so I'd increase it to 1/2 teaspoon. (I'll mix some cinnamon in with the confectionery sugar when I powder them.) I used 1 teaspoon of grated lemon peel, and that seems about right. Generally this is a pretty good cookie. They are fragile when they come out of the oven, so they need to be cool when you move them.

 

[monkey eat socks]

i forgot to mention i got 47 cooies out of them with that recipe

 

[GardenWitch]

While this wasn't what I was after, they turned out lovely. They are light, flaky (no lard, all butter), and very delicate tasting. Leaving them on the parchment to cool is an easy way to keep from breaking them. The lemon wasn't as pronounced as I was hoping for, but perhaps next time I'll toss in a dab of lemon juice. Very soft dough, needs either chilling, a marble board, or lots of flour--I used the latter and they were still very tender. Thank you for sharing this recipe.

 

[Morganne]

These are extremely tasty and melt in your mouth, but I had a hard time with the dough - it was unbelievably dry. I added buttermilk by splashes until it was workable, but my house smells lovely now. I couldn't get mine to look as pretty as the pictures either, but they do wonders for the taste buds :)