Easy Spanish Sugar Cookies Recipe

Winter is by definition the best time to eat cookies. Christmas cookies, such as gingerbreads from the United States, tend to outshine others, but there is a world of cookies to discover.

A great cookie recipe is Spanish sugar cookies, also known as pastissets. They are easy to make, they only need ingredients found in any house, and you don’t need any type of equipment.

In this article, we will tell you how you can make it yourself in the comfort of your home so that you know the true delicious flavor of Spanish desserts. 

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Once you try them, you’ll want to do them every day (honestly, once you read this article you’ll see that nothing is holding you back).

Background of the Dish

They are tiny sweet pastries of Arab descent made with flour, oil, sugar, and anise. 

Traditionally filled with sweet potato jam, they are now also made with cottage cheese, cream, and chocolate.

Currently, it is one of Spain’s most recognizable candies and production has spread across the country.

There is no exact date to identify when they were created, but this recipe for Spanish sugar cookies already appeared in recipe books in the 18th century.

Among all the Spanish desserts, these cookies stand out for being lighter, and because they go well with any type of hot or cold beverage. 

In fact, if you go to a coffee shop you will most likely get a small sugar cookie with your hot beverage, they are that popular.

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Things You’ll Need for Spanish Sugar Cookies

To make this Spanish recipe you only need to make a sweet potato jam first but it’s quite straightforward and you’ll find the recipe below.

The dough for the Spanish sugar cookies is also easy, and you’ll need simple ingredients such as flour, sugar, oil, and water. 

You can try and make other Hispanic desserts, such as Alfajores, Pestinos, or Spanish panellets.

Ingredients

• 1 kg of sweet potatoes
• 800 g of sugar for the jam
• 1 kg of flour
• 2 lemon peels
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 250 ml of dry anise
• 375 ml sunflower oil
• 250 g of sugar
• 250 ml water

How to Make Spanish Sugar Cookies – Step by Step Guide

1. Prepare the sweet potato jam first because it needs to stay in the refrigerator for at least a day. 

2. They only need to be cleaned, with the skin on, and placed in a 170°C oven on parchment. The cooking time will vary depending on the size of the sweet potatoes, but it will take roughly 60 minutes. Remove them from the oven and give them a moment to cool.

3. The sweet potatoes should be peeled and placed in a bowl once they are warm. Crush the potatoes into a puree by hand or with a masher.

4. Take a tall saucepan and combine the mashed potatoes, sugar, lemon peel, cinnamon stick, and water. After that, cook the mixture for about 30 minutes at medium heat, or until it resembles thick jam. Allow it to rest in the refrigerator for at least one day after it has reached room temperature.

5. For the sugar cookies preheat the oven to 320ºF/160ºC.

6. Combine the 250 g of sugar, the 250 g of sunflower oil, the dry anise, and half a kilogram of flour in a bowl. Add more if you think it’s necessary and aim for a compact, smooth, but not dry texture. The dough will stretch more easily if you allow it to rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

7. To ensure that each cookie is the same size, divide the dough into 30 balls of the same size. The base of the pastissets should then be formed by rolling a pin in circles. Also, get your sweet potato jam from the refrigerator so it can be used.

8. Fill the center of the dough circle with about 2 tablespoons of potato jam and carefully fold the other half over the filling and seal them with a fork.

9. Place the sealed pastries on a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the pastry is mostly dry and beginning to crisp.

1. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool before dusting them with powdered sugar.

Substitution of Ingredients

Spanish cookie recipes are fantastic because you can make hundreds of changes and they will still be delicious. 

This recipe for pastissets is quite basic, so many changes would not be necessary: flour, sugar, and oil are key and irreplaceable ingredients.

However, to make these Spanish sweets you can use gluten-free flour (better if it comes with baking powder already incorporated). 

You could also use brown or light brown sugar instead of white. 

If you don’t have time to make the sweet potato jam, you can fill them with chocolate, dulce de leche, or cream cheese. 

You can also add almond flour to the dough, or any other type of ground nuts, which will give these easy Spanish cookies a more rich flavor.

Tips on Serving Spanish Sugar Cookies

You can serve these Spanish sugar cookies at any time of the day. At breakfast, as a snack, they go very well with a cup of coffee, tea, or Spanish hot chocolate.

In Spain, desserts are not necessarily cakes, instead, cookies are the most popular sweet item to be eaten at that time. 

They are a great dessert for lunch or dinner, especially in the winter and fall. And another perfect dessert for winter is the Spanish almond soup – a simple dessert soup with almonds, milk, and cinnamon.

You can also serve them alongside other popular cookies, such as polvoron, Spanish chocolate chip cookies, or mantecados with lard.

How to Store Spanish Sugar Cookies

If you make these Spanish biscuits, you can store them at room temperature for up to 5 days. 

You can also freeze them. Just let them come to room temperature, store them in a Tupperware container or on a plate covered with plastic wrap, and freeze them for up to 40 days.

As it happens with all the powdered sugar cookies recipes, the powdered sugar should be added when you are about to eat them. 

So if you choose to freeze them or store them at room temperature, keep in mind that you will have to dust the sugar on top again.

Recipe Card: Spanish Sugar Cookies

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