The recipe for these cookies is so easy to make, and the best part is the versatility of the dough. With the same dough, you can make many different cookies or polvorones. The only thing you will change is the shape, flavor or toppings depending on what cookie you want to make with it.
Polvorones: One cookie with many faces
I want to thank three great bakers in Mexico: my dear friend Gabriela, from the blog Gabriela Clavo y Canela, in Mexico City; my friend Mario, owner of Panaderia D’Mario in the State of Morelos; and to Eliseo and Feliciano, bakers at a small bakery in my hometown Tampico, Tamaulipas. They are always kind enough to share their recipes and baking tips with me.
An old and traditional bakery in my hometown.
I hope you all enjoy the Polvorones as much as we do at home.
How to make Polvorones Cookie Recipe
DIRECTIONS:
SIMPLE CIRCLE SHAPE POLVORONES
- First, adjust the oven rack to the middle position and turn the oven on to 325 degrees. Grease 2 baking sheets or line with parchment paper. (Please check the ingredients list below)
- In a medium size bowl mix the flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
- Using a stand mixer, beat shortening and sugar on medium speed until it turns fluffy and creamy, for about 3 minutes. Add egg and orange zest or vanilla and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low and add the flour mixture one cup at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. The dough will become a little stiff. If you don’t have a stand mixer, mix the ingredients in the same order in a large bowl using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. I had made them using a stand mixer and by hand and both methods work fine. Of course, it will be faster using the stand mixer.
- Divide the dough in half forming a disc with each piece of dough. Roll each disk of dough into a large circle using your rolling pin, about ⅓ inch thick, on the lightly floured surface. Using the 3 ¼ biscuit cutter, cut out 8 circles, re-rolling dough scraps just once to form more circles. Roll out the second disk of dough and proceed to form the rest of the circle as you did with the first tone.
- Place dough circles on prepared baking sheets spacing the cookies ½ inch apart. Dust center of the cookies with granulated sugar. Bake until edges are lightly browned, about 18 minutes, switching and rotating baking sheets halfway through baking time. Let the cookies cool on sheets on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling wire racks.
When baking cakes, bread or cookies, I prefer to use grams instead of ounces or cups, tablespoons or teaspoons. When using grams, your measurement of ingredients will be more precise every time. Baking is a little bit of science and art, and every time you change the amount of an ingredient the results are going to be different. Kitchen scales are not expensive and are a very useful tool for your baking.
OTHER SHAPES OF COOKIES USING THE SAME DOUGH
This is another common shape for polvorones, and for this, you will need a very highly sophisticated gadget: a glass bottle! Yes, use the tip of a glass bottle to stamp that little circle at the center of the cookies.
- Place about ½ cup of granulated sugar in shallow dish. Divide the dough in medium size balls (65 grams), with your hand roll 16 balls. Roll balls in sugar to coat.
- Place the balls in a lightly floured surface and with the bottom of a thick glass gently press down one at a time to a ⅓” inch thick. Dust tip of the glass bottle with flour and then gently press the center of the cookie. Some bakeries add ¼ teaspoon of strawberry preserves in the center circle.
- Make sure to space cookies 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets and bake for about 18-20 minutes, until edges are golden.
ROLL AND CUT
- Form a log with the dough and refrigerate about 30 minutes, wrapped with plastic film.
- When ready to bake, cut in ⅓-IN slices, place on baking sheet, sprinkle with sugar, and bake 18-20 minutes.
GENDARMES
- To form these cookies divide the dough in 65 grams balls, roll them with your hands in a long shape resembling a banana. Gently press your finger in the dough slightly flattening the top.
- Mix one egg yolk with few drops of water. Brush the top part of the dough with egg yolk. With a fork scratch the top surface of the dough. Brush egg yolk once again over the top of the cookie dough.
- Bake as instructed above.
As mentioned before, this dough is very versatile, you can just brush the tops with egg yolk before baking to get a glossy cookie, or brush with egg yolk and cover with multicolor sprinkles, or once the cookies are baked and cool down dust them with confectioners sugar.
One cookie dough with many faces... I hope you enjoy this recipe.
¡Buen provecho!
Mely,
More recipes:
Mango Mousse Recipe
Easy Avocado Ice Cream
Receta en Español Pan de dulce Polvorones.
📖 Recipe
Polvorones Mexicanos
The recipe for these cookies is so easy to make, and the best part is the versatility of the dough. With the same dough, you can make many different cookies or Polvorones Mexicanos. The only thing you will change is the shape, flavor or toppings depending on what cookie you want to make with it.
Ingredients
- 300 grams vegetable shortening about 1 ½ cup
- 250 grams granulated sugar 1 ¼ cup
- 1 large egg
- 500 grams All Purpose Flour 4 cups
- 15 grams baking powder 4 teaspoons
- 3 grams baking soda ½ teaspoon
- Zest of one orange
- ⅓ cup sugar granulated for dusting
OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS FOR TOPPINGS AND FLAVORING
- Confectioner sugar
- Egg yolks beaten
- Cocoa Powder
- Vanilla
- Organic red and yellow food coloring
Instructions
SIMPLE CIRCLE SHAPE POLVORONES
- First, adjust the oven rack to the middle position and turn the oven on to 325 degrees. Grease 2 baking sheets or line with parchment paper.
- In a medium size bowl mix the flour, baking powder and baking soda.
- Using a stand mixer, beat shortening and sugar on medium speed until it turns fluffy and creamy, for about 3 minutes. Add egg and orange zest or vanilla and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low and add the flour mixture one cup at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. The dough will become a little stiff. If you don’t have a stand mixer, mix the ingredients in the same order in a large bowl using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. I had made them using a stand mixer and by hand and both methods work fine. Of course, it will be faster using the stand mixer.
- Divide the dough in half forming a disc with each piece of dough. Roll each disk of dough into a large circle using your rolling pin, about ⅓ inch thick, on the lightly floured surface. Using the 3 ¼ biscuit cutter, cut out 8 circles, re-rolling dough scraps just once to form more circles. Roll out the second disk of dough and proceed to form the rest of the circle as you did with the first tone.
- Place dough circles on prepared baking sheets spacing the cookies ½ inch apart. Dust center of the cookies with granulated sugar. Bake until edges are lightly browned, about 18 minutes, switching and rotating baking sheets halfway through baking time. Let the cookies cool on sheets on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling wire racks.
- When baking cakes, bread or cookies, I prefer to use grams instead of ounces or cups, tablespoons or teaspoons. When using grams, your measurement of ingredients will be more precise every time. Baking is a little bit of science and art, and every time you change the amount of an ingredient the results are going to be different. Kitchen scales are not expensive and are a very useful tool for your baking.
OTHER SHAPES OF COOKIES USING THE SAME DOUGH
- This is another common shape for polvorones, and for this, you will need a very highly sophisticated gadget: a glass bottle! Yes, use the tip of a glass bottle to stamp that little circle at the center of the cookies.
- Place about ½ cup of granulated sugar in shallow dish. Divide the dough into medium size balls (65 grams), with your hand roll 16 balls. Roll balls in sugar to coat.
- Place the balls on a lightly floured surface and with the bottom of a thick glass gently press down one at a time to a ⅓” inch thick. Dust tip of the glass bottle with flour and then gently press the center of the cookie. Some bakeries add ¼ teaspoon of strawberry preserves in the center circle.
- Make sure to space cookies 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets and bake for about 18-20 minutes, until edges are golden.
ROLL AND CUT
- Form a log with the dough and refrigerate about 30 minutes, wrapped with plastic film.
- When ready to bake, cut in ⅓-IN slices, place on baking sheet, sprinkle with sugar, and bake 18-20 minutes.
GENDARMES
- To form these cookies divide the dough into 65 grams balls, roll them with your hands in a long shape resembling a banana. Gently press your finger into the dough slightly flattening the top.
- Mix one egg yolk with few drops of water. Brush the top part of the dough with egg yolk. With a fork scratch the top surface of the dough. Brush egg yolk once again over the top of the cookie dough.
- Bake as instructed above.
- As mentioned before, this dough is very versatile, you can just brush the tops with egg yolk before baking to get a glossy cookie, or brush with egg yolk and cover with multicolor sprinkles, or once the cookies are baked and cool down dust them with confectioners sugar.
One cookie dough with many faces… I hope you enjoy this recipe.
Notes
- If you prefer to have a vanilla flavor instead of orange, add ½ tablespoon of vanilla instead of the orange zest.
- For chocolate cookies, mix in 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder to the dry ingredients.
- Some Mexican bakeries sell the pink or yellow colored cookies. If you want to have that same effect, add a few drops of food coloring to the wet ingredients before adding the flour. You can also set aside a portion of the dough and add the food coloring and knead to mix in the color.
- To give the cookies a shiny and glossy finish, brush egg yolk to the tops before baking.
- Plan ahead to make the cookies making sure you have all the ingredients. You will need a 3-¼″ biscuit cutter and 2 baking sheets.
- You can divide the dough and freeze one part for later use.
NEW COOKBOOK
BUY IT NOW
Nutrition
Serving: 1PolvoronCalories: 361kcalCarbohydrates: 44gProtein: 4gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 2gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 58mgPotassium: 133mgFiber: 1gSugar: 20gVitamin A: 17IUCalcium: 47mgIron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
melissa araujo
Why did my dough come out crumble I can't even keep it together .
Mely Martínez
Hello Melissa,
When it is too dry you can always add a little bit of water to the flour mix.
Carol
This is my first time trying this recipe. I am extra happy that I received my digital scale to try measuring in grams. However, I also used the cups measurements as a reference, and didn’t notice at first that when you x2 the cup measurements did not change! My first pan came out…delicious!
Patricia brown
I made these for the first time and they were so easy to make and also one of the best cookies I have ever eaten! They were delicate and crumbly like the best shortbread. I used the orange zest and they had the faintest hint of orange. DELICIOUS!!!
Elizabeth Contreras
I've made these cookies several times and multiple flavors and colors. And they have all been a success and pleasant surprise. Although I did change one slight thing bc I think all cookies need real butter so I adjusted the shortening ti incorporate some real butter. They came out amazing ! Thanks
Mely Martínez
Hello Elizabeth,
Thank you for trying the recipe. I hope you can share how much butter you added.
Judy
I substituted all of the shortening for butter and the cookies were divine!
Mely Martínez
Hello Judy,
Thank you for coming back to share about it. I know it will be very helpful for other bakers.
Juanita Gallegos
Thank you for the recipe. I made with my kids yesterday. We had fun making the polvorones and they were delicious!
Carla
Hola Mely!
Me encanta tu página y siempre la visito cuando necesito recetas 100% mexicanas. No sabes la emoción que sentí al ver la Panadería El Recreo!! Mi abuelo la abrió (junta con el Elite y demás). Mi tito falleció hace muchos años, pero se que sentiría mucho orgullo al ver la foto también. Un abrazo fuerte y viva Tampico! 🙂
Carla
Mely Martínez
Hola, Carla,
Que emoción saber que eres nieta de los fundadores de negocios que son toda una institución en nuestro Tampico Hermoso.
Saludos!
Claudia
Could I use butter or coconut oil instead of shortening?
Mely Martínez
Hello Claudia,
If you use butter the cookies will not be as crumbling as using the shortening, but you certainly use butter.
As for coconut oil, I'm not familiar with using it.
Crystal S.
Thank you for this cookie recipe! It was so easy to follow and we had all ingredients on hand. We chose to do the egg wash with sprinkle topping because it is one of my favorite cookies from the panadaria. My husband and children love this recipe! It will definitely be in our cookie rotation.
Candace
I make these cookies often and they are delicious! Sometimes I make them as the recipe says and sometimes I substitute a portion of the flour for almond flour and add almond flavoring. Either way, they taste delicious and are oh so addictive!
Thank you so much for sharing all your recipes!
Candace
Mely Martínez
Hello Candace,
Thank you for visiting and trying the Polvorones, and thank you for sharing the tip of adding almond flour!
Matt Sloan
We enjoy the cookies but the packaging is so tight and complicated that it is almost impossible to get the package open
Mely Martínez
Hello Matt,
What packaging are you referring to?
Luis H
I fist came across your site when I searched for tortillas de harina; I'm now a big fan of your recipe; it provides the prefect consistency and balance of shortening and they come out so soft.
I had to try the polvorenes recipe; without a doubt, they are amazing. I like add both vanilla and orange zest and also like to add chocolate chips after they've been rolled and pressed - another way to make them your own.
Great job with your recipes, I look forward to trying out more!
Tanya B.
Have you tried this recipe using manteca instead of shortening?
Mely Martínez
Hello Tanya,
I haven't tried it that way yet.
Jerry
¡Gracias! This is just the recipe I’ve been looking for! The Polvorones came out con maravilla!
Claudia villares
Love polvorines! Thank your for the tutorial! My kids are so happy!
Laura
Hi mely thank you for posting this recipe!
Gladis
Hi Mely! I love polvorones! I’m going to try to make these. Do you think I can use butter instead of vegetable shortening? Also, what do you mean by “divide the dough in half forming a disc?” Thank you so much!
mmartinez
Hello Gladis,
If you use butter your polvorones will be hard, butter gives them a different consistency. In a disc, to form or shape the dough in a round shape. Happy baking!
Leti
Thank you for sharing this awesome recipe! I made it last weekend for my family and everyone loved it! I even like these better than the ones I buy at our local bakery!!!
JT
I am so glad to see this recipe by weight measure. It so easy and accurate doing it this way. I always weigh my ingredients. Love it~
Sandra Vidal
Thank you for sharing this recipe, my husband love this Mexican cookies and we bake them this last weekend. So easy to make.
Yesica
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I've been trying to recreate these for ages with little luck. With this recipe, they came out just like the panaderias! Muchisimas gracias <3
mmartinez
Hello Yesica,
Thank you for trying the recipe. I hope you also try the Mantecadas recipe here on the blog. Easy to make too.
Kate
Gracias! These photos look just like my favorites from my local panaderia. Can’t wait to try them and add the peanuts, those are the best!
Pat
Can I use butter in place of shortening?
mmartinez
Hello Pat,
If you use butter they will come out a little hard.
Meggy
How can I make the pink ones taste like strawberry?
mmartinez
Hello Meggy,
Traditional, these bread have a vanilla flavoring but if you want, you can add strawberry flavor. Check this link to purchase it online. http://amzn.to/2jHhQrn
Krystal Gallegos
Hola, Mely!! Muchos gracias para esta receta!!! Estos polvorones son comp los que venden en las panaderias!!! Son ricas!!! Yo hice esta receta para mi novio y su familia, y les gustaban lo s polvorones!!!!
mmartinez
Hola Krystal,
Que bueno que les gustaron! Saludos! Happy baking!
Unknown
good morning, could I replace the orange zest to lemon zest?
mmartinez
Hello,
Yes you can!
Anonymous
Nunca entiendo qué es esa cosa blanca que llaman "shortening". Si vivo en México, ¿qué puedo usar en vez de eso? ¿Alguna marca de algo?
mmartinez
Hola,
Shortening es la manteca vegetal, puedes usar la marca Inca. No uses mantequilla porque entonces te van a quedar duros.
Anonymous
I will be trying this recipe today,I have tried countless recipes trying to recreate the pink polvorones but I haven't been successful thank you for this recipe I hope this is "THE ONE", one question though does it have to be vegetable shortening,I have a shortening made with animal fats will that work too? Or should I use Crisco instead?
mmartinez
Hello,
You should use shortening, any brand will do, crisco is fine. It helps to create the crumbly texture of these cookies. Please, do not over knead the dough to avoid a hard cookie.
mmartinez
Hello,
You should use shortening, any brand will do, crisco is fine. It helps to create the crumbly texture of these cookies. Please, do not over knead the dough to avoid a hard cookie.
Heidi Leon Monges
No sabes como me encantan los polvorones, y la verdad que no sabía que eran tan fácil de hacer (que verguenza!). Me lanzo de ya a hacerlos pronto, sólo que voy a sustituir la manteca vegetal que por aquí no encuentro, por aceite de coco (duro) que creo tiene una textura similar. Abrazos.
mmartinez
Hola Heidi,
Gusto verte por aquí, espero luego vengas a platicarnos cómo te funcionó el aceite de coco. Algunas personas me han preguntado si se puede usar, pero la verdad nunca lo he probado así.
Saludos!
Leilani
Hello! I have a big question: of all the recipes for polvorones I've seen online, I'm shocked that not one of them use lard. They all ask for butter and/or shortening. When I ask family what they make their polvorones with they laugh and say, duh, lard! Do you friends at the bakery ever use lard for their polvorones? Thanks!
mmartinez
Hello Leilani,
Maybe, you are referring to the cookies know with the following names: Pan de polvo, Hojarascas, and even polvorones, too. Those are mainly made using lard. But the bakery style polvorones are bigger and made with shortening. Happy baking!
Sasha Alexander
My little niños(7) love these cookies from the little mercadito/carnicería/panadería/restaurante. Yes, this is one little place that is like all these stores in one. It is like a little piece of Mexico. I love the smells and can not get enough of the good food.
Anonymous
I have read many recipes for this cookie and will definitely give these a try. My son loves these cookies, but there's a peanut/tree nut allergy so we can't get them at the Mexican bakery. (Or any bakery for that matter.) The fact that you credited mexican bakers makes it even better. Will post my results after I've made them. Thank you
mmartinez
Hello,
I hope you ive this recipe a try. It is so easy to make. Please let me know the results!
Unknown
I have never commented ok a recipe from online that I've made before, but I had to comment on this one. I made these cookies yesterday and they are amazing!! I'm a chocolate kind of gal and thought I was making these for my family but i ate 2 because they are so good!! The dough seemed a little dry, I had a hard time getting it to roll out without cracking so I used the method of rolling into balls, dipping in sugar and pressing, I'd like to roll them next time, would you suggest a little water? Or an extra egg?
mmartinez
Hello,
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. If you feel the dough is too dry to roll, add 1 teaspoon of cold water, if you still have trouble with the dough at a little more cold water.
Happy baking!
Ckatie
I have to say I had family coming over this evening and my husband made me make more, everybody loved them, with the recipe as is 🙂 still wasn't able to roll them but didn't add any water at all. Thank you soo much for this recipe!
Maggie Cano
I've made these cookies several times and they are always a hit. My cousin suggested I replace the orange zest with pecans because she thought they would taste great. I ground up some pecans and replaced 150g of the flour with ground pecans. I made small cookies using a 3in round cookie cutter and sprinkled with sugar after they came out of the oven. The result was better than the pecan sandies you buy at stores. Sooo good. Thank you Mely for yet another fabulous recipe!!
mmartinez
Hello Maggie Cano,
I am so glad you liked the recipe and better yet improve it with the addition of pecans. Next time try using peanuts, since there is a Mexican Polvorón with peanuts. I am sure you will also have great results.
Saludos and happy cooking!
Olga Devlin
Thank you so much for this recipe! I have been searching for so long! I've tested a few recipes out but haven't had the results I was looking for. These look like the ones from the panaderia! Wish me luck!
Nora Ceccopieri
Mely, una gran entrada la receta de tus polvorones. Me gustan mucho los de naranja. Crees que se pueden hacer con mantequilla en lugar de manteca vegetal?
Me encantó tu báscula, yo quiero una!
Besos
Mely
Hola Nora,
Si las preparas con mantequilla, entonces las galletas se van a hacer delgadas y expandir. Cuando se hacen con la manteca las galletas mantienen su forma, tamaño y grosor. Lo que causa este efecto es que la mantequilla tiene cierto porcentaje de agua y se derrite más pronto que la manteca. Hey! y bascula que le paso?
loves2spin
What fun!
Gabriela, clavo y canela
Hermosos Mely!!! Y por muy buena causa!
Besos
Gaby