Season's Greetings from the Warren Center

Though we could not host a holiday party this year, we did have a small (virtual) social gathering of our various 2020-21 fellow cohorts, including a heady concentration of experts on American religious history. In the spirit of the season in which many people celebrate a range of holidays, we share with the wider community a few notes, some humorous, from that afternoon’s “Sip and Zoom.”

 

      Mantecaditos ~ Adapted from Carmen Valldejuli’s Cocina Criolla

Mantecaditos are classic Puerto Rican Christmas cookies. My mother and I have been making these together every Christmas since I was a little girl – I’m fairly confident there exists a photo of us together in the kitchen baking them, including me on a step stool so I could reach the bowl of batter. Traditionally, the cookies are topped with Maraschino cherries but, apparently, I refused to eat them that way, so our go-to is sprinkles.

 

Ingredients: ¼ lb (1 stick) unsalted butter, ½ cup vegetable shortening, ½ cup sugar, 1 teaspoon almond extract, 2 ¼ cup AP flour, red and green sprinkles

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a bowl, cream together the butter and vegetable shortening.
3. Add the sugar and almond extract, mixing until well combined.
4. On low speed, slowly add the flour. Mix just until incorporated.
5. Take mixture by teaspoonfuls and, using your hands, roll into balls.
6. On an ungreased baking sheet, arrange the cookies. Press each ball gently with your thumb to create an indent. Add sprinkles into indentation.
7. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until slightly golden.

 

Sending warm Holiday wishes from a virtual Emerson Hall!