Biscochitos

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon fine salt
• 3 teaspoons anise seed
• zest of one navel orange
• 1 ½ cups lard or shortening
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, (room temperature)
• 2 tablespoons red wine
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Steps

1. 1

   In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in anise seeds and orange zest. Set aside.

2. 2

   In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the shortening and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.

3. 3

   Add the egg, wine, and vanilla extract and mix on low until just combined.

4. 4

   Gradually add in the flour mixture 1 cup at a time, until all the flour mixture is used. The mixture will be slightly crumbly.

5. 5

   On a lightly floured surface, combine the dough by hand and form a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.

6. 6

   While the dough is chilling, prepare the cinnamon sugar topping by mixing the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.

7. 7

   Once the dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 350℉. Roll out the dough until it's ¼-inch thick on a well-floured surface using a floured rolling pin. Using a 2 ½ inch fluted circle cookie cutter or star cookie cutter, stamp out the dough and transfer the cookies to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

8. 8

   Combine the scraps to create an additional dough ball, and continue rolling and stamping out the cookies until all the dough is used. While rolling and cutting leftover dough, flour your surface and rolling pin as needed. This will yield about 3 dozen biscochitos.

9. 9

   Bake for 12-16 minutes, until the edges are golden. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet for about 2 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

10. 10

    Once the cookies are cool to the touch, roll them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.