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You are here: Home » Recipes » Breakfast & Brunch

Gorditas de Harina

Published: Jan 20, 2015 · Updated: Aug 22, 2019 by Mely Martínez

JUMP TO RECIPE

Every time I bake these cookies, I think of my childhood friend Leonor, and the one day back in 6th grade when we decided to bake these cookies at her house. We were both making the cookies on the stovetop, and her little brother insisted on having one before we were done making the whole batch.

When we told him that he couldn’t have one until all of them were ready, he started crying out loud, yelling: “no one is denied a cookie!” He kept wailing and saying that phrase over and over, and eventually, my friend and I got annoyed and decided to give him a cookie. And now, you know that according to any child: no one is denied a cookie.

Gorditas de Harina Recipe

Griddle Cookies

These cookies are really easy to make, and as soon as they’re out of the griddle, they’ll somehow disappear. My son absolutely loves these, as they make an excellent sweet snack for an afternoon coffee or tea. The dough is easy to work with, and you can add other ingredients to create new flavors (Use your imagination!).There’s an endless number of griddle cookies in Mexico, all commonly called “gorditas” (fatty ones).

Some make them with cornflour, while others choose to use wheat flour. The choice of fat used in the gorditas also depends on the cook and the region of the country. The choices are diverse, including butter, lard, margarine, heavy cream, and even suet (beef fat). Griddle cookies can be made very thin and crispy, or soft and thick. The best part is that after you make them, they can be stored for several days, just like any other cookie.

How to make gorditas de harina Recipe

JUMP TO FULL INSTRUCTIONS 

DIRECTIONS:

how to make Griddle Cookies

  • Heat the water and the cinnamon stick in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. When it starts boiling, reduce the heat to low, about 6-8 minutes. Remove from heat, and discard the cinnamon stick. Cool to room temperature. (Please check the ingredients list below)
  • Combine flour and sugar in a bowl. Add the shortening in small pieces, mix the shortening with the flour/sugar mix until it resembles coarse crumbs.
how to make Griddle Cookies, como hacer gorditas de harina dulce
  • Slowly add the cinnamon tea over the mixture, tablespoon by tablespoon, and knead the dough until it sticks together.
  • Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. When ready to make, let the dough sit on the counter for about 10 minutes.
  • Heat the griddle or comal to medium heat. Divide the dough into small balls of about 1.15 oz/30grs. Keep covered with a plastic wrap. Line your tortilla press with 2 pieces of plastic cut to fit the size of the tortilla press.
Griddle Cookies, como hacer gorditas de harina dulce
  • Place one piece of dough between the 2 plastic pieces and gently press the tortilla press’s handle to flatten the dough. Remove the piece of plastic covering the dough and lift the cookie using the piece of plastic at the bottom. Flip the plastic to place the cookie over the palm of your hand.
gorditas de harina dulces, how to make Griddle Cookies
  • Place onto the griddle and cook about 1 minute on each side. Depending on how thick you make your cookies, the cooking time will vary, up to 1-½ to 2 minutes per side.
  • Carefully remove the cookie and move to a plate lined with a kitchen/tea towel. Wait until cookies are cool and crispy to eat.
Gorditas de harina dulce

¡Buen provecho!

Mely,

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Tortillas chips

📖 Recipe

Griddle Cookies

Mely Martínez
These cookies are really easy to make, and as soon as they’re out of the griddle, they’ll somehow disappear. My son absolutely loves these, as they make an excellent sweet snack for an afternoon coffee or tea. The dough is easy to work with, and you can add other ingredients.
4.78 from 9 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Course Breads
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 20 Gorditas
Calories 133 kcal

Ingredients
  

For the Cinnamon tea:

  • 1 cup of water
  • ½ stick of cinnamon

For the dough:

  • 2 Cups all purpose flour
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ¾ cup shortening
  • 6 Tablespoons of cinnamon tea*

Instructions
 

  • Heat the water and the cinnamon stick in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. When it starts boiling, reduce the heat to low and keep simmering until the water starts changing to a very light caramel color, about 6-8 minutes. Remove from heat, and discard the cinnamon stick. Cool to room temperature.
  • Combine flour and sugar in a bowl. Add the shortening in small pieces over the flour-sugar mix. With your hands, mix the shortening with the flour/sugar mix until it resembles coarse crumbs.
  • Slowly add the cinnamon tea over the mixture, tablespoon by tablespoon, and knead the dough until it sticks together. If the dough does not come together, stir in a little bit more of cinnamon tea, one teaspoon at time, until the dough comes together.
  • Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes**. (See Note above) This step helps develop the gluten, and it will be easier to form the circles. When ready to make, let the dough sit on the counter for about 10 minutes. (The dough keeps very well in the fridge for about 2 days, or it can be frozen for up to 1 month.)
  • Heat the griddle or comal to medium heat. Divide the dough into small balls of about 1.15 oz/30grs. Keep covered with a plastic wrap. Line your tortilla press with 2 pieces of plastic cut to fit the size of the tortilla press. If you don’t have a tortilla press, you can use a heavy glass pie dish to press the dough and form the cookies.
  • Place one piece of dough between the 2 plastic pieces and gently press the tortilla press’s handle to flatten the dough. Remove the piece of plastic covering the dough and lift the cookie using the piece of plastic at the bottom. Flip the plastic to place the cookie over the palm of your hand.
  • Place onto the griddle and cook about 1 minute on each side. Be very careful while flipping the cookies, as they are very fragile. You can use a thin spatula to do this step. Depending on how thick you make your cookies, the cooking time will vary, up to 1-½ to 2 minutes per side.
  • Carefully remove the cookie and move to a plate lined with a kitchen/tea towel. Repeat the process with the rest of the dough. Wait until cookies are cool and crispy to eat. You can store the cookies in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Notes

*Not everyone makes them using cinnamon tea, this is just the way my mom makes them. You can use plain warm water if you prefer to do so.
**I usually start making the gorditas right away, but it is easier to work the dough once it has rested for at least 30 minutes.

Nutrition

Serving: 1CookieCalories: 133kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 1gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gSodium: 1mgPotassium: 14mgFiber: 1gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 1IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 3mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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Reader Interactions

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  1. Linda

    February 25, 2023 at 7:59 pm

    I have very sweet childhood memories eating the gorditas de dulce. I just made some today and I added extra flavorings to bring out more of the flavors my mom cooked with. First, I omitted the vanilla, sugar and milk and cooked one large piloncillo cone with one large cinnamon stick and 1/2 tsp ground cloves in 2 cups water. Instead of shortening I used half cup melted butter. I have to say they came out very tasty. Next time I will blend the cooked cinnamon stick and add it. I prefer the flavor of the stick than using ground cinnamon. Thanks for sharing your recipe.

    Reply
  2. ELIZABETH

    March 27, 2022 at 9:40 pm

    This recipe seems very similar to pie crust dough. When I was growing up, my grandmother would take the scraps of pie dough, brush them with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar then bake them for us to eat as a snack. I would expect these to have a somewhat similar flavor. I think I will try a half recipe. I do have a question, though...can whole wheat flour be used to make these?

    Reply
    • Mely Martínez

      March 28, 2022 at 11:10 am

      Hello Elizabeth,
      You can try using whole wheat. The flavor will change considerable.

      Reply
  3. Isaiah

    March 25, 2021 at 11:29 am

    Hi Mely, I was wanting to make these as part of a school project where we are "Catering" a themed meal and I feel like this would be great for a light desert course. Is there anything that you can do to provide the nutrition facts as that we could use this as part of our project? Thank you and I love your content and recipes!

    Reply
    • Mely Martínez

      March 25, 2021 at 2:56 pm

      Hello Isaiah,

      The nutritional value has been added. Have fun cooking!

      Reply
  4. Carrie

    December 14, 2020 at 3:16 pm

    5 stars
    Mely, Muchas gracias por compartir sus recetas. Acabo de hacer estas deliciosa gorditas con mis estudiantes de español 4to año. Salieron muy sabrosos y los estudiantes las hicieron solitos con mi instruccion en español. ¡Deliciosas!

    Reply
    • Mely Martínez

      December 14, 2020 at 7:01 pm

      Hola, Carrie!
      Que emoción saber que las pudieron hacer ellos mismos! Muchas gracias por visitarnos, epsero les hayan gustado las gorditas dulces a los niños.

      Reply
  5. Janet

    April 06, 2020 at 6:38 pm

    Just finished making these.. me salieron bien. Si tienen sabor, you can taste the sugar & canela tea. The only difference is that in the Spanish receta dice 6 cucharas de tea, so that’s what I added. Not the whole cup of tea. I have an electric stove so the cooking time was somewhat different. Also once on the pan/griddle I keep adding manteca/ shortening onto the side of the Gordita so it cooks it completely. Well that’s how I’ve seen my MIL do it and it works. Hopes this helps others..Happy baking! Gracias por la receta!

    Reply
  6. Silvia

    December 14, 2018 at 11:55 am

    Me recuerdan a mi abuelita. Me las como con cajeta!!! Gracias por las ricas recetas, que chido tener un lugar donde encontrar recetas caseras auténticas, fáciles, y mas importante RICAS! Gracias Mely!!!!!

    Reply
    • mmartinez

      December 14, 2018 at 6:29 pm

      Hola Silvia,
      gracias por visitarnos y por probar las recetas. Provecho!

      Reply
  7. Dabid

    April 16, 2018 at 6:43 pm

    5 stars
    These cookies are great i wish i could make them and not have to tell my mom all the time yo make them.

    Reply
  8. Anna A.

    February 26, 2018 at 11:21 pm

    4 stars
    I'm curious what these should tastes like. I made them exactly like instructions and they look exactly like your pictures. They taste ok, but other than crisp and sweet they don't have much flavor. Can't even taste cinnamon and I make my tea strong. I guess I was expecting more flavor.

    Reply
    • mmartinez

      February 27, 2018 at 10:13 am

      Hello Anna,
      These popular & loved Mexican cookies are not meant to have a strong flavor. The reason they are cooked on the griddle is to make them a quick and easy snack.
      Happy cooking!

      Reply
  9. Eloísa Schutte

    January 22, 2015 at 5:25 pm

    Si uso Maseca* todos los demas ingredientes siguen igual?

    Gracias!! Me encanta tu blog... haces que todo parezca muy facil! 🙂

    Reply
    • Mely Martinez

      January 22, 2015 at 9:12 pm

      Hola Eloísa
      SI usas maseca los demás ingredientes no son igual. Ya que la manteca hará que las gorditas se quiebren en el comal.
      Puedes usar una mezcla de las dos harinas, ó hacer con maseca y hornear como los coricos o pemoles.

      Más adelante pondre la receta de los pemoles, esos se hacen con maseca y se cocinan en el horno.

      Saludos y gracias por visitar. 🙂

      Mely

      Reply
  10. Nammi

    January 21, 2015 at 2:34 am

    wow they seem very easy to make, and looks very tempting 🙂

    Reply
  11. yomiyomes

    January 20, 2015 at 4:41 pm

    When you say to add shortening, can I use lard?

    Reply
    • Mely Martinez

      January 20, 2015 at 9:00 pm

      Hello yomiyomes,

      yes, you can use butter, lard and even margarine. The texture will change depending of the type of fat, but they will still takes great!

      Reply
    • yomiyomes

      January 20, 2015 at 11:19 pm

      Okay great! Thank you. My mom has made those out of piloncillo and they are amazing! It has been a long time since she's made them.

      Reply
    • Mely Martinez

      January 21, 2015 at 1:29 pm

      Yes, Yomiyomes! As I mentioned above, you can add piloncillo, cream and even cheese.
      Happy cooking!

      Reply
  12. Nora Ceccopieri

    January 20, 2015 at 4:21 pm

    Se me antojaron Mely! Esta temporada no he hecho gorditas. Manos a la obra!

    Reply

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About me

Hi, I'm Mely Martinez, a former Mexican school teacher, home cook, and food blogger. I moved to the United States about ten years ago, after living in Mexico my whole life. Now I love to share home-style recipes for authentic Mexican food.
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