Polvorones De Cacahuate: Delicious Peanut Cookies

Polvorones de cacahuate, or peanut clouds, are small cookies that are thick and crumbly. They are a basic cookie stocked in every Mexican bakery. While they are traditionally served at baptisms, first communions and fiestas, they are enjoyed any day of the year.

Peanuts originated in South America, where they grow wild in Brazil and Bolivia. Over 15 species of wild peanut are found in these areas. Once they made their way to Mexico, they became a part of the local cuisine. Peanuts became a big part of mole recipes and were often used in place of almonds in sweets. The Mexicans called peanuts earth cocoa, since the legumes grew in the ground. This is where the Spanish word, cacahuate, comes from.

Delicious Cookie

Today, peanuts are used a lot in Mexico in cookies and candies, beverages and snack foods. Peanuts are roasted with chilies, garlic, and salt as a common afternoon treat. This recipe uses raw peanuts that have not been roasted. You should be able to find them in the bulk sections of your local supermarket or at specialty markets. Peanuts are very nutritious and add a lot of protein to the recipes they are added to. They help make many desserts, like these peanut clouds, good for you as well as delicious.

Recipe for Peanut Clouds

These light little cookies are perfect for celebrations or just snacking.

What You Need

1 cup raw peanuts without skins; coarsely chopped 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 1/2 cup vegetable shortening, room temperature 1/2 cup powdered sugar, plus 1 cup, sifted 2 cups all purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon salt

How to Make It

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.

Chop the peanuts to a fine consistency using a food processor or small coffee grinder. You want them fine, but you do not want them to make a paste.

Mix the butter and shortening together in a bowl and beat it using an electric mixer until it is creamy. Add the half cup of powdered sugar and beat it into the butter mixture until it is fluffy and light.

Place 3/4 of the flour and salt in a sifter and let it sift together into the butter mixture. Stir until everything is well combined. Add the ground peanuts and the rest of the flour. Mix well. Let the dough refrigerate, covered, for a minimum of 1 hour; overnight is better.

Take small pieces of the chilled dough and roll them into 3/4 inch balls. Place them on an ungreased baking sheet about an inch apart.

Bake the cookies for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned on the edges.

Spread the remaining cup of powdered sugar in a pie plate or shallow dish. While warm from the oven, roll the cookies in the sugar until they are well coated. Repeat after the cookies are cool.

Serve the cookies immediately or store them in a tightly covered container between layers of parchment paper. Peanut Clouds will store for several weeks.

Polvorones De Cacahuate: Delicious Peanut Cookies

If you like Mexican recipes, you will love Mexican desserts. You can find recipes for creamy desserts, spicy desserts and crunchy desserts. Let your taste buds do the walking through Mexican cuisine and see what you like best.

MexicanDessertRecipes.net The Sweet Side of Mexican Food