| Buenelo (sp?)
Posted: 9/24/2008 2:08:54 AM | I can't quite make mine come out the way that I've had in restraunts locally. Does anyone have a better way of making them:
Simple flour tortilla (10" is preference) flash fried in clean vegetable oil. Heat honey (usually in sauce pan) on a low flame and mix in cinnamon and sugar as it begins to thin. Brush a moderate layer of honey/cinnamon over the cooled tortilla.
Nothing fancy, but a good sweet tooth fix, fast, and good in large quantities for company.
Does anyone know a better method? I just can't get mine to taste like they do else where. Suggestions, or actual recipes? | |
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| Buenelo (sp?)
Posted: 9/24/2008 6:40:34 AM | Are you talking about Sopapilla or Buenelo? Buenelo's DON'T use pre packaged/pre cooked tortillias.
1 cinamon stick, broken into pieces
1-1/3 cups water
3 cups sifted flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup firmly packed vegetable shortening or lard
vegetable oil for deep frying
2/3 cup sugar mixed with 1-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
To make cinnamon tea, simmer cinnamon and water in a small heavy saucepan 20 minutes.
Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the shortening with pastry blender until texture resembles coarse meal. Add 3/4 cup hot cinnamon tea, tossing with fork until dough comes together. If too dry (pastry should be similar to pie dough, toss in a little more cinnamon tea. Cover; refrigerate1 hour.
Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and satiny, about 5 minutes. Pinch off small chunks of dough and roll into 1-inch balls. Cover balls; let rest at room temperature 30 minutes.
Pour vegetable oil into large deep skillet to a depth of 2 to 2-1/2-inches. Insert deep-fat thermometer. Heat until oil reaches 380F.
Working with one dough ball at a time, flatten on floured surface with a rolling pin; roll to a circle as thin as piecrust, 5 inches across.
Fry buenelo 1 at a time in oil until crisp and golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes. Adjust heat as needed to keep temperature of oil between 380F - 400F. With slotted spoon, lift buenelo to paper towelling to drain. While still hot sprinkle buenelo generously with cinnamon sugar.
Makes 2-1/2 dozen
If you are eating at a resteraunt then more than likely they drop all their tortillas fresh. Not re-cooking premade ones. Maybe that's why yours aren't coming out like you like...
Here's a sopapillas recipe that uses pre-made tortillas.
QUICK AND EASY SOPAPILLAS
1 cup butter
1/2 tablespoon of cinnamon sugar mixture
3 tortillas
1 tablespoon honey
1 oz. vegetable oil
Heat oil in a small skillet until hot. Melt butter in small microwavable dish-once melted add cinnamon sugar and honey
Fry 1 tortilla until bottom edge is golden brown then flip and do the other side. Repeat with other tortillas. Remove skillet from heat.
Pour out oil then add the butter mixture to the same skillet.
Soak one side then flip and repeat on other side.
Let cool for 3 minutes, then serve
But again it would taste better to be dropping fresh dough in hot oil....
MEXICAN SOPAPILLAS
1 pkg. dry yeast
1/4 c. lukewarm water
3/4 c. milk
6 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. butter
1 egg, beaten
3 c. flour
Approximately 2 inches cooking oil
Soften yeast in lukewarm water. Set aside.
Combine milk, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in butter. Allow to cool until lukewarm.
Stir in beaten egg and yeast mixture. Gradually add flour.
Work with hands if mixture becomes too thick to stir. Cover dough with a damp cloth and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
Punch down, turn out onto a lightly floured board, knead briefly until dough is smooth.
Cover and let rest for 15 minutes. Roll to about 1/2 inch thick square and cut with a 2 inch cookie cutter.
Heat oil to 350°F.
Cook sopapillas a few at a time, browning on one side, and turning only once. They will puff up.
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| Buenelo (sp?)
Posted: 9/24/2008 7:41:30 AM | For years I have fried flour tortillas until golden brown and crispy, then sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. It may not be an authentic buenelo, but it is a cheap, quick, tasty, after school snack. My kids have grown up eating these. They especially like these with hot cocoa when the weather is cool.
Course they also eat hot dogs wrapped in a warm flour tortilla. I might run out of bread, but there are always tortillas in my frig. to make some kind of snack.
tb | |
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| Buenelo (sp?)
Posted: 9/24/2008 7:52:24 AM |
but it is a cheap, quick, tasty, after school snack. My kids have grown up eating these. They especially like these with hot cocoa when the weather is cool
Thanks for the tip! Too late for my kids but I just might try it for myself and I imagine grandkids someday! | |
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| Buenelo (sp?)
Posted: 9/24/2008 8:26:36 AM | The secret is in the syrup. My family has been making buñuelos for generations and what we use is a hard brown sugar called piloncillo (You can find it at any mexican market) . You put the piloncillo in a pan with boiling water and cinammon sticks (The real deal, not the powder) and a couple drops of vanilla. Stir until it disolves completely. Don't put too much water if you want the syrup thick.
It doesn't matter if you use premade packaged flour tortillas, but of course fresh made is always better. Deep fry the tortilla in cooking oil (I use canola oil) and place it on a paper towel in an upright position (leaning against something) to let the excess oil drip.
What we do is dip the whole tortilla in the syrup, but you can spread some with a spoon if you don't want them too sweet or soggy.
After you have the buñuelo ready on a plate, what you add to it is up to you (Be creative  ) . You can serve it with vanilla ice cream or add some cinnamon powder on top...
Good luck and buen provecho! ( bon appetit! ) | |
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| Buenelo (sp?)
Posted: 9/24/2008 8:58:31 AM | If you can't find real piloncillo, a decent substitute is dark brown sugar with just a little dab of molasses, when making this syrup.
When my older kids were growing up, they would sneak the piloncillo from the kitchen and eat it like candy.
tb | |
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| Buenelo (sp?)
Posted: 9/24/2008 7:30:16 PM | Bunuelos?
I have never had them flat, so I have never thought of using a flour tortilla for them. Man it has been years........... What a flashback. When my Mexican madre made them they were like a bun....say 3 inches wide round and an inch thick. She definitely used piloncillo. We had these mostly during the winter holidays and always with Mexican hot chocolate, mmmmmmm not too sweet, always dark, always cinnamony and when we had them just because she wanted to reward us, we usually had then with atole`, any flavor we wanted later when packaged was widely available, but as a child it was always vanilla, chocolate, or nut...maybe pumpkin seed, not sure which nut or seed, but very good.
I just read mcopado and yes, his recipe is like hers, except she made them saucer-like. The buns had a small indention in the top to hold more syrup and cinnamon-sugar. I should make these for church sometime. I do not recall her calling the cinnamon water mixture tea, but I am pretty sure this was a step for her. This seems to be the way I remember her doing it.
Oh, for TexasB...I always used to do the fried flour tortillas for my kids with cinnamon and sugar too and would call them dessert nachos because I would top them with different things like fresh berries, or Mexican fruits like pineapple, mango and papaya, also whipped cream, melted chocolate, or custard. Kids LOVE eating this stuff, as you well know. I always totally identitfy with your posts Texas Sista! | |
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| Buenelo (sp?)
Posted: 9/25/2008 9:05:43 AM | | SmilingSalmon I think the bun-like dessert you are talking about is capirotada... Is made with bolillo (kind of like a french roll) cut into pieces, fried and dipped in the piloncillo syrup... | |
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| Buenelo (sp?)
Posted: 9/25/2008 2:07:32 PM | | mmmhhh.... Interesting. I guess it depends on the mexican region. I was born and raised in mexico for 20 years and never saw buñuelos made that way. They were always thin and crunchy... They sound good though. I guess that's what it's all about when it comes to cooking, creativity and variety | |
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| Buenelo (sp?)
Posted: 9/25/2008 2:12:40 PM | | Yeah, I have found that in Mexico, Austria, China, or anywhere, just like America, even Hawaii...things vary from place to place, state to state, area to area, family to family. My mama always called them bunuelos and they were never thin and crispy. Even though they were thicker, they were somewhat crispy on the outside. I think it is interesting how you can really get to know the make up of the country by Mexico City. I first learned just how diverse a country it is when I was younger and we helped out several Jewish families from there. Every one of the families we helped out had parents or grandparents either from Turkey, Palestine, Egypt, Morocco, Spain, Russia, Germany, Scotland and so on. So Mexico is as diverse as we are and the influences definitely show in the food, depending on were it is coming from. | |
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| Buenelo (sp?)
Posted: 9/25/2008 6:35:52 PM | | Sometimes I have added allspice, nutmeg and even sometimes powdered cardomom, just a little of each, to sweetbreads dishes like this. Just a little bit makes differencia. | |
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| Buenelo (sp?)
Posted: 10/18/2008 7:04:14 AM | Just wanted to say thanks for the number of replies on this thread. I got a couple of great ideas. Specifically the idea to make a syrup from scratch.... and the berries just give me an infinite combination of how to make the syrup so that no physical fruit is present in the case of children/pre-teens who can be picky as, if not more so, than myself.
I'll have to try out a few of these on my own, and in the near future, post out the recipe ideas I have and let you guys tell me what you think.
And on a side note.... the bun variant sounds like a great idea on "Monkey Bread" or what ever it's called. Definitely wanting to try it now. | |
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| Buenelo (sp?)
Posted: 10/19/2008 11:40:26 AM | | Oh and I forget...to the sirup you can add rosewater or orange blossom water. Just maybe a teaspoon, unless you are making large quantieies. This is how the sirup for baklavah is made, but it works very well for buenelos and sopapillas, too. You can always adjust to taste, but if you mess around too much the sirup can become crystalline, then adding liquids make it like a dog chasing its tail. Best to have everything and all proportions ready to go when you're making the sirup. | |
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| Buenelo (sp?)
Posted: 10/20/2008 8:42:09 AM | | I feel stooopid. It's spelled "bunuelos." Like a sheep, following the crowds. Baaaah. | |
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