Recipes

Torticas de Morón

  • Serves

    makes 4 Dozen

NOAH FECKS

This recipe, from Gastrofotonomia blogger Manny Rodriguez, appeared in our 2012 Cookie Advent Calendar. Manny says: "Torticas de Moron are a traditional shortbread cookie from the city of Moron in central Cuba, and I've never met a Cuban that doesn't like them. I make my version with cream cheese and guava and a little sprinkle of sea salt on top that makes it very unauthentic, but yummy."

Ingredients

  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 12 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 12 tsp. kosher salt
  • 23 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 16 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp. fresh lime juice
  • 2 tbsp. white rum
  • 6 oz. guava paste or jam, warmed until soft
  • 2 oz. cream cheese, softened
  • Fleur de sel, for sprinkling

Instructions

Step 1

Whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl; set aside. In another bowl, beat sugar and butter on medium-high speed of a hand mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add egg, and beat until smooth. Add dry ingredients, rum, and juice, and mix until just combined. Transfer to a work surface and shape into a disk; wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours or overnight.

Step 2

Heat oven to 350°. Transfer dough to a floured work surface, and using a rolling pin, roll until ¼" thick. Using a 2"-wide scalloped cutter, cut out cookies, and place 2" apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake until edges are lightly golden, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely.

Step 3

Whisk guava paste and cream cheese together in a bowl until smooth. Transfer to a plastic bag and snip off a small piece of one corner of the bag; decoratively pipe about 1 tsp. of the mixture on top of each cookie. Sprinkle with fleur de sel before serving.

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