Anna’s Mexican Chocolate Cajeta Cookies
From Anna Nuñez
These authentic-tasting Mexican cookies are slightly crumbly with a gooey caramel center to hold them together. 1¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons
all-purpose flour ¼ teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar 6 tablespoons finely grated Ibarra Mexican Chocolate, divided (see note)
1 stick of salted butter, room temperature (not margarine)
¾ cup, plus 2 tablespoons (for
rolling) granulated sugar 1 teaspoon La Vencedora
Mexican Vanilla (see note) 1 egg, room temperature 3 tablespoons whole milk Coronado Cajeta Quemada Classic (Mexican goat milk caramel spread) Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cream of tartar and 2 tablespoons grated Ibarra chocolate. In a separate large bowl, cream together butter, ¾ cup sugar, 2 tablespoons grated Ibarra chocolate and vanilla. Mix in egg and milk.
Combine dry ingredients into the creamed mixture, being very careful not to over-mix, which can make a “tough” dough. It will be a bit sticky, which is perfect.
In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons grated Ibarra chocolate. With a spoon, form dough into 1-inch balls rolled in the palm of your hand. Roll in the chocolate-sugar mixture. Place balls 2 inches apart on a cold cookie sheet. Bake for about 8-10 minutes, or until they’ve puffed and set.
Remove from oven and transfer onto a cool cookie sheet (not a cookie rack). After about 30 seconds, use the bottom of a stainless-steel ½ teaspoon measuring spoon to gently indent the middle of each cookie. After allowing the cookie to cool completely, squeeze about ½ teaspoon of the caramel spread into the middle well of each cookie. Note: The Ibarra Mexican Chocolate comes in discs; we found it, and the goat milk caramel spread (squeeze bottle is best), at H-E-B, Walmart and Fiesta. The specific Mexican vanilla Nuñez recommends can be found in the back stalls at Canino’s farmers market on Airline or on Amazon, though the cookies are tasty with any Mexican vanilla. Nuñez says she makes this recipe by hand, not in a mixer. Makes about 30 cookies