Oh, Hojarascas! This is a wonderful choice. These Mexican cookies are truly special: they are extremely crumbly (their name also means “fallen leaves” or “shed layers”) and have an intense cinnamony, sweet flavor. Their secret lies in the use of lard or butter and in rolling them in cinnamon sugar while they are still hot.

Here is a classic, reliable recipe for making Hojarascas:

📝 Ingredients
Quantity Ingredient Note
500 g All-purpose flour
200 g Lard or butter (room temperature) The traditional recipe uses lard for crumbliness!
100 g Powdered sugar (for the dough)
1 tsp. Cinnamon (ground, for the dough)
1 pinch Salt


Approx. 1-1.5 dl Water (lukewarm)
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
Quantity Coating Ingredients Note
200 g Granulated Sugar (finer grain)
2-3 tbsp. Cinnamon (ground)
🔪 Preparation

1. 🥣 Assemble the Dough
   Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, mix together the flour, powdered sugar, cinnamon for the dough, and salt.
   Fat: Add the room temperature lard (or butter). Rub it in with the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
   Liquid: Slowly add the vanilla extract and lukewarm water. Knead quickly until the dough comes together into a soft, but not sticky ball. Don’t knead it too long, or it won’t be crumbly!
   Resting: Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.
2. 🍪 Shaping and Baking
   
   
   Preparations: Preheat the oven to 170 °C. Line two baking sheets with baking paper.
   Rolling: Roll out the dough on a lightly floured board to about half a cm thick.
   Cutting: Cut out the dough into any shapes you like (traditionally flowers or circles). Place them on the baking sheet.
   Baking: Bake for 10-15 minutes. The cookies are done when the edges are just starting to brown. They should still be light in color.
   Prepare the coating: While the cookies are baking, mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon for the coating on a flat plate.
3. ✨ The Secret (Coating)
   
   
   Hot coating: Remove the cookies from the oven. IMMEDIATELY, while still hot, roll the cookies in the cinnamon sugar so that the sugar sticks to them and cooks in the hot fat.
   Cooling: Let the Hojarascas cool completely.
   The cinnamon sugar coating makes the cookies irresistibly fragrant and crumbly!

Want another Mexican holiday cookie recipe, like Polvorones (Mexican wedding cookies)?