Polvorones

It feels like a good long while since I posted any baking recipes here. Don't be fooled by the absence of sweet delights into thinking that we have gone all healthy and sugar free around here. There has been a healthy amount of sugar whirling around this kitchen, but I have just failed to find time to write about them. So, here's to the start of changing that.

A few weeks back I was browsing the Pioneer Woman's website, and came across her recipe for Polvorones - a Mexican wedding cookie. I was seduced by her photos, and I loved the idea of a cookie designed especially for weddings. After reading the Pioneer Woman's post about these cookies, her images stayed with me, which I consider to be a good sign of a great food photographer and a potentially delicious recipe. The process of making these cookies involves clarifying butter, chilling it, then whipping it up into a frenzy which makes butter look like whipped cream. Fascinating. I wanted to try making them, just to see what happens when you whip butter that's been melted and solidified, so I gave them a try.

If you would like to make these, I'll let you follow the Pioneer Woman's instructions which are here and for now, I will just share my thoughts on these buttery bites. There was something very satisfying about clarifying the butter - this just involves melting it, skimming off the foam, them sieving the melted butter to separate any remaining milk solids from the pure yellow goodness. Next, you stir in sugar, then chill to let the butter solidify again, before whipping until fluffy.

In all honesty, this is a time consuming process, and a little bit of a faff. The end result of these cookies is a very light, melt in your mouth texture, and I loved the way they delicately cracked on the top, but totally held their shape. I think the next time I have a hankering for a buttery cookie, I'll stick to shortbread, which is a million times quicker to make! If you are in the mood to make something sweet, buttery and tasty, and have a leisurely afternoon ahead of you, I would recommend these, just for exploring a different method of cookie creating. They're quite pretty, aren't they?