Christmas Lights, Biscochitos and Abuelita Cocoa

Christmas is coming faster than that boulder chasing Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark.  Keep running or be squashed flat! Three more pillow cases to go!

Las Vegas Plaza Bandstand

Yesterday I was a retail clerk, so after closing time there was a chance to see Las Vegas' (New Mexico, the original Vegas), Plaza lit up and gorgeous for Christmas. Here's a day view, but squint your eyes to make it dark and add swoops of multicolored lights going from bandstand to tree to tree and you have a good picture, right there in your mind.

Las Vegas, NM Bridge Street courtesy of visitlasvegasnm.com

 On the way home, some places on our dark, rural highway have really done it up: A half mile of lit-up fence, two different landing strips for Santa, one in a field next to the house and another on the roof, and one place with a Nativity scene neatly fenced with lights,  the house and porch ablaze with blow-up Santa waving to anyone who was looking. It's heartening and hopeful to be driving on a dark, dark road and see Christmas lights blazing cheerily in the distance.

I am missing Santa Fe at night this year, but thought I'd share some New Mexico lighting along with a link to the recipe for biscochitos and a shout out to Abuelita Mexican cocoa.

Santuario de Chimayo (Shutterstock)

Hotel with electric farolitos (Shutterstock)

Paper bag farolitos Santa Fe (Shutterstock)

Those paper bags have sand inside to hold candles and are called farolitos in the northern part of the state and luminarias in the south. Tradition holds with the paper bags, but most businesses use electric lights that look kind of like the real thing, probably for safety purposes.

Canyon Road in Santa Fe has a Christmas Eve Farolito Walk and thousands of people walk the street to view the lights, eat cookies, and drink chocolate. It's a tradition and one I'd like to experience someday.

Canyon Road Merchants' Association

Anyway, here is the link to the biscochito recipe and a photo of my favorite hot chocolate, Abuelita (don't buy the instant version). A new friend says Ibarra is his fave Mexican chocolate and I can't dispute that because I like it, too.

Merry Christmas! Watch out for that boulder!

Biscochitos: New Mexico Christmas Cookies

I've written about biscochitos every Christmas because they are such a part of New Mexico culture. Heck, they are The New Mexico State Cookie, so you know they are great.

At Mora's Winterfest a couple weeks ago they even had a biscochito contest. I didn't stay to find out who won, but really, every cookie I tasted from the many bake sale tables there was excellent: almost like a cinnamon-sugar-anise seed shortbread cookie.

I buy biscochitos rather than bake them because I like to support my neighbors and when I give the heating guy or the propane guy a little baggie of biscochitos, I hope it gives them a little Christmas cheer.

One biscochito vendor stood out this year because he is into branding and packaging. A member of our Livestock Growers' group and the CEO of our new growers' co-op, he really is into marketing big time. Look at the artistic packaging for his cookies.

His cookies are tasty and dusted with a little more cinnamon sugar than others I have sampled.

Whether you dunk your cookies or eat them straight up, enjoy!

Here is a link to a good biscochitos recipe.

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!

Biscochito Cookies-A New Mexico Christmas Tradition

Northern New Mexico during winter is cold with night time temperatures in the teens and day times in the 30's and 40's.That doesn't keep people from their business, though. Yesterday in Las Vegas, Old Town's Bridge Street didn't have a parking space as folks walked up and down the sidewalks shopping the local stores for last minute Christmas gifts. It helped that the local stores are having a drawing for as much as $1000 if you spend at least $50 around town. Let's just say I did my part when it came to local spending.

Towns bedeck their businesses and walkways with what are called farolitos in the north and luminarias in the south. It began back in the 1500's when bonfires were lit to guide the way to midnight mass. In the 1800's there was a switch to paper bags half filled with sand with a lit candle inside. These have morphed into plug in lights that look like the real thing. If you have a rooftop decorated with farolitos/luminarias, it's easier to flip a switch, so that's how it goes. It's still beautiful, no matter what the power source.

People brave the cold to watch Christmas light parades, follow the path of Mary and Joseph as they look for an inn, gaze at beautiful luminaria displays, hang around bonfires, and just soak in Christmas with family and friends.

But it's cold, so there has to be time for some restoratives, like biscochitos and hot chocolate. Again, it was the Spanish who brought these cookies to New Mexico in the 16th century. Everyone has their favorite family recipe. I don't have a favorite yet, but in the spirit of Christmas, I went to the Mora Winterfest last Saturday and bought four different bags of biscochitos there. (My oven was broken, so it was a good reason to buy lots of baked goods from my neighbors.)

A shortbread type cookie with a little anise flavor, covered with cinnamon sugar, biscochitos are not too sweet, perfect with hot chocolate, coffee, or tea. It's just what you need after wandering around in freezing weather, looking at Christmas lights or following Mary and Joseph around town.

There are many biscochito recipes: just do a search and you will understand what I mean here. My suggestion is to find a family recipe that someone's grandma used to make and give it a try. Most of the traditionalists swear that lard is integral to a flaky cookie and I agree. You can't taste it, and come on...it's Christmas! In the meantime, here is a recipe I found in a cookbook called License to Cook, compiled by the New Mexico Federation of Business and Professional Women.

Biscochitos (Anise Seed Cookies)

1 pound butter flavored Crisco

1 3/4 cups sugar, divided

2 t anise seed

2 eggs, beaten

6 cups flour

3 t baking powder

1 t salt'

1/2 cup orange juice

1 T cinnamon

Cream Crisco,  sugar, anise seed in large bowl. Add eggs and beat well. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in another large bowl. Alternate adding flour mixture and orange juice to creamed mixture until a stiff dough is formed. At this point some people roll out the dough to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness and cut the dough into desired shapes. Others will make a log out of the dough, refrigerate it, and slice it into rounds 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.

Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Dust the top of each cookie with a little of the cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes until cookies are lightly browned.

Note: Some bakers will immediately dip the cookies one more time in the cinnamon sugar mixture when they are done baking. Others will replace the orange juice with brandy or sweet wine.

Feliz Navidad!