World Flavors Cookbook

Mantecados

Name: Mantecados
Cook time: 15 min
Cuisine: Spain
Ingredients: 200g lard (manteca), at room temperature; 200g sugar; 400g flour, toasted in oven; 1 egg yolk; 1 tsp cinnamon; Sesame seeds or icing sugar to finish

Spain's crumbly lard shortbread cookies — melt-in-the-mouth, cinnamon-scented, wrapped in tissue paper. The other essential Christmas sweet.

Cuisine: Spain

Ingredients

200g lard (manteca), at room temperature
200g sugar
400g flour, toasted in oven
1 egg yolk
1 tsp cinnamon
Sesame seeds or icing sugar to finish

Instructions

Toast flour in a 180C oven for 10 minutes, stirring. Cool.
Beat lard and sugar until smooth.
Add egg yolk and cinnamon. Mix.
Add toasted flour gradually to form a soft dough.
Roll to 1cm thick. Cut into oval or round shapes.
Bake at 180C for 12-15 minutes until very lightly golden.
Cool completely — they are extremely fragile when hot.