If you're tired of baking Christmas cookies then think about frying up buneulos. These are a great alternative to them along with being for body. and different . Best of all they are delicious, perfect on Christmas morning with a coffee and tea.
Christina Morales ,a regular contributor to the New York Food section wrote about these tasty treats in yesterday's issue. They are a Mexican, Latin American and Spanish Caribbean sweet originating in Spain. Many countries have their own version and also different names. Originally Spain's first created the,mSephardic Jews during the Arab invasion. The use of anise in the original recipe is a telltale sign. They may have born in Turkey and the recipe carried from there with the Sephardim tribes.There are different versions of buneulos made with slightly different ingredients. Cubans use the widely available root vegetable yucca which gives the fried buneulo a puffy doughnut look. The shapes are different too., Some home bakers make figure eights . Some fry them in disc form so they look like Native American flatbreads. Syrup is uslaly drizzled on them and again that varies. The Mexicans usually make one that has piloncillo or Mexican brown sugar, clove and anise, Columbians turn them into balls and fill them with cheese for a savory sweet treat. Cubans steep them in a syrup flavored with citrusl,anise and cinnamon
The Times give two recipes for them. One is the Cuban with the anise syrup. The batter is a mix of succulewnts such as yucca but also boniato or sweet potato, malanga, taro and name (pronounced nom -may a cross between a potato and sweet potato) Flour is also added for body a sis pumpkin, winter squash or calabazas. The way to prepare them is like preparing gnocchi, with the starches being hsnd mixed with the flour and three eggs. Squares are formed and then deep fried in a skillet full of bubbling hot canola oil.The syrup is an easy mix of granulated sugar, star anise, cinnamon, lime and lime peel.It's cooked over a low heat for fifteen to twenty minutes. You could also try the Mexican ones that are more cookie like with just flour, eggs, baking powder and melted unsalted butter. The syrup is again a simple cooked mix of piloncillo (bought at a Mexican grocery) along with guavas, cinnamon, orange peel and anise seeds.
Buneulos are a different kind of holiday treat. Make them for Christmas for a nice ending. They are simple to make and just as easy to eat.
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