Today the internet will be flooded with cookies. Glorious cookies! Every every year the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap begins and food bloggers from across the world exchange cookies through the mail and post them on their blogs to share with the world. All proceeds raised during the cookie swap go towards Cookies for Kids Cancer. This year 566 bloggers from 7 countries participated and raised $2,417, with brand partner donations a total of just over $12,000 was raised!
I got amazing cookies from Chocolate Shortbread from Wendy at The Monday Box, Iced Ginger Molasses Cookie Bars from Allison at Celebrating Sweets and Chocolate Chip Coconut Macaroons from Heather at Castle Walk Kitchen! I sent these tasty cookies to Linda and Allison at 2 Cooking Mamas, Kristen at Dinner for Two and Kat at I Want Crazy Blog. So many cookies!!!
I adore these cookies. My mother use to make them all the time for my sister and I. She would usually fill the dimple with strawberry jelly, which would melt and become chewy. It was my favorite part because it would stick to my teeth. Don’t ask me why….it just was. You can fill them with whatever you want. I have seen them plain or topped with sprinkles. I have seen them fill them with coconut, chocolate, any fruit preserve or caramel, the possibilities are endless.
The name “mantecadito” comes from the ingredient “manteca” which translates to shortening. The cookie is basically a shortbread cookie that is made with half butter and half shortening or all shortening. I like the 1/2 and 1/2 recipe because I just love butter. I filled these cookies with guava marmalade, giving them a little tropical twist.
It is a very popular cookie during the holidays in Puerto Rico. You can find them in some stores, in cute little packages tied with ribbons. They make a great gift!
I love…love…love these cookies and probably ate 8 of them last night. Don’t tell anyone….I am a little ashamed.
Shhhhhhh! Shhhhhhh! Listen……do you hear that? It is the sound of angels singing over this delicious buttery crisp cookie. Hmmmm Seriously do you hear them? I’m not crazy! Don’t make fun….the voices keep me company. Look at this cookie! It is golden, crumbly, buttery and delicious. Why wouldn’t angels sing?
I declare! Go now and make these cookies, get yourself a glass of milk and eat 15 of them. They are just heavenly. I suggest you make a double batch so you can hide in a corner and eat them all by yourself, because they go fast. Just be sure to discard the evidence…ie, buttery crumbs on your shirt and floor.
Nom..nom…nom…
Mantecaditos con Guayaba ( Shortbread Almond Cookies with Guava)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 16 oz bottle guava marmalade
Instructions
Roll-out Method
Scooping Method
Tools & Special Ingredients Used
Wilton 7 Piece Round Linzer Cutter Set | $7.12
Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Commercial Baker’s Half Sheet | $14.88
Goya Guava Squeez-it Marmalade (Mermelada De Guayaba) 16oz Single Bottle | $5.85
Goya Guava Paste 21 Ounce Can Pasta de Guayaba (2 Pack) | $15.95
No almond extract on hand? can I go without it?
You can go without. They just won’t have an almond flavor.
OMG! These remind me of a cookie they sell at the panaderias in Puerto Rico. It makes me want to go there so bad, right now! The warm weather would not hurt. Awesome recipe!
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I made these cookies last weekend and they came out AMAZING!! Thank you so much for this recipe I’ve been looking for it everywhere and I finally found the perfect one 😀
La mantequilla es sin sal?
Estos mantecaditos los coozco de que era una nin~a. Como tradicio’n familiar siempre los hacemos para Navidad. A mis hermanos y a mi nos fascinan. Ayer termine de hornear unos 200 mantecaditos, y casualmente hoy me tropece’ con esta receta. Mi hermana me comento esta tarde que ella tambie’n horneo’ mantecaditos para llevar a una actividad, pero que ella y el esposo se los comieron todos y no llegaron a su destino. En casa les tengo mas para cuando vengan para Navidad.
Ay que rico – this brings back memories of home (Puerto Rico) !!
These were fantastic, and very easy. I actually converted the recipe to gluten-free and dairy-free and it still worked perfectly – a sign of a good recipe! I may use this again for jelly thumbprints, but the guava really gives it something special. And if you eat them while the guava is still warm? OMG.
For a GFCF version: I used 280 grams of a blend of GF flours (50/50 whole grains & starches), and 3/4 tsp of gums (psyllium/xanthan). For the fats, I used a mix of Smart Balance, palm shortening and Tbsp or two of mashed sweet potato to make up for the extra moisture in butter (banana or applesauce would work, or omit) for a total of 207g . They were very crumbly – may use a little more xanthan gum next time – but so, so good.
Yo las hice hoy, pero como no tenia guayaba para ponerle en el centro, le puse nutella, Mmm….. Quedaron riquisimas, y en especial con el toque de nutella! 🙂
que significa shortening?
Significa manteca
Tu no crees que le debes dar credito en esta receta a Carmen Valdejuli, Cocina Criolla? Muchas de nosotras aprendimos a hacer mantecaditos con esta receta que es de ella…
Translation provided by The Noshery
“Don’t you think you should give Carmen Valdejuli, Cocina Criolla credit for this recipe? Many of us learned how to make mantecaditos with this recipe which is hers.”
I usually do not enter into discussion in the comment section of my blog, but I will make an acceptation in this case.
First let me say that this recipe was given to me by my mother. Also if you read the recipe you will see that I use an egg yolk and guava. Also the recipe is written in my own words. I did however look the recipe up and see that it is very close to Valldejuli. But it was not my source, if it had been my source I would have said so. Mantecaditos are a very common and traditional cookie like a vanilla cupcake or sugar cookie would be so recipes will be very similar. If you are a reader of my blog you will know that I always give credit to recipes when I use them and even when adapted.
I agree with Meseidy here. It never even occurred to me that the Mantecaditos recipe was on the Valdejuli book, and had to look to corroborate.
I have my own recipe, given to me by my aunt and it is a little different than both, Valdejuli and Meseidy. For the holidays, instead of shaping the dough into a ball, I put the dough in a cookie presser, and do different shapes according to the season, put them in a bag and give them away. They are a very welcomed gift especially around Christmas.
You could go even further back and see an older recipe in Cocine a Gusto by Cabanillas, Ginorio, and Mercado. I have in front of me a 1951 edition of it, signed by Berta Cabanillas, who was a friend of the aunt who brought me up in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. The recipe for the basic, original Mantecado – which is a simple, basic, one-layer cookie – is on Page 223. The word Mantecaditos comes from the word manteca, lard, which was the shortening of choice in those days for tender flaky pastries. Your mother’s lovely recipe seems to me to be a cross or hybrid between the basic Puertorican Mantecados or Mantecaditos and a veryveryvery old and traditional cookie from Austria called Linzer cookie. What I see here is the beauty of who we are as a people: Puerto Rico too had its share of immigrants, who brought their traditional foods and adapted the recipes to the island. The Austrian recipe usually calls for raspberry jam. I think using guava is a touch of genius!
Thanks for the great tidbit and sweet words!
Yes I’ve seen Carmen Valdejuli’s cookbook when I used to work at a local library. We have to give credit to her.
made these cookies this afternoon for our Live Nativity Community event at church this evening. They were a huge hit…my husband loved them too. Will definitely be making then again. I found the guava paste did not melt down to good and so the first batch or two didn’t come out too pretty looking…so I rolled and squished the paste into a ball and that batch came out of the oven looking much prettier. I did dust the cookies with powdered sugar once cooled.
I been baking since I was a little girl and the only thing I can say is that these mantecaditos are the best I ever had. Bring my childhood and the memories from my grandma…
Thanks,
Vanessa
I lived in PR in high school, and we brought back this recipe as one of our favorites. We make them with a piece of maraschino cherry on top. Thanks for reminding me how good these are!
mmm Definitely going to go for the caramel…I’m taking cookieweek a bit too seriously 😉
These look amazing! Any tips for civilization-challenged ladies like myself trying to find guava paste?
It is pretty common to find in the Latin section of your local grocery. It is also easy to find online. If you don’t find guava don’t worry. My mother use to fill them with jam a piece of milk caramel would also be yummy.
Omg! What a heavenly picture. Thank you for the recipe. Brings me memories from childhood. God bless u all!
My sister makes these cookies, she also adds sprinkles to them….she”s been baking them since she was in her teens. My youngest son is such a fan of the cookies, that I tried to make them myself. Honestly I have to say that I leave the baking to the expert and my sister can send them via mail to my son….The recipe is great….I might just try it.
Te felicito es la receta perfecta, llevo meses buscando esta receta,,,, todas distintas y todas me quedaron fatal!! Muchas gracias, quedo espectacular !
I am hallucinating also just reading the recipe.
Wonderful childhood memories. I’m baking them right now
Que rico se ven! Mmmm…Thanks for the recipe!
Beautiful post. I guess “manteca” means butter. BTW, here in Brazil this cookie is called “mantecal”.
No, dear. “Mantequilla” is butter. “manteca” is lard. 🙂
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I am native New Mexican and where I come from “Manteca”=Lard. We have a state cookie called “Biscochitos” that of course every NM cook worth her salt will tell you cannot be made properly without the ever coveted lard. When I read your recipe and saw that you used a mixture of butter and shortening I was thrilled. I am going to make your recipe and then try your technique on New Mexico’s favorite cookie. I live in Japan now (talk about a fish out of water) and can’t find lard (which is a blessing in disguise… I need to waddle away from my lard liking roots). Again, thank you for sharing this recipe with us. 🙂
Fellow New Mexican here. What a shame you can’t find lard in Japan. I can tell you that not only is lard much healthier for you than shortening, it adds a more delicate texture and even a subtle flavor to baked goods that cannot be replicated. I have had shortening biscochitos, and they just don’t have that authentic flavor. I always get a chuckle when people are horrified at the thought of putting lard in cookies or pastries but think nothing at all of adding shortening – which is one of the worst things you can put in your body because of the high levels of trans fats. Not to mention it’s equally fattening to lard.
The guava paste in the center of those cookies looks delicious!
Se me hace la boca agua… con lo que me gustan! Ahora tendre que ir a hornear unos cuantos mantecaditos (yo le llamo polvorones). Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Sin chiste me comi como 10! Son RICO!