Hojuelas Queretanas de Anis

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide wooden rolling pin
• •Heavy wide pot or deep cazuela for frying
• •Candy or frying thermometer
• •Wire rack set over a tray
• •Pastry brush

Instructions

1. 1

   Make Anise Tea

   Steep 1 teaspoon anise seed in 1/2 cup hot water for 10 minutes. Strain and let it cool until warm, not hot. The anise should perfume the dough quietly. If it smells medicinal, you used too much.

2. 2

   Mix The Dough

   Whisk the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a wide bowl. Rub in the softened manteca with your fingers until the flour feels sandy. Beat in the eggs, warm anise tea, orange juice, and vanilla. Knead 6 to 8 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. It should feel firm but not dry.

   The lard is not decoration. La manteca es el sabor, and it gives the hojuelas the tender snap that oil cannot give.
3. 3

   Rest The Dough

   Cover the dough with a clean cloth and rest it for 45 minutes at room temperature. This rest is what lets you roll it thin without tearing. Skip it and the dough will pull back like a stubborn mule. The señoras who perfected this knew when to wait.

4. 4

   Cook The Syrup

   Combine the chopped piloncillo, water, canela, anise seed, orange peel, and salt in a small saucepan. Simmer over medium-low heat for 12 to 15 minutes, until glossy and lightly thickened. Strain it and keep it warm. The syrup should coat a spoon but still run easily.

5. 5

   Roll Paper Thin

   Divide the dough into 24 small balls. On a lightly floured table, roll each one into a thin oval or leaf shape, about 7 inches long. You should almost see the table through it. Cut a small vein down the center with a knife if you want the leaf shape. Do not make them thick. Thick hojuelas are lazy hojuelas.

6. 6

   Fry Until Crisp

   Melt the frying manteca in a wide heavy pot and heat to 350F. Fry one or two hojuelas at a time, 30 to 45 seconds per side, pressing gently with tongs so they blister evenly. They should turn pale gold with darker freckles at the edges. Drain on a rack, not paper towels, so they stay crisp.

7. 7

   Glaze And Serve

   Brush the warm hojuelas with the anise piloncillo syrup or drizzle it over the stack just before serving. Add a little granulated sugar only if your family does it that way. Serve them piled high on the table, not plated one by one like a museum object. La cocina no es decoracion, es trabajo.

Chef Tips

• •Buy piloncillo from a Mexican market if you can. It should smell like cane, smoke, and dark caramel. Brown sugar is a compromise, not an upgrade.
• •Mexican canela is softer and more floral than hard cassia cinnamon. If your stick is thick, hard, and curls in one heavy piece, it is probably cassia. Use less or the syrup will taste harsh.
• •Keep the oil temperature steady. Too low and the hojuelas drink fat. Too high and the edges brown before the center dries. A thermometer is not cheating. It is discipline.
• •These are central Mexican pastries, not northern flour tortilla cooking and not Tex-Mex dessert. Cada estado, su propia cocina.

Advance Preparation

• •The dough can be made 1 day ahead, wrapped tightly, and refrigerated. Bring it to room temperature before rolling or it will fight you.
• •The piloncillo syrup can be made 3 days ahead and refrigerated. Rewarm it gently before brushing.
• •Fried unglazed hojuelas keep for 2 days in an airtight tin. Glaze them close to serving so they stay crisp.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 40g)