Marranitos a pan dulce, made from ginger, cinnamon, dark brown sugar and unsulfured molasses can be found in any Mexican bakery.
Marranitos also known as Puerquito, chochitos, or cochis are a piggy shaped pan dulce. Growing up Abuelito would take us to the local panaderia to pick up a bag of pan dulce every Sunday after mass.
I ran for the conchas, the galletas y las empanadas. Pero my big sister always headed for the marranitos. Truth be told – I hated marranitos, the ginger -molasses combination was my not my favorite combination.
I would watch as my sister slowly dunked them into her glass of milk and think man, she’s weird. Ha!
Fast forward to today I absolutely love them – soft, ginger flavor with a steaming cup of café. My sister was ahead of her time.
And nothing beats a fresh homemade marranito, today I am excited to share how easy it is to make these cute piggy cookies at home with Imperial Sugar.
The marranito dough comes together quickly, pero I do advise chilling this dough for at least 30 minutes for easier rolling. You can stop by your local cake supply store for the pig shaped cookie cutter, but I bought mine on Amazon.
MARRANITOS
Marranitos, which translates to little pigs are a popular Mexican sweet bread flavored with molasses, ginger, and cinnamon. Soft, gingerbread piggy cookies are widely popular with children, best served with a café and can be found in every Mexican bakery.
Makes 18 large
5 cups flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
3/4 cup unsulfured molasses
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon water
1 cup flour
Piggy cookie cutter
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.
In a bowl whisk together flour, ground ginger, baking soda and cinnamon.
Cream butter with mixer until smooth. Add dark brown sugar, mix well scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add 1 egg, molasses, milk, and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth, scraping down sides as needed.
With mixer running slowing add dry ingredients. Mix until well combined.
Divide the dough in half, with lightly floured hands shape dough into disks, cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.
In a small bowl whisk together egg and water. Transfer dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Lightly dip piggy cookie cutter into flour, cut and place 2
inches apart on baking sheet. Brush with egg. Bake 10-12 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned.
MAS RECIPE IDEAS:
Tascalate, a refreshing cocoa drink
Brown Sugar Carnitas, made in the slow cooker
Tepache, a fermented drink made from pineapple rinds
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