Mexican Chocolate "Speckled" Wedding Cookies

I’ve read recipes of Mexican Wedding Cookies for a long time now. The recipe resembles a shortbread recipe with some nuts incorporated into the dough and then dusted with powdered sugar when they come out of the oven.

Have I ever seen them at any Mexican wedding I’ve ever attended? NO. The traditional wedding cookie here in El Paso is the biscocho. I’ve always known biscochos as Polvorones. I learned how to make these with my Grandmother, Mi Chita, by memorizing the ingredients and many years later committing them to paper. These delightful little cookies are very often found at many Southwestern gatherings such as weddings, birthdays, baptismals and holidays like Christmas.

But my curiosity got the better of me. I’ve made the Pecan Sandies recipe found in the old BHG cookbook. This recipe reminded me of that. I looked in the Food Network recipe archives and found one that I knew I had all the ingredients for. Of course, I had to tweak it. I added some Mexican chocolate bits to it. The taste is quite delicious. So maybe I don’t go with the norm and make these as wedding cookies, but they do make a great treat. Enjoy.


(Mexican Chocolate Speckled) Wedding Cookies http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mexican-wedding-cookies-recipe/index.html

( I made half of the recipe)
Ingredients
1 pound soft unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1 cup powdered sugar (1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons vanilla (1 tablespoon)
1 teaspoon salt (pinch)
2 cups finely chopped pecans (1 cup)
5 cups sifted pastry flour (2 ½ cups)
Powdered sugar for dusting
3/4 cup Mexican chocolate chopped into tiny bits

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter and powdered sugar in mixer until light and fluffy, about 10-15 minutes.

Add vanilla, salt and pecans. Fold in Mexican chocolate bits. Remove from mixer and stir in pastry flour by hand being careful not to over mix. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to stabilize the dough.

Form into football shapes about the size of small walnuts and place on a buttered cookie sheet.
I used a cookie scoop to form small round dough shapes. Press lightly with bottom of lightly-floured glass.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until just beginning to get the slightest bit colored on the bottom. Remove upon the first sign of color and set on a rack to cool. When cool enough to touch place in a bowl with powdered sugar on top and bottom and toss gently.

Occasionally toss with sugar while cooling, trying to get as much sugar as possible to stick. When cold, place cookies in airtight container and cover until ready to serve.

Rice Pudding – 2 ways

The heat is finally beginning to waver. Instead of a steady triple digit temperature, we’ve cooled down into the ninety’s. It’s not cool enough to have the oven on for cookie baking or that luscious “black and white” pound cake I’ve been wanting to share with you (unless I get up at 5:30 in the morning and that’s NOT going to happen!). So I opted for something simpler…something comforting…something that reminds me of mom. Rice Pudding. This was one of her comfort foods. We always had rice at home (as well as beans, pinto beans) so eating it as something other than Mexican rice was quite a treat.

Well, you guys have come to know me well enough to know that I would take that delicious recipe and attempt a chocolate version. I wasn’t really sure how it would come out; I’ve never tried it before. But let me tell you, I’m making this again. The Mexican chocolate (Chocolate Abuelita) addition to the basic recipe made it a keeper. It doesn’t take much to make something special for yourself or for your family; you just have to want to do it. See what you have at home…in the pantry, and dress up an old recipe. You won’t regret it.

Basic Rice Pudding Recipe

2 cups water
Pinch of salt
¾ cups uncooked long grain white rice
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
1/3 cup sugar
1 stick cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup raisins (or in my case, craisins…I love them)
2 squares Abuelita chocolate
¼ cup whole almonds
Ground cinnamon, optional

In a medium sized saucepan, bring water and salt to a boil. Add the rice and bring back to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium heat. Allow to cook for 25 to 30 minutes until rice is completely soft.Add the evaporated milk, sugar, cinnamon stick, butter and vanilla. Continue to cook on low heat (uncovered), occasionally stirring to keep from sticking, for about 30 minutes.

Divide the cooked rice in two. Add the craisins to half and the chocolate to the other. Once the chocolate has melted, fold in almonds. Sprinkle ground cinnamon to the “white” rice pudding if desired.
Check out the Southern version of this delightful dessert over at Tina's Mommy's Kitchen. You'll love that one too. Enjoy.

Spiked Espresso Cooler

Two postings ago I showed you how I made my Mocha Frappuccino. I loved it and I hope you tried it. This time around, I wanted to tweak it just a bit. Cleaning out the freezer I found that my lovely husband had bought me some Haagen-Dazs Coffee ice cream in those tiny containers that I love. You can just grab and go. No need for a bowl. And if you just let it soften just a bit, there’s no need for a spoon, just sip it. Of course Haagen-Dazs does supply a tiny little plastic spoon right under the top, but I like to sip or gulp. I know, I know. Just ask my brother Jose. I’m “rustic” through and through.

Bob doesn’t get home until 8 o’clock tonight so I figured I’d treat myself to something special without getting the “look” and feeling guilty.

A little Mocha Kahlua, a little cream, some fresh espresso and two little (4 once) containers of coffee ice cream. Into the blender they go and my 102 degree hot afternoon cooled off rather nicely.

So here’s my way to stay cool in El Paso, A Double-Shot Espresso – Mocha Kahlua – Coffee Ice Cream Cooler. Delicious.

2 (4 ounce) cartons of ice cream, coffee or vanilla
2 shots espresso
1 shot Mocha Kahlua Liqueur
1 shot heavy cream (or half and half)
Whipped cream, optional

Place all ingredients in blender and blend. Pour into glass and top with whipped cream if desired. Enjoy.