But in keeping with the theme of my blog, I also searched for some other international cookie treats and found some unusual ones, some new twists on old favourites, and a savoury-sweet cookie… here we go:

From Mexico: Polvorones de Canela (Mexican tea cakes)
Polvorones are a type of shortbread made with cinnamon and rolled in powdered sugar.  There are many varitions out there and the ones I made are a simpler version than the “mexican wedding cake” cookies (I didn’t add any nuts to mine). Polvorones, both the tea cake version and the wedding cake version, are traditionally served at Christmas, weddings and quinceañeras.

Recipe:
1 cup softened unsalted butter
1/2 c. powdered/icinig/confectioners’ sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt (if you use salted butter make sure to omit the salt)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 c. all purpose flour (unbleached)
For polvo (rolling “dust”):
1 cup powdered/icing/confectioners’ sugar
1 tbsp Cinnamon (or more to taste, I used 2 tbsps)

Mix softened butter with sugar thoroughly until it becomes a smooth and creamy mixture.
Add cinnamon, salt, and vanilla. Mix in flour to make a stiff dough. Chill dough for half an hour to an hour.
Preheat oven to 350F. and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Form chilled dough into approximately 1-inch balls.
Mix 1 cup of icing sugar with the tbsp. of cinnamon, and roll balls in this cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Bake for 15 – 20 minutes until nicely browned. You can either dust them with or roll them in the sugar & cinnamon mixture again. Cool completely on wire racks.

Notes: Make sure that you use the exact amount of butter that the recipe calls for, the polvorones are made to literally melt in your mouth if you follow the recipe but, even though they are still edible, they may turn out a bit crunchy and not polvo (literally means dust) like at all if you skimp on the butter. I like to roll them in the sugar and cinnamon mixture before presenting them. The above recipe makes approx. 30 polvorones but you can double or triple the recipe with no issues at all. The cookies are excellent with tea, coffee or hot chocolate. Yumm!

From Catalonia: Panelletes
These cookies are traditionally made in Catalonia, Spain on November 1st, All Saints’ Day. Again, there are a hundred different variations of these “cookies” depending on family recipes or tastes. They can be made with regular potatoes or sweet potatoes or yam.

Recipe:
1 Cup cooked sweet potato or yam
1/2 c. sugar (granulated)
1 2/3 c. ground blanched almonds
1 lg. egg yolk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1tsp. grated lemon zest
1/4 c. pine nuts or slivered almonds (optional)

Mix all of the ingredients except for the slivered almonds, together. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Roll dough into 1-inch balls or flatten them if  you prefer.  Arrange Panellets about ½-inch apart on prepared cookie sheet. Press a pine nut (or slivered almond) onto the top of each ball for decoration.
Bake for about 15-20 mins. They will almost not change appearance. Transfer the cookies to a platter using a spatula.

Notes:
These cookies got mixed reviews. A LOT of people really liked them and wanted the recipe while others didn’t mind them but didn’t think they would try them again. I personally really enjoyed them. I felt like I was having something “healthy”" thanks to the sweet potato. They are great on their own or to accompany a cup of tea. I think it’s something to definitely try… (unless you don’t like sweet potato!)

From Italy: Torcettini from Val D’Aosta
These are twisted shaped cookies are savoury but rolled in sugar. It uses active dry yeast in the recipe and it resembles a palmier in taste. These torcettini were a favourite of Queen Margherita of Italy, it is known that she liked them so much that she knigthed the baker on the spot in Saint Vincent!  I made a mini version of this and rolled them in red sugar to make them more festive. Another excellent tea cookie!

Left to Right: Torcettini, Panelletes and Polvorones

From El Salvador: Peperechas
Peperechas are a sweet layered bread that is usually served with afternoon coffee. Growing up (and as an adult too) it was always one of my favourite things to walk to the corner bakery in the afternoon to get freshly baked sweet bread and peperechas were always my sweet bread of choice. It’s my younger sister’s favourite and, by her request (or, really, her nagging and begging) did I venture to attempt to make these. To my pleasant surprise, they weren’t that difficult to make, there are a lot of steps that you must follow to the letter but SOOO worth it.  Here is the recipe that I used (with my own twist)…

Recipe:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp. active dry yeast
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
8 tbsps. bran
Filling:
Pineapple jam (use guava jam if pineapple no available)
Panela candy, grated (optional)
For sprinkling:
1/4 cup white sugar
red food colouring

Colour the white sugar with the food colouring and set aside. Mix the yeast and the warm water together.
For the dough. Mix flour with dry ingredients and on a flat surface make a well in the middle of the flour:

Add the butter and the yeast water:

Knead together until forming a dough and set aside for 10 minutes.
Divide the dough into 2 parts and roll both parts out on a floured surface.

Spread one part with the jam and sprinkle with the grated panela:

Cover with the other half of the rolled dough. Sprinkle with the coloured sugar and cut into rectangles.

Place rectangles on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper and bake at 350F for 30 minutes. They will be browned and crunchy.

Notes:
Very biased review here.  I loved them! And so did everyone who tasted them. I used pinapple spread to make them but I know that guava jam/spread works well too. These cookies’ name literally translates to “whore” or “prostitute” because of their red sugar on top. In El Salvador we also make a version with just white sugar on top and are called Honradas which translates to “honest woman”. It’s just a fun and interesting fact.

Hungary, officially the Republic of Hungary is located in Central Europe. Bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia. It’s capital is Budapest. The official language is Hungarian and one of the four official languages of the European Union that is not of Indo-European origin.

Interesting Facts:
- Hungary is home to the largest thermal water cave system and the second largest thermal lake in the world.
- The Huns, under Attila the Hun, built a powerful empire in Hungary at the end of the 4th century after the rule of the Roman Empire.

Recipe: Linguine and Scallops in Hot Paprika Sauce
1 pound scallops
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons green onion, thinly sliced
1/3 cup dry white wine
2 teaspoons virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/3 cup clam broth
3/4 cup nonfat cottage cheese
1/4 cup nonfat sour cream
1/4 cup skim milk
1 tablespoon sweet Hungarian paprika
1/8 teaspoon hot Hungarian paprika
salt and pepper to taste
8 ounces linguine

Directions: Saute scallops, garlic, and green onion in wine and 1 tsp of olive oil. Cook on high heat until liquid evaporates, stirring a few times to cook scallops through. Sprinkle with basil and remove to a plate.
In same pan, add remaining tsp of the olive oil and mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in clam broth simmer 2 more minutes.
Put cottage cheese in a blender and blend until smooth.
Add sour cream and blend again. Add the milk and paprika and blend once more.
Pour mixture into the pan with mushrooms. Add scallops and warm over very low heat until mixture is warmed through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Meanwhile, bring water to a boil, add pasta, and cook until al dente. Drain and place in a large serving bowl. Pour sauce over pasta, sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Cooked Scallops

Notes: 1 lb of scallops is 453.59 grams. Where I live is quite difficult to find fresh seafood but was able to find the next best thing. Some of the ingredients were hard or impossible to find here. So, in case you have the same problem:
*Clam broth, I substituded with shrimp or seafood broth. I got some buillon cubes and mixed the broth from there.
*Sweet Hungarian Paprika = Regular Paprika
*Hot Hungarian Paprika, you can use chili powder. Not exactly the same but an adequate substitute.
*Dry white wine… actually not hard to find but didn’t want to go out and buy a bottle so I used Chardonnay. It tasted good nonetheless.
*I used freeze dried garlic. I don’t use a lot of garlic in my cooking, especially since I usually only cook for myself. So I got a little bottle of the freeze dried stuff. I find it to be quite good.

VERDICT: This was really good. It does seem like an Italian dish because of the linguine but the taste is very Hungarian. Like I said, it would be a great dish to have for a romantic dinner. It was a sweet & spicy flavour that is hard to describe. Not overpowering at all and it was a light flavour. Even my sister, the picky eater of the family, liked it a lot. Serve with a nice green salad and white wine. Delish!