Brown Sugar “Little Starch” Cookies | Almidoncitos

Name: Brown Sugar “Little Starch” Cookies | Almidoncitos
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: About
Ingredients: 4 oz (115 g) papelón, panela, or piloncillo, or 1 cup packed dark muscovado sugar; 1 stick (4 oz/115 g) unsalted butter; 1 ¾ cups (245 g) tapioca starch; 1 tsp baking powder; ¾ tsp fine sea salt; 1 tsp ground cinnamon (optional); ½ tsp ground anise seeds (optional); ½ tsp ground cloves (optional); 1 tsp pure vanilla extract; 2 egg yolks

Image of Brown Sugar “Little Starch” Cookies | Almidoncitos — Photo by Simon Bajada

Servings

About 18 cookies

Prep Time

25 minutes

Cook Time

20 minutes

"Similar to many Latin American cookies, tapioca starch forms the base of these Venezuelan treats, which gives them a crumbly, melt-in-the-mouth quality. The dough is made by first dissolving papelón—Venezuela’s version of raw sugar, like panela or piloncillo (see Raw Sugars, page 164)—in butter before mixing it with the rest of the ingredients. Sometimes spices like cloves, cinnamon, and/or anise seeds are added to the dough, so they are included in this recipe as optional ingredients. Including them will lend the cookies a gingerbread-like flavor profile, especially in combination with the melted papelón.

These cookies have a distinctive shape: that of a mini baguette. The dough is shaped into logs, cut into thumb-length pieces, then scored three times on top. Where the shape came from is unknown—it could either be a precursor to the fork tine-stamped ridges that are common on many tapioca- or cornstarch- (cornflour-) based cookies, or it’s a way, as it is in bread baking, to control the splitting of the dough."

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Author:

Ben Mims

Ingredients

4 oz (115 g) papelón, panela, or piloncillo, or 1 cup packed dark muscovado sugar
1 stick (4 oz/115 g) unsalted butter
1 ¾ cups (245 g) tapioca starch
1 tsp baking powder
¾ tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
½ tsp ground anise seeds (optional)
½ tsp ground cloves (optional)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 egg yolks

Directions

Position racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C/Gas Mark 4). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
On the large holes of a box grater, grate the papelón, and place it in a small saucepan along with the butter. Set the pan over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool to room temperature.
In a large bowl, combine the tapioca starch, baking powder, and salt. If using, add the cinnamon, anise, and/or cloves. Whisk to combine. Form a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the cooled butter-sugar mixture along with the vanilla and egg yolks. Stir until a dough forms and there are no dry patches of tapioca starch remaining.
Divide the dough into 4 equal portions and shape each into a rope 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick. Flatten the rope slightly with your fingers. Cut each rope on a slight diagonal every 2 inches (5 cm). Using the blade of the knife, gently score the top of each dough length with three equally spaced cuts. Arrange the dough lengths on the prepared baking sheets, spaced at least 2 inches (5 cm) apart.
Bake until golden brown and dry to the touch in the center, 12–15 minutes, switching racks and rotating the baking sheets front to back halfway through.
Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks. Let the cookies cool on the pans for 1 minute, then transfer them to the racks to cool completely.