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Paledonias
Raw cane sugar spice cookies
Soft Venezuelan papelón and spice cookies
Paledonias are the flat brown cookies that fill the glass jars of Venezuelan bodegas and corner panaderías, sold singly for a few bolívares to schoolchildren and taxi drivers alike. Their flavour comes from papelón, the dark unrefined cane sugar sold in cones, melted into a syrup and spiced with cinnamon, clove and a few aniseeds. The texture is soft and slightly chewy, somewhere between gingerbread and a cake. Eat one with a guayoyo (thin black coffee) or a glass of cold milk. Chef's tip: simmer the syrup only until the papelón dissolves; boiling it on and on turns it to toffee and the cookies set hard.
- Total time
- 39 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
For the syrup
- 8 oz papelón or panelagrated or chopped; dark muscovado sugar works too
- ¼ cup water
For the dough
- 3 ⅛ oz unsalted buttersoftened
- 1 egg
- 12 ½ oz plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp aniseedslightly crushed
- 1 pinch salt
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Put 8 oz papelón or panela, ¼ cup water, 1 cinnamon stick and 3 whole cloves in a small pan over a low heat. Stir until the sugar has completely melted, then simmer for 1 minute only.
6 minStep 2: Lift out the cinnamon and cloves and let the syrup cool until just warm, about 15 minutes. Hot syrup would melt the butter and make a greasy dough.
15 minStep 3: Heat the oven to 350°F (325°F fan) and line two trays with baking paper.
Step 4: Beat 3 ⅛ oz unsalted butter until creamy, then beat in the warm syrup and 1 egg until smooth.
2 minStep 5: Mix 12 ½ oz plain flour, 1 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp aniseeds and 1 pinch salt, then stir into the wet mixture to make a soft, sticky dough.
Step 6: Scoop heaped tablespoons onto the trays, 5 cm apart (about 24 cookies), and flatten each with a wet palm to 1 cm thick.
Step 7: Bake for 12–14 minutes, until the edges are set, the tops are matt and spring back when pressed and the bases are a shade darker. They should still feel soft in the middle.
13 minStep 8: Cool on a rack. They soften further overnight in a tin and keep for a week.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 240 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbs
- 43 g
- Fat
- 7 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does paledonias take?
- About 39 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 14 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of cinnamon stick?
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon per stick.
- What can I use instead of whole cloves?
- Ground cloves, ¼ tsp for every 3 whole cloves.
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