SPANISH CHRISTMAS COOKIES WITH A HINT OF MOORISH SPAIN

 

A recipe in Flavors of al-Andalus for Christmas cookies that are perfect for Hanukkah because they are made with olive oil. 

In my new cookbook, FLAVORS OF AL-ANDALUS, The Culinary Legacy of Spain, the chapter of “Sweets and Breads” includes many popular Christmas sweets that can trace their origins to Moorish Spain (711 to 1492), to the communities of Muslim and Sephardic Jewish peoples who populated the land.

Many present-day sweets and pastries have names, such as alfajores and almojábanas*, that come from Arabic. Even azúcar, sugar, comes from the Arabic sukkar. Though their confection might have changed in the centuries since Arabic was the lingua franca, many Spanish sweets still carry the traces of their origins. 

Following the Reconquest and the establishment of the Inquisition, Islamic and Sephardic culture and foodways were suppressed as a way to consolidate the power of the Catholic monarchs of the newly unified Spanish kingdom. Yet many of the confections of the time managed to survive.

Improbably, it was nuns in cloistered convents who kept alive the Moorish tradition of sweet making. Conversos, Jews (and some Muslims too), who converted to Catholicism rather than flee the country, became Christians, sometimes sending their daughters to take vows as nuns. Many took with them to the convents their cherished recipes for delectable pastries and confections--marzipan and almond nougat, airy fried pastry puffs, fig sweetmeats, jam-filled tarts. Made by nuns under the sign of the Cross, Moorish sweets lived on.

*Alfajores, Honey-Almond Logs, Almojábanas, Honey Buns 

A selection of store-bought Spanish Christmas sweets, all of which have their origins in Moorish Spain. Clockwise from upper left are marzipan pieces; turrón, almond nougat candy, and, on the platter, mantecados, polvorones, and roscos. 

Crumbly Olive Oil Cookies

Mantecados de Aceite

(Recipe from Flavors of al-Andalus)

The town of Estepa in the province of Sevilla is renowned for its mantecados, cinnamon-lard cookies (and the similar polvorones), which are said to have originated in the Santa Clara convent in the 16th century. Just as the town’s church of Santa María is built on the foundations of the mosque that came before (Estepa was Muslim from 711 to 1241), so the recipe for these cookies, beloved for the Christmas season, has its roots in Moorish times. Of course, the Moorish version wasn’t made with lard!

Olive oil replaces lard!

The Moorish recipe appears in an anonymous Andalusí cookbook from the 13th century. It calls for toasted wheat flour, honey, and oil kneaded together and spiced with black pepper and sweet spices. Present-day mantecados are made with sweet cinnamon and sometimes cloves, but no pepper; sugar instead of honey, and lard instead of olive oil. (Although, in this day of health-consciousness, the version with olive oil is popular again.) The crumbly, melt-in-the-mouth cookies migrated with Sephardic Jews. Made with oil, butter, or margarine, they are known in many parts of the world as biscochos, polvorones, pecan puffs, and Mexican wedding cookies. 

This recipe makes a tender cookie that crumbles easily, so handle carefully. Because they are crumbly, mantecados are usually individually wrapped in tissue paper. The cookies keep well if stored in an air-tight container.

Crumbly mantecados.

Use your best extra virgin olive oil for these cookies. Toasting the flour and almonds gets rid of excess moisture and adds a subtle toasted flavor. Take care not to let them brown—they should barely color. You will not need to flour the work surface because the oil keeps the dough from sticking. But you will need an off-set spatula or wide knife to lift the rounds of dough once they are cut. 

Makes 25 (1 ¾-inch) cookies 

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup ground almonds

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Pinch of salt

¾ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted, plus additional for sprinkling on finished cookies

½ teaspoon grated lemon peel

1 tablespoon sesame seed

Preheat oven to 350º. 

Spread the flour on a rimmed baking sheet and the almonds in a shallow oven pan. Toast them in the oven, stirring every 5 minutes, until flour and almonds are lightly colored. The almonds will start to color in about 5 minutes. Remove them. The flour will be pale gold in about 15 minutes. Remove the flour and turn off the oven.

Cool the flour and almonds completely. Sift the flour with cinnamon and salt.

Place the oil, sugar, and lemon peel in a mixing bowl and beat them until very smooth. Gradually stir in the toasted flour, then the almonds.

Turn the dough out onto a board or marble work surface. Combine the dough by kneading it with a few squeezes. Gather it together in a ball and chill it for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Divide the dough in half. Keep one half refrigerated. Roll or pat the other half out on an unfloured surface to a thickness of ¾ inch. Sprinkle some of the sesame seeds on top of the dough. With the rolling pin, press them into the surface of the dough.

Use a 1 ¾ -inch cookie cutter to cut rounds of the dough. Transfer them to the baking sheet. (Use a knife or offset spatula to lift them from the board.) Gather remaining dough, roll out and cut again.

Repeat rolling and cutting with the remaining half of dough. Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with sesame and press it lightly into the dough.

Bake the cookies until they are lightly golden, about 20 minutes. Do not let them brown. Slide the cookies on baking parchment onto a rack. Let them cool completely. 

Once the cookies are cool, wrap each cookie individually in a 7-inch square of tissue paper, twisting the ends to enclose.

Mantecados made with olive oil instead of lard, nougat, and marzipan are all perfect for the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.

Here are more cookies and desserts from FLAVORS OF AL-ANDALUS that are cherished for Christmas and that are also suitable for Hanukkah (which begins tomorrow, December 14, at sundown). Most of the recipes in the book have headnotes, like the mantecados above, telling their backstory in Moorish Spain. 

Cookies and Cakes

Almond Cookies (Almendrados). Almonds are an emblematic ingredient of sweets and pastries from Moorish Spain. These are crisp-chewy, very easy to make. 

Orange-Scented Ring Cookies (Roscos de Naranja). Are they cookies or doughnuts? Good any time of the year, but especially beloved at Christmas. Roscos are delightful for dunking in coffee, tea, or sweet wine.

Shortbread Bars with Angel's Hair Filling (Cortadillos de Cidra). The cortadillos sold in shops are confected with lard and filled with "angel's hair," a confit made with candied gourd. The recipe in Flavors of al-Andalus is made with olive oil and filled with apricot jam.

Fig and Date Turnovers (Empanadillas de Higos y Dátiles). These turnovers with an olive-oil crust will remind you of mince pies. This version is baked, but the turnovers can also be fried.

Puddings

Almond Cream Pudding (Sopa de Almendras). In Spain this "almond soup" is served for the festive dinner of Noche Buena, Christmas Eve. It is a descendent of menjar blanc from medieval times. The soup is a thick cream while hot but cools to custard consistency. It is served with slices of sweet brioche.

Pumpkin-Almond Pudding (Arnadí). This dessert popular in the Valencia region, is said to be of Arab or Sephardic origin. In that era it would not have been confected of pumpkin, as the squashes were unknown at the time, but was probably made with edible gourds or eggplant. Serve this pudding as an alternative to pumpkin pie! 

Confections

Fig Pâté (Pan de Higos). Made with dried figs, almonds, and sesame seeds, this confection is called in Spanish fig "bread," although it's not really bread, nor is it baked. The pâté can be made with any dried fruit such as apricots, figs, raisins, prunes, or a mixture. The rolls make lovely holiday gifts.

Honey-Almond Logs (Alfajores). This honeyed sweet is related to turrón, almond nougat candy. For these, ground toasted almonds and breadcrumbs are mixed with spices and bound with a honey-sugar syrup, then rolled into logs. Delectable. They would typically be served with tiny copitas of sweet wine or anise liqueur, but they are also good with a cup of tea or a glass of milk.

Toledo Marzipan Rings (Melindres de Toledo). Made of ground almonds and sugar, marzipan is molded and colored into many shapes. These easy rings with white frosting are easily confected at home. 

Fried Pastries. 

Fried pastries have deep roots in the cooking of al-Andalus. Many of them are popular for the Christmas holidays: little fried pies filled with sweet potato paste and various sorts of fritters.

Fritters (Buñuelos). These fritters were street food sold in the souks of al-Andalus. Called isfanj in cookbooks of the era, buñuelos in present times are sold at stalls at village ferias and are special for holidays.

Honey-Glazed Fritters (Pestiños). This recipe doesn't appear in Flavors of al-Andalus, but you'll find it here. A traditional Andalusian homemade Christmas sweet, it is perfect for Hanukkah because it is fried in olive oil, symbolic of the holiday. 

You still have time to make these Christmas sweets. You'll find the recipes in FLAVORS OF AL-ANDALUS, a cookbook for Christmas gifting or a wonderful addition to your own kitchen! See below for where to order. 

I am so honored to have this review from chef and humanitarian, José Andrés.

The gorgeous Padma Lakshmi gave my book a shout-out on Instagram! See that video clip here

 

FLAVORS OF AL-ANDALUS 

The Culinary Legacy of Spain

Here's the ideal gift for the cooks in your life--FLAVORS OF AL-ANDALUS, The Culinary Legacy of Spain. This is a fresh angle on the traditional cooking of Spain, with 120 recipes that can trace their roots to Moorish Spain. See below for where to order. 

This cookbook explores the fascinating story of the deep and lasting influences that Islamic culture has left on modern Spanish cooking. 

Author and Spanish cooking expert Janet Mendel tells the story of the Moorish influence on Spanish cooking through 120 recipes and photographs for modern-day dishes, from salads and vegetables to fish, poultry and meat to sweets and pastries, that trace their heritage to foods served in medieval times. Dishes from this era include exotic spices such as saffron, the use of fruits and almonds with savory dishes, and honeyed sweets and pastries. The flavors of al-Andalus live on in modern Spanish cooking and are what makes Spain’s cuisine distinctive from the rest of Europe. (Hippocrene Books)    

 Order on IndiePubs (USA) 

Use PROMO CODE HIPPOCRENE40 for 40% off on all Hippocrene titles at IndiePubs online bookstore.

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Order on amazon.co.uk (UK)

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(If you order on Amazon, please give my book a review!)

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A COOKIE CONVERSION

I was after a crisp cookie, not overly sweet, sort of like galleta María, the Spanish breakfast cookie. But I wanted to make it vegan, omitting the egg and swapping olive oil for butter. Something was lost in conversion! I wound up with a crumbly cookie, tasty, but no good for dunking in a cup of hot chocolate, coffee or chai.

The results of my galleta experiment remind me of mantecados, typical Christmas cookies, that are usually made with lard. But some variations are made exclusively of olive oil, which probably makes them closer to their origin, Moorish or Sephardic, as, in those cultures, pig fat would have been taboo. 

Not for dunking, my olive oil cookies are soft and crumbly, not crisp. 

 

Chunks of crumbled cookies folded into whipped cream with strawberries--a lovely dessert.

Or, combine the crumbles with heavy cream whipped with chocolate. 

Serve the cookies alongside coffee or tea, with a medium-sweet Sherry or with snifters of brandy or anisette. Save any crumbled ones to crush as a base for custard tarts or cheesecake. Or, fold the crumbs into whipped cream with sliced strawberries. 

Grated lemon zest and cinnamon complement the subtle flavor of olive oil in these cookies. You could also try aniseed, typical in Spanish cookies of this type. Here’s my recipe.

Crumbly Olive Oil Cookies

Mantecados de Aceite de Oliva

Oat flour.

Makes about 40 (2X2 ½ -inch) cookies.

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

½ cup packed brown sugar

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

2 ½ cups oat flour

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour + additional to roll out the cookies

¼ cup almond flour (unsweetened)

¼ teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Powdered sugar to finish (optional)

In a bowl beat the oil with the two kinds of sugar and the lemon zest. In a mixing bowl, combine the oat flour, all-purpose flour and almond flour with baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Stir to mix.

Soft cookie dough.

Make a well in the center of the flour ingredients. Pour in the oil and sugar. Mix into the flour to make a soft, smooth dough. Knead briefly to mix completely. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Have ready 2 baking sheets and 2 sheets of baking parchment.

Roll and cut the cookies on baking parchment, then slide the sheet of parchment onto the baking sheet.

Divide the dough in half. Place one sheet of parchment on work surface. Place one half of the dough on it. Sprinkle rolling pin with flour. Roll the dough into a rectangle about ¼ inch thick. Use a pastry wheel or knife to cut into rectangles. Slide the sheet of parchment with the cut dough onto one of the baking sheets. Repeat with the second sheet of parchment.

Place the sheets in the oven and bake 10 minutes. Reverse the position of the baking sheets. Bake 10 minutes longer. Remove the sheets from the oven and place them on racks. Let the cookies cool completely before removing them from the sheets.

Cool cookies before removing them from baking sheet.

Sprinkle the cookies with powdered sugar, if desired. Carefully lift them off the baking sheet and place on a platter. 

To make strawberry or chocolate whip: Crumbled some of the cookies. Chill heavy cream and whip it until stiff. Sweeten to taste with powdered sugar. For the strawberry whip, fold in sliced strawberries, a teaspoon of vanilla extract and a handful of crumbled cookies. For the chocolate whip, whip  the cream with a big spoonful of unsweetened cocoa powder and powdered sugar to taste. Fold crumbled olive oil cookies into the mixture. Spoon into dessert cups and chill.

More cookies with olive oil:

Crispy Olive Oil Cookies (Tortas de Aceite).

Cookies for crumb crust:

Cheese-Custard Tart with Mantecados Crust.

Recipe for Mantecados (with lard) here.