Biscochitos-New Mexico's State Cookie

The biscochito, sometimes spelled bizcochito, is the state cookie of New Mexico and the other day when I was at Mora's Winterfest, an annual craft and baked goods fair, there were many different versions of them to choose from.

Last year I bought from each of the biscochito bakers at the Winterfest and found my favorite:  a thin, anisey cinnamony cookie, probably made with lard. It had a nice crunch and was baked to perfection. The others were good, but these cookies stood out.

This is a photo from last year's biscochito shopping trip. My favorites are in the middle, the same ones I bought at Winterfest this year. That was along with some chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, and sugar cookies. Then there were the six red velvet cupcakes so gorgeously decorated a professional could have baked them and not the little girl who sold them to me. Add a couple loaves of pumpkin bread and I was good to go. (Buying local is important.)

I noticed quite a few readers looking at the biscochito post and recipe from last year, so I am sharing a link to it right here.

Some people like to dip their biscochitos in hot chocolate but I like tea with mine. Of course, I crook my pinkie finger whilst drinking.

We finally had some snow and the temp dipped to minus 10 F last night. This morning when the sun came out it was up to 10 degrees F and absolutely gorgeous.

There will be more cookie talk later, but until then, happy baking!

Apple Pie Two Ways

If you are like me, you've had Thanksgiving swimming in the back of your head for several weeks now, but haven't done much about it.

My mind churns over what sides to have with the turkey, what can I do differently, and what should stay the same because we just can't have Thanksgiving without (insert your favorite family dish here.)

Some of my friends have the whole event planned and foodstuffs have been prepared and frozen for the past couple weeks. I salute you and want to be you when I grow up! Is the dining table already set with a sheet over it to keep everything pristine? Well, here the dining table has three pairs of binoculars on it along with some books and a couple magazines.

But really, Thanksgiving is moving front and center today and I will take the 50 mile Taos drive to Cid's Food Store for an Embudo turkey and other freshies I don't have hanging out in the pantry or in the freezer.

What's an Embudo turkey? It's a turkey raised in Embudo, New Mexico, pasture raised in probably the best way a turkey grown for food can live. Here's a photo of Embudo turkeys in their pens, moved over to fresh organic pasture daily.

They are pricey, but it's just once a year or so, and the turkey is delish! And I can support a local small farmer at the same time.

Really, though, this post was about apple pie, so let's get to it.

The slice of apple pie at the top of the post was from a recipe I found here and it is unique because it isn't as gooey as most apple pie recipes. You cook the apples and then drain them well before piling the slices into the pie crust. I didn't use the pastry recipe, even though it looks good, because there were refrigerated crusts in the fridge and slothful laziness won out.

There is another apple pie recipe on our blog here, the famous Pietown New Mexico Apple Pie. There is a little kick to this pie because it has a secret ingredient: green chiles and also a little surprise crunch with the addition of pinon nuts. I love this pie and it will probably be served for dessert (among other goodies) after Thanksgiving dinner.

It's been a busy time, with making quilts and teaching quilting classes, but sometimes you just have to focus. (That's me giving myself a pep talk!)