Venezuelan Polvorosas Cookies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to moist cookies? ›

Cornstarch helps product soft and thick cookies. Using more brown sugar than white sugar results in a moister, softer cookie. An extra egg yolk increases chewiness. Rolling the cookie dough balls to be tall and lumpy instead of wide and smooth gives the cookies a bakery-style textured thickness.

Polvorosas are super simple cookies that date back to the colonial era in Caracas. The name makes reference to their crumbly consistency. Polvorosas comes from the world “polvo” which means dust. These cookies are so crumbly that they melt in your mouth as they also make a mess around you when you are eating them.

Light corn syrup is another ingredient that you can add to cookie dough that will help it stay softer longer. The corn syrup you buy at the grocery store is not the high-fructose corn syrup that soft drinks are made with; it's a sugar that is liquid at room temperature and helps other sugars say liquid at high heat.

All-Purpose Flour: The Versatile Choice

All-purpose flour is the most commonly used flour in cookie recipes due to its moderate protein content (usually around 10-12%).

A polvorón (From polvo, the Spanish word for powder, or dust) is a type of heavy, soft, and very crumbly Spanish shortbread made of flour, sugar, milk, and nuts (especially almonds).

Ancient Beginnings. The Moors, with their long-standing influence in Spain, are believed to have introduced many ingredients, including almonds. This led to the creation of the iconic polvorones, with their name deriving from the Spanish word "polvo" (powder), encapsulating the treat's crumbly essence.

Polvoron is a Filipino-style shortbread made of toasted flour, powdered milk, sugar, and butter. Sweet, buttery, and easy to customize with different flavors, it's a delicious snack or dessert and great for gift-giving, too!

Bread releases moisture into the air, while sugar (present in large quantities in cookies), absorbs moisture out of the air. Don't have any white bread? Use a slice of apple instead. Just slip a wedge in with your cookies, cover, and let sit overnight.

To avoid this, try using as little flour as possible while preparing to roll your dough. Dry – “Dry” or “Crumbly” dough is a product of over-mixing or using too much of any ingredient during the mixing process. This can be reversed by adding one to two tablespoons of liquid (water, milk or softened butter) to your mix.

Use more egg yolks and less egg whites. Egg yolks add moisture to the dough, while egg whites can make cookies drier and crunchier. Add a bit of cornstarch to the dough. Cornstarch helps to absorb moisture and keep cookies soft and tender.

How do you moisten baked cookies? ›

Another way to soften cookies is by placing the cookies in an airtight container with a damp paper towel. The paper towel will release moisture and help to soften the cookies without making them too soft or mushy. Another way is to place the cookies in a plastic bag with a slice of apple or a damp tea towel.