How to make the best Marranitos & Puerquitos (Soft Mexican Gingerbread Pig Shaped Cookies)

¡Hola! How was your Thanksgiving?

My parents had the opportunity to purchase their first home this year, so it was their first time hosting at their place and we had a great time! I did end up having to do about 95% percent of the cooking, but I didn’t mind, I got to use the time to test a few recipes.

One of the recipes I started testing a few nights before, were these Marranitos. Marranitos (or Puerquitos) are these piloncillo cookies shaped like a pig that I wasn’t really a fan of growing up. The panadería across the street from the house I grew up in always made them dry and cakey, and when my uncles would bring fresh pan dulce from their trips to Tijuana there would often be a marranito buried deep in the bag, and those would always snap from how hard and dry they were. I wanted to change a few things for my interpretation, and I really enjoyed how these came out. They’re soft and cakey, but moist, and well spiced!

Find the recipe in my new cookbook Chicano Bakes:

The cookie dough is really easy to make and it comes together in a few minutes, and the combination of molasses, brown sugar, cinnamon, all spice, and ginger is sure to fill your kitchen with sweet nostalgia. You can stop by your local cake supply store or Sur La Table for the pig shaped cookie cutter, but I bought mine on Amazon here.

Let me know if you happen to make these, and share your pictures with me on Instagram!

I’m including links to other pan dulce recipe below! Make sure to check out my cajeta and pumpkin chocoflan, galletas con sprinkles and telera rolls!

¡Nos vemos pronto!

• 
  Blackberry Margaritas + Blackberry Simple Syrup Recipes
  We’re making a blackberry simple syrup and blackberry margaritas today! Temperatures are reaching over 110° this week here in Fresno, which means these blackberry margaritas are going to be a delicious way to keep cool. For the past couple of weeks, my backyard has been bursting with boysenberries and blackberries, and consequently, I’ve been using them for aguas frescas, paletas, and the margaritas we’re making today. Additionally, I’ve got passion fruit on the vines that are in the process of ripening. If you have any suggestions for recipes you’d like to see them in, let me know below!
• 
  How to Make Traditional Mexican Shrimp Ceviche
  Hola Hola! Today we’re making traditional Mexican shrimp ceviche! Now that it is beginning to feel like Summer, I’m starting to crave more seafood, and shrimp ceviche is one of my favorite ways to enjoy seafood. It’s simple, it’s so fresh, and it’s also an easy way to load up on veggies. The recipe we’re making today actually comes from my first cookbook, Chicano Eats: Recipes from my Mexican-American Kitchen.
• 
  How to Make a Refreshing Pineapple Mango Agua Fresca
  Today we’re making a refreshing pineapple mango agua fresca! Last week I dusted off the grill for some carne asada and made this agua fresca to go along with our tacos, and didn’t realize I hadn’t shared the recipe yet. So, I’m sharing it with you today! It’s light, it’s refreshing, and perfect for the hot weather we have coming up. Although we’re making an agua fresca today, this recipe would also work great for paletas. Simply omit 1 1/2 cups of water, add extra sugar, and pour into your favorite paleta molds.
• 
  How to Make Cuernitos Mexicanos
  Today I’m teaching you how to make Cuernitos Mexicanos from scratch! I teased this recipe on Instagram two weeks ago, and folks were so excited to see me developing a recipe for them. What are cuernitos?
• 
  How to Make Bizcochitos (Mexican Shortbread Cinnamon Sugar Cookies)
  Today we’re making bizcochitos! These Mexican shortbread cookies covered in cinnamon sugar are also known as polvorones or pan de polvo and they are an incredibly easy and delicious to make.

Click here for more pan dulce recipes!

Print Pin

4.08 from 145 votes

Marranitos & Puerquitos (Soft Mexican Gingerbread Pig Cookies)

Makes 16 Large Cookies

This is the cookie cutter I used.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Mexican

Calories

Author Esteban Castillo

Ingredients

For the Cookie Dough

• 4 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour (562 g)
• 1 ½ teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
• ½ teaspoon Ground Allspice
• 1 ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• ½ cup + 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter , room temperature (143 g)
• 1 ⅓ cup Dark Brown Sugar , packed (277 g)
• ¼ Cup Molasses (84 g)
• ¼ cup Buttermilk (57 g)
• 2 Large Eggs , room temperature

For the Egg Wash:

• 2 Eggs whisked together

Instructions

• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, baking powder, baking soda and salt, then set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and brown sugar on medium speed for about a minute. Reduce the speed to low then slowly pour in the molasses and buttermilk. Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure that ones mixed in before adding the next. After the eggs have been mixed in, add one third of the dry ingredients, wait for it to incorporate, then add the next third, wait and then add the rest.
• At this point, the cookie dough is going to be soft, so divide your dough into 4 equal sized balls, then wrap them up with plastic wrap and place them in the refrigerator for 4 hours to chill.
• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• Once the dough has chilled, roll your dough out on a well floured surface to abut a 1/2 inch thickness. Use your cookie cutter to cut out the cookies, then evenly space them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. (You should be able to get 4 cookies per ball of dough) I like to dip my cookie cutter in a little bit of flour to make sure I get clean edges.
• Once you have your cookies on your cookie sheet, brush on the egg wash, and bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies have risen and the tops have begun to crack.
• Let your cookies cool for about 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm.