Dia de los Muertos. Day of the Dead is a traditional holiday observed in Mexico as well as other cultures. For me, preparations for this go on through the whole month of October, building up to the days of celebration and remembrance. Special items, such as pictures, flowers, incense, candles, trinkets and foods are placed on simple and sometimes very large alters. The days of celebration and remembrance are start on October 27th through November 2nd.
What does Dia de Los Muertos signify for me?
It is believed that the spirits of our loved ones who have passed come back at midnight on November 1 to enjoy their favorite items placed on the alter in their memory. Traditional foods, such as tamales, molé, frijoles, arroz, tortillas, candy made from pumpkin, chocolate and pan de muerto are some of the foods I like to prepare to honor my loved ones. For this blog post, I would love to share some of my favorite recipes, some old and some new like the cookie recipe for Calaveras.
Mole- A concoction of many ingredients https://pinaenlacocina.com/oaxacan-style-mole-mo-leh-sauce/
Mole Revisited https://pinaenlacocina.com/mole-revisited/
Puebla Style Mole (Mo-Leh). Pictured below is mole coloradito https://pinaenlacocina.com/puebla-style-mole-sauce-mole-poblano/
Tamales https://pinaenlacocina.com/chile-colorado-pork-tamales/
The traditional tamales mom prepared were Chile Colorado Pork Tamales, Chicken, Bean with Jalapeño and Sweet Tamales.
Mexican Style Pork Tamales prepared with masa harina corn flour was not how mom prepared them traditionally. I had to adapt her recipe because the fresh ground masa was not available where I lived. They are delicious !
Frijoles-Beans https://pinaenlacocina.com/frijoles-de-la-olla-charro-beans/
Frijoles Charros https://pinaenlacocina.com/frijoles-a-la-charra-frijoles-borrachos-charro-beans/
Arroz https://pinaenlacocina.com/simple-mexican-style-rice-arroz-estilo-mexicano/
Tortillas https://pinaenlacocina.com/fresh-corn-tortillas/
Pan de Muerto https://pinaenlacocina.com/pan-de-muertoday-of-the-dead-bread-mexican-chocolate/
Pan de Muerto~ I use my recipe for Conchas(pan de huevo) to prepare this traditional recipe.
Calabaza en Tacha- Pumpkin in Piloncillo Syrup https://pinaenlacocina.com/calabaza-en-miel-pumpkin-in-piloncillo-syrup/
Empanadas de Calabaza https://pinaenlacocina.com/pumpkin-empanadas/
Start your own new traditions
Use the existing basic recipes to create new ones!
Using a basic recipe for Polvorones I prepared these fun Calavera cookies
Calavera Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temp.
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon anise seeds ground fresh
- 1/3 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- *food coloring optional, green, red and blue to make purple
- *colored sugar crystals
- *cookie stamps/cut-outs
Instructions
- Cream the butter with mixer. Add in the sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, anise, salt and vanilla. Gradually add in the flour until dough forms, using your hands or a wooden spoon.
- Separate dough into two equal balls if making more than one color of cookie. Add food coloring of choice until desired color. Cover and chill for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 dregrees. Line two baking pans with parchment paper, set aside.
- Roll dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently press cookie press into dough, remove, flip over and cut out cookie shape. Transfer to baking sheet. repeat until done. You will need to lightly flour the cookie press/cut out in between so the dough does not stick. If it sticks, just be patient and start over…..
- Decorate cookies with colored sugar crystals. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container. This cookie press made 16 cookies.
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