Biscochitos

Fantastic Mexican sugar cookies, biscochitos are a lovely holiday snack or gift.

Plain Edge Star Cutters, 6 Piece Set

Flavoured with orange and anise seed, these delicious little Mexican sugar cookies really are a star over the holidays.

I love giving cookies and other baked goodies as gifts and stocking stuffers. Handmade with love is always better than store-bought, in my opinion.

For authenticity, use rendered lard instead of the vegetable shortening called for in this recipe.

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Ingredients

(Makes 48 servings)

• 1 cup monk fruit sweetener (or granulated sugar)

• 1, 1/4 cups vegetable shortening

• 1 large egg, beaten

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 2 tablespoons Triple Sec (or other orange flavoured liquor)

• 1 tablespoon orange zest

• 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

• 2 teaspoons ground anise seeds

• up to 1/4 cup water

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

• 1/4 cup light brown sugar (optional)

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Directions

KitchenAid Artisan Series Stand Mixer, 5-Qt

Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the sweetener and shortening. Beat on medium-high speed foe 3 or 4 minutes until the mixture becomes light and fluffy. Add in the egg, and once combined, add the pure vanilla extract, Triple Sec, and orange zest. Continue beating until combined.

In a mixing bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. With the stand mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture a little ay a time. Once the flour mixture is incorporated, add in the ground anise seeds followed by the water 1 tablespoon at a time just until the dough forms a ball and no more. Cut the dough in half and wrap each half in clingwrap, pressing them down to form disks. Refrigerate for up to 90-minutes.

Mixing Bowls with Airtight Lids, Set of 6

With a rack placed in the centre of the oven, preheat to 350°F / 180°C. Prepare two sheet pans lined with parchment paper or silicone liner. Set aside.

(Optional: If using the ground cinnamon and brown sugar topping, mix them together now in a small bowl and set aside.)

Commercial Baker's Half Sheet (2 Pack)

Lightly flour a flat worksurface and roll out one of the disks of dough until it is 1/4-inch thick. Using a cookie cutter (shape your choice, I used a 1-inch star cutter), cut the cookies and peel the remaining dough from between. Transfer cookies to the prepared sheet pan and reroll remnant dough if there is enough. (Optional: If using the ground cinnamon and brown sugar mixture, lightly sprinkle over the cookies before baking.) Bake the sheet pan of cookies for about 10 minutes. The cookies should be no more than very lightly beginning to brown when they are done.

While the first sheet pan of cookies bake, prepare the second portion of dough same as the first. When the first batch come out of the oven, bake the next batch.

Use the parchment paper liner to slide the cookies over onto a cooling rack and let cool to room temperature. Share and enjoy.

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Nutritional Information Per Serving:

total calories = 78 | total fat = 5.45g | saturated fat = 2.18g | cholesterol = 7mg | sodium = 31.02mg | net carbohydrates = 9.79g | dietary fibre = 0.14g | sugars = 0.09g | protein = 0.9g