RING COOKIES FOR A SAINT'S DAY

 

Rosquillas de San Isidro--ring cookies for the saint's day.

Did you pay homage to San Isidro yesterday (May 15)? Patron saint of Madrid, San Isidro is the cause for a week’s celebration in the city, with deliciously old-fashioned customs such as donning the traditional puffy-sleeved chulapa dress with a pair of red carnations tucked in your kerchiefed head (or for the gentlemen, white shirts and checkered vests) and dancing the chotis; drinking the curative spring water at the saint’s shrine, and, even if you don’t take a picnic to the Pradera de San Isidro (San Isidro's meadow), at least partaking of a few rosquillas listas y tontas.

La Pradera de San Isidro, sketch by Francisco de Goya (Museo del Prado)

Rosquillas are ring cookies, a kissing cousin to doughnuts. They come both “listas” and “tontas”—"smarties" or "dummies". They are basically the same cookies, but the “smarties,” with sugar glaze, are fancier than the plain “dummies.”

Did you know that Madrid is the only European capital with Muslim origin? At the time of San Isidro’s birth (1070), the village of Madrid was part of the taifa (Islamic emirate) of Toledo. His family belonged to the Mozarab population, Christians who lived in a Muslim culture. (The word “mozárabe” comes from Arabic and means “would-be Arab”). Following the Christian reconquest of Toledo, Madrid would become part of the Christian kingdom of Castilla. Known as the patron saint of campesinos, peasants and farm workers, the devout San Isidro is often depicted at prayer while angels plow the fields. 

Rosquillas de San Isidro

Ring Cookies for San Isidro Day

Rosquillas are perfect for a tea party--or a picnic.

These cookies are not overly sweet. Too much sugar makes a sticky dough that is hard to work with. If you like more sweetness, go for the rosquillas listas, with a white icing. The ingredients given for the icing/glaze, with a whole egg white, will make enough for 16 rosquillas. If you’re only glazing half of them, you’ll have leftover icing.

If you like the flavor of anise a lot, add a tablespoon of anise liqueur to the dough in addition to the aniseed. If you don’t like it at all, substitute cinnamon for the aniseed. 

Knead the dough very briefly with only a little additional flour to make a soft dough that, although slightly sticky, can be rolled into small balls. Let the dough rest before rolling into balls to shape the rosquillas. Dip fingers into additional oil to roll the dough. Place the rings well separated, as they will expand in baking. Some may even bake closed in the center. (I wonder if these are the smarties or dumb-ies?)

The ring cookies are perfect for dunking—in coffee, tea, milk, or an herbal tisane. They are also a perfect accompaniment to sweet wine. Pack them on a picnic to the shrine of San Isidro or serve them for breakfast or snack any time of the year.

Looped on cords of rushes for picnic

Makes 16 (3-inch) ring cookies.

2 ½ cups flour + more for shaping dough

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons aniseed

4 eggs (1 separated)

½ cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil + more for shaping dough

¾ cup confectioners’ sugar

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Sift together the 2 ½ cups flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the aniseed.

In a mixing bowl on medium-high speed, beat 3 eggs with the sugar until the eggs are light in color, increased in volume, and very slightly thickened. Beat in the oil. 

Add the flour mixture to the eggs and combine well to make a soft dough. Knead in just enough additional flour so that the dough can be gathered into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and rest the dough 30 minutes at room temperature or refrigerate for longer. 

Preheat oven to 425ºF with convection fan (or 450ºF without fan). Line a baking sheet with parchment. 

Place a spoonful of oil in a small bowl. Dip fingers into the oil to prevent dough from sticking. Divide dough into 16 walnut-size balls (approx. 1.4 ounces each). Place them 1 ½ inches apart on the baking sheet.

Dip a finger into the oil and press into the center of each ball of dough to open a hole and stretch the dough into a ring.

Mix 1 egg yolk with 1 teaspoon of water. Brush the tops of the cookies. Bake them until nicely browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool cookies on racks.

Place 1 egg white in a bowl and beat until foamy. Add the confectioners’ sugar and beat at high speed 4 minutes. Beat in the lemon juice.

Place half of the cookies on a rack over sheet pan or paper to catch the drips. Either spoon the egg white glaze over them or else carefully dip them, topside down, into the egg white glaze. Place the rack in turned-off oven to dry for 15 minutes. The remaining unglazed cookies are the tontas. 

More recipes for roscos/rosquillas:

Antonia's Cinnamon Rings (wood-fired oven) 

Wine Ring Cookies (Roscos de Vino)

Orange-Scented Ring Cookies (Roscos de Naranja)

This recipe appears in FLAVORS OF AL-ANDALUS, The Culinary Legacy of Spain (Hippocrene Books; 2025). (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.  (Hippocrene Books)    

 Order on IndiePubs (USA) 

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

***

Order on amazon (USA)

Order on amazon.es  (Spain)

Order on amazon.co.uk (UK)

Order on amazon.com.au (Australia)

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

***

Order from Kitchen Arts & Letters

Order on ark.no (Norway)

ON THE FIFTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS----

You may already be taking down the tree, deciding what to wear on New Year’s Eve and getting the kids ready to go back to school. But, in Spain, Christmas is just getting started! The twelve days of Christmas begin on December 25 and finish on the eve of January 6, the holiday of the Reyes Magos, when the three kings arrive from Bethlehem bringing gifts for good children.

And, on the fifth day of Christmas, only FIVE GOLDEN RINGS remain of the dozens of roscos made by my friend Antonia. Cherished at Christmas, homemade roscos are somewhere between a cookie and a doughnut. Typically, they are served with aguardiente, anise liqueur, brandy and sweet wine.

Antonia lives in the village, but frequently spends weekends on the farmstead in the country where she grew up. During the holiday season, she and friends fire up the horno de leña, the old wood-burning bread oven, to make roscos de huevo, egg doughnuts, enough to last the twelve days of Christmas.

Antonia prepares a dough using a dozen eggs, a kilo (2.2 lbs) of sugar, a cup of honey, grated lemon zest, baking soda, about 2 cups of oil (olive or sunflower) and flour, about 3 kilos (about 6 ½ lbs). The eggs are separated and the whites beaten stiff, then folded into the dough to lighten it. She rolls out ropes of dough, pinches them into rings.

The roscos bake in the residual heat of the brick oven, initially fierce, then slowly cooling. They’re not overly sweet, have a subtle smoky flavor. Sometimes they are dipped in a honey syrup, but they are delicious unadorned for dipping into sweet Málaga wine or Sherry.

Other typical homemade Christmas sweets come not from the oven but the frying pan. Such are the empanadillas, little fried turnovers, that Carmen makes. She prepares a soft dough using olive oil, white wine, sweet Málaga wine, cinnamon, a bit of sugar and flour. She rolls out circles of dough and  places a spoonful of sweet potato filling on each. The filling she made earlier—sweet potato puree cooked with an equal weight of sugar, flavored with cinnamon and aniseed. She folds the dough over the filling, making half-moons, and crimps the edges. The empanadillas are lined up on a tray as she heats the oil in a deep frying pan. For the frying, she prefers sunflower oil. Olive oil, she explains, turns them darker.

Carmen fries up dozens of the little turnovers. She drains them on paper towels, then sprinkles them with granulated sugar. Many are special-ordered for family gatherings during Christmas. The rest are sold by her daughter who has a stall at the local market.

My recipes, below, for roscos and empanadillas, while not identical to Antonia’s and Carmen’s, are traditional homemade Christmas goodies. By the way, those fried turnovers would be ideal for Chanukah, so save the recipe for next year! 







Cinnamon-Wine Rings
Roscos de Vino

Makes 24 rings.

3 ¼ cups flour plus more for board
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup mild-flavored olive oil
½ cup white wine
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon sesame seed, toasted
Pinch of salt
Confectioner’s sugar for dusting (about 1/3 cup)

Preheat oven to 350º.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon. Combine the oil, wine and sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk to blend. Add the zest, sesame seed, and salt. Stir in the dry ingredients to make a soft dough.

Turn the dough out on a lightly floured board and knead until the dough is shiny, about 4 minutes.

Divide the dough into 24 walnut-sized balls. Roll each ball into a cord, about 6 inches long and ½ inch thick. Pinch the ends together forming a ring. Place the rings on baking sheets lined with parchment.

Bake in the middle of the oven, changing position of sheets once, until rings are lightly golden, 40 to 45 minutes.

Cool the rings on a rack. Sift confectioners’ sugar over them.

Fried Turnovers with Pumpkin Filling
Empanadillas de Calabaza

Makes about 28 small turnovers.
   
¾ cup olive oil
1 strip orange peel
1 tablespoon sesame seed
1 tablespoon aniseed
½ tablespoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
½ cup white wine
1 tablespoon brandy or anise brandy
2 tablespoons orange juice
¼ teaspoon salt
3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour plus additional for flouring board
1 ½ cups pumpkin jam (recipe follows)
Vegetable oil for deep frying
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Heat the oil in a small skillet with the orange peel. Remove from heat, cool for 1 minute. Remove and discard the orange peel. Then stir in the sesame seed and aniseed. Pour into a mixing bowl and allow to cool.

Add the cinnamon, cloves, wine, brandy, orange juice and salt to the oil. Using a large wooden spoon, stir in the flour to make a soft dough. Turn out on a lightly floured board and knead very briefly, just to combine well.

Let the dough rest, refrigerated, for at least 1 hour or up to 12 hours.

Roll out the dough thinly on a lightly floured board. Prick the dough all over with a fork. Use a 4 ½ -inch cookie cutter to cut circles.

Working with one disk at a time, place a spoonful of pumpkin jam on one half. Moisten the edges of the dough with water, then fold the circle in half, enclosing the filling. With fingers or the tines of a fork, crimp the edges together firmly to seal the turnover. Place on a tray. Continue filling and shaping the remainder of the dough.

Heat oil in a deep skillet to a depth of at least 1 ½ inches. Fry the turnovers, four or five at a time, until they are golden brown on both sides. Remove and drain on paper towelling. Dredge in sugar while they are still hot. Let the turnovers cool completely.


Pumpkin Jam
Dulce de Calabaza

Make this jam also with sweet potatoes. Use it with breakfast toast or as a filling for pastries.

Makes about 2 ¾ cups of jam.

You will need a small pumpkin or other winter squash weighing 2 ½ -3 pounds, to obtain 2 cups of cooked pulp. Steam it until tender and drain before pureeing.

2 cups pumpkin purée, well drained
2 ¼ cups sugar
1 teaspoon minced lemon peel
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
3-inch cinnamon stick

Place the purée, sugar, lemon peel, cloves and cinnamon in a heavy pan. Place on heat, partially covered to prevent splattering, until mixture is bubbling. Reduce heat and cook, stirring frequently, until the purée is thickened to jam consistency, 20-25 minutes. (A heat disperser is useful to prevent the purée from scorching.)

Place in clean jars and seal. Cool completely, then refrigerate. Use within two weeks.

©Janet Mendel