bistochitos and too much food

This morning I am home from church. 

Our son was up most of the night, more moaning than anything else.

Too much, too many combinations of food the past two days did his poor tummy in, we think.

We a wonderful Christmas with friends.  Stayed up too late and we all ate too much.

Photos of the great time we had, of the food we made, gifts we got...you ask.

Batteries not charged.  

My gift to the kids!  hee hee  They were pretty excited.

The batteries died right after this photo.  Sorry I don't have more.

Biscochitos, also known as biscochos (depending on if you're from the north or south), are the state cookie in New Mexico and have a long tradition in the state.  Some call them an afro-de-ze-ak.   They were originally introduced to Mexico by Spanish explorers in the 16th Century.

(information adapted from here)

While you can serve them all year-round, they are more commonly served Christmas Eve/Christmas Day.  One other New Mexican tradition on Christmas Eve are the luminarias.  A small town near us has a luminaria display every Christmas Eve.  There is one house that hands out biscochitos.  We always make sure to stop there!

Now for the recipe.  I noted the few changes that we do.

Biscochitos

Ingredients

6 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups lard (or butter, though lard tastes more authentic)

1 1/2 cups white sugar

2 teaspoons anise seed (can use 1 tsp seed and 1 tsp ground anise)

2 eggs

1/4 cup brandy (can omit)(if omitted, add milk or water to moisten)

I like to add about 2-3 teaspoons anise extract

1/4 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl, and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the lard and 1 1/2 cups sugar until smooth. Mix in the anise seed/ground anise, and beat until fluffy. Stir in the eggs one at a time. Add the sifted ingredients and brandy, and stir until well blended.

On a floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/2 or 1/4 inch thickness, and cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters. The traditional is fleur-de-lis. You can also form small balls, then roll them in the sugar cinnamon mixture.  Place cookies onto baking sheets. Mix together the 1/4 cup of sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over the tops of the cookies.

Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the bottoms are lightly browned.

Enjoy!
 
I also made my Mother-in-law's cheesy potatoes.  We brought back an empty dish.