Mexican Day of The Dead Cookies
This crumbly, decadent, Mexican shortbread cookies are inspired by pan de muerto or Day of the Dead bread. These cookies have the same orange zest and orange blossom water flavors and are shaped the same way too. Don't miss out on these vegan Dia de Los Muertos cookies!
Servings: 26 cookies
Calories: 105kcal
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- hand mixer
- cookie sheet
- baking paper aka parchment paper
- pastry brush
Ingredients
- 10 Tablespoons vegan butter it's 150 grams at room temperature*
- ½ cup cane sugar it's 100 grams
- 3 Tablespoons aquafaba
- 1 teaspoon orange blossom water or esencia de azahar
- 1 Tablespoon orange zest
- pinch of salt
- 2.5 cup all purpose flour it's 306gm and measured spooned and leveled**
- ¼ cup soy milk unsweetened Silk brand
- ¼ to ½ cup cane sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon Mexican canela or Ceylon cinnamon
- 2 Tablespoons vegan butter melted
Instructions
- Place the butter and half cup of sugar in a medium-large mixing bowl. Beat until smooth and creamy.
- Add the aquafaba, orange blossom water, and orange zest. Beat until well combined.
- Next pour in the flour and salt. Mix until well combined and you have course, crumbly crumbs. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides and incorporate ingredients better. Making sure there's no unmixed flour.
- Use the spatula to help gather the dough then use your hands to form a ball shape with the dough.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, preheat the oven to 350F or 180C.
- Unwrap the cookie dough and place on your work surface. Scoop or measure out one tablespoon of the cookie dough and shape into a ball. Then remove two small pieces to form two logs, then grab a smaller piece and make a small ball with it.
- Use your finger to lightly coat the larger cookie ball with a little bit of soy milk. Roll out the small logs to form the "bones or huesitos" then lay them crisscross over the larger ball. In the center were the two logs join, press it down then add a little bit of soymilk, next place the tiny ball in here and lightly press it down. Place the cookie on the cookie sheet.
- Repeat making the cookies until you run out of cookie dough. I ended up with 26 cookies.
- Bake in the center of the oven for 12 to 15 minutes. At the 10 minute mark you'll need to keep a close eye on them. They should turn slightly golden brown but still be light color.
- Place on a cooling rack until completely cooled. In a small bowl combine the cinnamon with remaining sugar until well combined.
- Once cookies have cooled brush with melted butter then dip into the sugar mixture making sure to evenly coat the surface. Serve as desired and enjoy!
Notes
For the vegan butter I used Miyoko's Creamery European Style Salted Plant Milk Vegan Butter.
Aquafaba is the water or brine from canned chickpeas.
*About the butter: Butter bars are marked differently depending on the brand and country. US tablespoon of butter weighs 14g to 15gm, so use the gram measurement, if you can.
**How to measure the flour: For the best results, weigh your flour. If you’re using measuring cups, don’t scoop the cup straight from the bag, that packs the flour down and you can end up with a lot of extra flour. Instead, spoon it into the measuring cup until it’s heaped, and level it off with the back of a knife. Too much or extra flour = dense cookies. I learned this one in my own kitchen! When I re-tested this recipe, I re-weighed everything and updated the gram measurements so they’re as accurate as possible.
Nutrition
Serving: 26servings | Calories: 105kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Sodium: 43mg | Potassium: 19mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 257IU | Vitamin C: 0.5mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 1mg
