Western Veracruz Piloncillo Pig (Marranito Jarocho)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Small heavy saucepan for piloncillo syrup
• •Wooden spoon
• •Wide mixing bowl
• •Rolling pin
• •Pig-shaped cookie cutter, 4 to 5 inches
• •Two rimmed baking sheets
• •Pastry brush
• •Wire cooling rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Make piloncillo syrup

   Put the chopped piloncillo, water, cinnamon stick, and clove if using into a small saucepan. Set it over medium heat and simmer gently, stirring now and then, until the piloncillo dissolves completely and the syrup smells dark, mineral, and sweet. This takes 8 to 10 minutes. Do not boil it hard. You want syrup, not candy.

2. 2

   Cool the syrup

   Take the pan off the heat. Remove the cinnamon stick and clove. Stir in the vanilla and let the syrup cool until warm, not hot, about 20 minutes. If you add hot syrup to egg, the egg cooks. Then you have sweet scrambled egg in flour, and nobody in Veracruz is asking for that.

   The syrup should feel warm on your finger, never sharp with heat. Patience here gives you a smooth dough.
3. 3

   Mix the dry base

   Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon in a wide bowl. Break up any lumps with your fingers. Marranito dough is not delicate, but it does need even leavening so the pigs puff softly instead of cracking in strange places.

4. 4

   Rub in manteca

   Add the softened manteca de cerdo to the flour mixture. Rub it in with your fingertips until the flour looks slightly sandy and holds together when you squeeze a handful. La manteca es el sabor. It gives the marranito tenderness and that panadería softness you do not get from oil.

5. 5

   Bring dough together

   Beat the whole egg into the cooled piloncillo syrup. Pour the syrup mixture into the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until a dark, sticky dough forms. It will look too soft at first. Keep folding from the bottom of the bowl until no dry flour remains. If the dough is wet enough to pour, add flour one tablespoon at a time. If it crumbles, add water one teaspoon at a time.

6. 6

   Rest the dough

   Pat the dough into a thick disk, wrap it, and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. The flour needs time to absorb the piloncillo syrup. Skip the rest and the cutter drags, the pigs spread, and you blame the recipe when the fault is impatience.

7. 7

   Cut the pigs

   Heat the oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Lightly flour the table and roll the dough 1/4 inch thick for softer marranitos or 3/16 inch thick for firmer ones. Cut with a pig-shaped cutter and transfer to the baking sheets, leaving 1 inch between each piece. Gather scraps, reroll once, and cut again. After that, the dough gets tough.

8. 8

   Brush and bake

   Beat the egg yolk with the milk. Brush a thin layer over each marranito, reaching the ears, snout, and legs. Bake 14 to 18 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until the tops are glossy dark brown, the edges feel set, and the center springs back when touched. Do not wait for them to get crisp. A Veracruz marranito should be soft under the teeth.

9. 9

   Cool and serve

   Let the marranitos rest on the pan for 5 minutes, then move them to a rack. They firm as they cool and soften again by the next day. Serve with café lechero in a tall glass or black coffee from the Veracruz highlands. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •Buy piloncillo that smells like cane, smoke, and molasses. If it smells dusty or has gone pale and dry, leave it at the market. Si no conoces el mercado, no conoces la cocina.
• •Papantla vanilla is not perfume for this dough. It belongs to Veracruz. Use real Mexican vanilla extract if you can find it, and do not use imitation vanilla unless there is no other option. A substitution is a compromise, not an upgrade.
• •Manteca de cerdo makes the tender panadería crumb. Butter gives a different flavor and a firmer bite. Vegetable oil makes the dough greasy and flat. Así se hace y punto.
• •The clove is optional because many Veracruz panaderías keep the spice quieter than the central Mexican puerquito. If you use it, use one. The piloncillo should lead, not the clove.
• •These are better the next day. The piloncillo settles into the flour and the texture becomes softer, exactly why panaderías can pile them in baskets and sell them all morning.

Advance Preparation

• •The piloncillo syrup can be made 2 days ahead and refrigerated. Warm it gently until fluid before mixing it with the egg.
• •The dough can rest, wrapped, in the refrigerator overnight. Let it sit at room temperature for 25 to 30 minutes before rolling so it does not crack.
• •Baked marranitos keep 4 days in a covered tin or plastic container. Add a piece of parchment between layers so the glaze does not stick.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 45g)