b'T hisyearImadding a new holiday tradi-tionintothecookie rotation.Theyare calledBiscochitos andareaholiday traditionfromNew Mexico. Fun fact: Theyre the of-ficial state cookie. Tasting like the bestcinnamonsugarshortbread cookie youve ever had, the secret ingredient is rendered lard. If that makes you raise an eyebrow, bear with me. I promise you, after one bite that absolutely melts in your mouth,youllbeonboard.You canbuygoodqualitylardata butcher or a farmers market, and it keeps for a long time in the refrigerator. The dough itself is flavored with orange and anise seed and then gets a quick bath in cinnamon sugar before the cookies go in the oven. You can cut them into any shape that strikes your holiday fancy. BISCOCHITOSMakes 30-34 cookies3 cups all purpose flour 1 teaspoon vanilla1 teaspoon baking powder Zest of 1 orange teaspoon kosher salt 1 egg 1 cups lard cup sugar Cinnamon Sugar Coating:1 tablespoon anise seed, cup sugarlightly crushed in a mortar2 teaspoons ground cinna-and pestle or under a heavymonskillet1.In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and kosher salt. Set aside. 2.In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attach-ment, mix the lard, sugar, crushed anise seed, vanilla and or-ange zest until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides using a rubber spatula, add the egg and beat until well combined, about 30 seconds. 3.Gradually add the dry ingredients into the mixer on low speed. If your dough is still too dry to form a ball, gradually add 1-2 tablespoons of water until its moist enough to come together. Divide the dough in half, shape into disks and wrap each disk in plastic. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.4.Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, combine the sugar and cin-namon for the coating. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough until it is a quarter-inch thick. Cut into preferred shapes and set your dough scraps aside. Lay each cookie in the cinnamon sugar and gently press to coat the underside, then delicately trans-fer the cookie, cinnamon sugar side up, to the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with all the cookies you have cut out.5.Bake for 12-14 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until the bottoms are just golden brown. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack. Repeat with the next batch of cookies, rerolling the dough scraps until you have used all your dough. 6.Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days. 30/ matters magazine / holiday 2021'