Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cookies and Gret Patent's Baking In America
Ingredients
For the cookies:
412 g AP flour (2⅔ cups plus I added an additional 76 g to get the desired texture)
½ t baking powder
½ t salt
1 cup (7¾ oz/218 g) lard, room temperature
⅔ cup sugar
1 large egg
zest of 1 orange
1 scant T vanilla
1½ T triple sec liqueur (Grand Marnier should work too)
¼ t allspice
For topping:
¾ t cinnamon*
¾ cup sugar
Instructions
*I was checking to make sure that these cookies were indeed made in Mexico, and Zarela Veracruz has them in her book, where she makes the point that it is one of the few places she actually prefer American style cinnamon (cassia) as it is sharper. I found this after I made them, so I used the ceylon, or true cinnamon, but actually I think she is probably right.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside.
Beat the lard until smooth, about 1 minute. Then add the sugar and beat on medium-high speed for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat 1 more minute. Add the orange zest, vanilla and liqueur and beat until blended in.
Add the flour mixture on the lowest speed until thoroughly incorporated. The dough should be soft but it should also come together in a ball, kind of like shortbread dough. If it is stuck to the sides and you cannot imagine trying to pick it up and shape it into a ball/disc, it needs more flour. When all flour is added, do not over-mix, just removed the dough and shape into a disc about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
Roll the dough out between parchment paper to ¼ inch thickness. You may need to re-chill the scraps briefly before re-rolling. Cut out desired shapes--the dough will be somewhat soft so handle gently. Place on parchment-lined cookie sheets. Place the cookie sheets in the freezer for, according to Martha, at least 15 minutes, until firm (I had an appointment so mine were in the freezer for 2 hours). 15 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 350 F (325 F for convection, which is what I used).
Before baking, mix the cinnamon and ¾ cup sugar together thoroughly. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mix over the cookies--I was quite generous, be guided by your own sweet tooth or lack thereof. Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes, rotating front to back (and top to bottom if baking 2 sheets at once) halfway through.
The cookies will be set and barely golden when done. Wait about 1 minute and then carefully remove the cookies to a cooling rack.
Recipe by The Spiced Life at https://www.thespicedlife.com/bizcochitos/