Spanish Polvorones, Buttery Shortbread Cookies That Melt in Your Mouth
🧂 Ingredients
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- 250 grams medium-protein all-purpose flour
- 150 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
- 80 grams powdered sugar
- 50 grams almond flour
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp fine salt
- 3 tbsp powdered sugar, for coating
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds (optional, for topping)
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👩🍳 Instructions
- 1 Toast the flour in a nonstick skillet over low heat, stirring constantly, for about 10-12 minutes until it turns slightly yellowish and gives off the fragrant smell of cooked flour. Don't let it burn—keep stirring so it cooks evenly. Remove from heat and let it cool completely.
- 2 Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F). Prepare a flat baking sheet and line it with parchment paper.
- 3 Beat the butter and powdered sugar using a mixer or whisk until well combined and slightly pale, about 2-3 minutes. There's no need to beat it until fluffy like a cake batter—just mix until even.
- 4 Add the cooled toasted flour, almond flour, ground cinnamon, and salt into the butter mixture. Mix with a spatula or your hands until it forms a dough that can be shaped—the texture will be somewhat crumbly and sandy but should hold together when pressed.
- 5 Take about 15-20 grams of dough and shape it into the classic flattened oval polvorones shape, or simply round if you prefer, about 1.5 cm (about 1/2 inch) thick. Place on the baking sheet with space between each cookie, as they will spread slightly.
- 6 Bake for 18-20 minutes until the bottoms turn golden brown but the tops are still pale. Don't wait until the tops turn brown, as the cookies will become too hard.
- 7 Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 10 minutes so they can set and won't fall apart when moved, since they're very fragile while hot.
- 8 Once slightly cooled, roll the cookies in powdered sugar until evenly coated. Sprinkle a little toasted sesame seeds on top if you like. Let them cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
💡 Tips
• The process of toasting the flour is the key to polvorones' signature flavor—don't skip it, as this is what gives the cookies their distinctive savory taste and removes the raw, starchy smell of uncooked flour.
• Make sure the dough and toasted flour are completely cool before mixing with the butter; if they're still warm, the butter will melt and the cookies will turn out hard after baking.
• These cookies are very fragile while warm, so don't rush to move them from the baking sheet—wait at least 10 minutes for the structure to set.
• Store in an airtight container; polvorones can last up to 2 weeks, and they actually taste even better after resting for a day.
📊 Nutrition Facts / serving
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