While in Spain, I often buy the wrapped polvorones from the supermarket. They are easiest to find around Christmas time, though they are sometimes available at other times of the year. However, this recipe for polvorones is very easy to make at home. And that means you can have fresh polvorones at any time of the year. The original recipe comes from Tapas Revolution, an excellent Spanish cookbook. For this first try, I made the plain almond version. There are also variations with pistachio, lemon zest, cocoa, cashew, etc. Instead of lard, I used unsalted butter.
One tip for this recipe for polvorones is not to pack the crumbly “dough” too much. Part of what makes polvorones delicious is that they are light and crumble in your mouth. In fact, polvorone means powder in Spanish. A nice way to serve the polvorones, which also keeps them from sticking together, is to wrap them individually with greaseproof paper.
Ingredients
75g ground almonds
140g plain flour
90g lard or unsalted butter
50g icing sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 170C. First, spread the ground almonds and flour on a baking tray and toast in the oven for about 15 minutes or until light brown. Stir the mixture every few minutes to ensure even toasting. Remove from the oven and leave to cool down at room temperature.
Next, in a large mixing bowl, combine the lard or butter, icing sugar, ground cinnamon and toasted flour and almonds. You can use a mixer or your hands.
Then use a rolling pin to roll the dough out on a floured surface to a thickness of 2cm. Cut out round biscuit shapes, squeezing them together a bit in your hands.
Finally transfer the biscuits to a baking tray and bake in the preheated oven for about 14 minutes, until they are crisp and golden. Allow to cool. You can serve as is or to give them as gifts, wrap each one in grease-proof paper, twisted at the ends.
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