Biscochitos
intro
Crisp, buttery anise-scented New Mexican shortbread cookies dusted with cinnamon sugar, a beloved winter holiday staple with Spanish colonial roots.
Ingredients
Steps
Cream lard and sugar
In a large mixing bowl, beat 226g softened unsalted lard and 150g granulated sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed for 3 minutes until the mixture is light, fluffy, and pale off-white. Scrape down the bowl sides halfway through mixing to ensure even incorporation.
Mix in wet ingredients
Add 1 room-temperature large egg (50g) and 30ml brandy (or orange juice for a non-alcoholic version) to the creamed mixture. Beat on low speed for 1 minute until fully smooth, with no visible streaks of egg, scraping down the bowl sides after the first 30 seconds of mixing.
Combine dry ingredients
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together 360g all-purpose flour, 4g baking powder, 3g fine sea salt, and 5g lightly crushed anise seed for 30 seconds until evenly distributed. Gradually add the dry mix to the wet batter, mixing on the lowest speed only until no dry flour streaks remain — do not overmix, as this creates tough cookies.
Chill dough, preheat oven
Turn the mixed dough onto plastic wrap, form into a 2.5cm (1-inch) thick flat disk, wrap tightly, and refrigerate for 30 minutes until firm. While the dough chills, preheat your oven to 175°C (350°F) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Roll and cut shapes
Unwrap the chilled dough and place it on a lightly floured work surface. Roll to a uniform 6mm (1/4-inch) thickness, then cut into 7cm (3-inch) fleur-de-lis or round shapes with a cookie cutter. Arrange cutouts 2.5cm (1 inch) apart on the prepared parchment-lined baking sheets.
Bake the cookies
Bake one sheet at a time on the middle oven rack for 10 to 12 minutes, until cookie edges are just light golden brown (centers will stay pale). Avoid overbaking, as this results in dry, hard cookies instead of the signature crisp-tender texture.
Coat in cinnamon sugar
While cookies bake, stir 100g granulated sugar and 6g ground cinnamon together in a shallow dish. Let baked cookies rest on the sheet for 2 minutes after removing from the oven, then toss each warm cookie in the cinnamon sugar to coat fully. Transfer coated cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.
Tips
2.Always coat the cookies in cinnamon sugar while they are still warm (not piping hot); fully cooled cookies will not hold the sugar coating evenly.
3.Do not overmix the dough after adding flour, and do not skip the 30-minute chill time; both steps prevent excessive spreading and tough, dense cookies.
Game changer! I’ve been searching for a legit biscochito recipe ever since I moved away from New Mexico 8 years ago, and this one hits every single note. The crumble is perfect, the anise isn’t overpowering, and the cinnamon-sugar coating is exactly how I remember it. My kids loved them so much they ate half the batch before I could even put them in the cookie tin for my office potluck, and the cookies I did manage to save got so many recipe requests! 10/10, will be making these every holiday season from now on.
OMG, these were SO good! I made them for my daughter’s Spanish class cultural share day and all the kids gobbled them up. Only reason I’m not giving 5 stars is I didn’t have lard on hand so I used shortening, and they were a little less flaky than I wanted. Next time I’ll definitely grab lard like the recipe says!
Super easy recipe for a first-time cookie baker! I was worried 1 hour 15 minutes total time would be too long for a weeknight treat, but most of that is chill time for the dough so it was totally hands off. Paired them with hot cocoa after our family dinner last night and everyone asked for seconds.
I made these for my annual holiday cookie swap and they were the first cookie to disappear! Everyone was asking what the secret spice was, they’d never had anise in a cookie before and were obsessed. I added a tiny extra pinch of cinnamon to the sugar coating and it was chef’s kiss.
Taste was great, but I rolled my dough a little too thin so half the batch got crispy around the edges faster than the recipe said. Still edible, just not as soft and crumbly as I was hoping. Will definitely measure the dough thickness next time!
Just pulled my first batch out of the oven and my whole apartment smells like Christmas! I was intimidated to make a traditional cookie I’d never tried before but the steps were so straightforward, even for someone who mostly does meal prep on Sundays and rarely bakes. Can’t wait to bring these to my friend’s holiday party this weekend!
Really solid recipe! I stirred a little fresh orange zest in with the anise like my grandma used to and it turned out amazing — the base recipe is so easy to tweak without messing up that classic crumbly texture. Only tiny knock is I wish the recipe had a note about how long the cookies stay fresh; mine kept great for a week in an airtight container which was perfect for quick snacking, but I would’ve loved a heads up!