Going Back in Time...Muffin Style

Good Evening Dear Readers!

Today I'm taking you on a trip down memory lane thanks to a recent Pinterest entry I found for making Marranitos, or Mexican Piggies. These pastries are not quite a cookie and not quite a bread. As with many other pan dulce it is lightly sweetened and goes well with coffee or milk.

Long ago when I was a mini Muffin, my parents would take me to the Pink Elephant Panaderia in San Jose occasionally on Saturday mornings. There I could choose out any pastry I wanted. Usually I chose a cookie covered in crunchy sprinkles because they were so pretty, but as I grew older I developed a taste for Conchas instead. After I chose my pastry my parents would make their pan dulce selections and away we'd go. They always included some piggies for my brother since they were his absolute favorite (and still are I might add). Of course, they always knew that I wasn't completely satisfied by my single cookie so they always threw in a few extra piggies for me as well.

These trips used to be so memorable to me because over the years, we didn't always live close to The Pink Elephant, and the panaderia isn't in the greatest side of town. Either way, we kept coming here year after year since it was known for being one of the best panaderias in the Bay Area and it was always a special treat whenever we went.

Finished piggies...errr I mean Bears

The tradition of going to the Pink Elephant didn't start with my parents though: my grandparents had been going there for years before my parents started dating and eventually got married. I'm not sure how long it has been around but to this day The Pink Elephant is still standing and serving the hispanic community wonderful pastries daily. It is one of my wishes to some day continue that tradition and take my son, the muffin-lette, there and let him choose his own pan dulce.

So, as I mentioned earlier: I found this recipe online for Marranitos via Pinterest and decided to give it a try and share the results with you.

Mmmmm, the molasses smelled so wonderful

Authentic Mexican Marranitos (Molasses Gingerbread Piggies)

I'm sure you noticed by now that the piggy pictures I posted aren't actual piggies. I assure you, I haven't completely lost my muffin sense and do realize that the cookie cutter I am using is bear-shaped and not pig-shaped, I still just call them piggies out of habit. Sadly, when I started this project I didnt have a pig cookie cutter large enough to make a proper Marranito and the only cutter I had available was the bear cutter you see in my photos.

Ginormous Bear cookie cutter!

Since I didnt get permission to re-post this recipe I felt that it was only fair to re-direct my readers to where I originally found the recipe especially since I didnt make any notable adaptions.So, this recipe can be found via my Pinterest board or going directly to this link.


I did however, want to point out a few things about this recipe that will help make your life easier and make a more authentic, tastier pastry:

• Use lard (or Manteca in spanish) if at all possible - This will give you the best possible taste and texture. Just ignore the fact that it wont necessarily be very healthy.
• Use that egg wash! The gloss and texture is very reminiscent of the piggies I used to get when I was a kid - just dont go too crazy with the wash or else you'll end up with scrambled eggs on top of your pan dulce
• Add in the cinnamon but skip the rest of the spices the reviews say to add. The flavor you achieve is the closest to actual panaderia piggies and I always think its nice to try something one way before you decide to try out your own variations of the recipe.
• Section out your dough into large palm sized balls.I found this was easier for me to handle when I rolled out and stamped my dough versus to handling the entire batch of dough at once.
• Dont be afraid of handling the dough too much. It is very forgiving and fairly easy to handle. 
• As always, have fun and add in as much love to your pastries as possible. It definitely affects the flavor :)

After the first batch made it out of the oven I gave the first piggy to Mr. Muffin (ha ha I hope he doesn't mind me calling him that) who declared them a success. That poor piggy didn't stand much of a chance and was devoured well before the next batch could make it out of the oven. Overall, this is a fairly easy and quick recipe to make, even for impatient Muffins such as myself and is simple enough for bakers of any skill to master.

Well Sleepy Muffin Readers - as usual I am starting to get pretty sleepy so I must bid you Adios.

Until next time!

The Little Sleepy Muffin