My husband’s family has been making cascaron for generations, and last year I asked my mother-in-law if she would teach me how to make them too. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law came over and we made a big batch of sweet and crispy cascaron. These cookies are pop in your mouth bite-size, just like popcorn and believe me when I say they are totally crave-able and will be gone before you know it! Cascaron are a lot of fun to make with a group. When it comes to shaping these cookies into their signature shell shape, it does take a long time so believe me you’ll be grateful for the help.
My mother-in-law's original recipe is actually double what I show you here. It brings me back to the days when it was commonplace for the whole family to get together, sitting around a wooden table, chatting, drinking coffee and rolling these cookies into their signature shell shape together.
Makes approximately 280 cookies
Ingredients:
For the cascaron
8oz (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
5 egg yokes
480g (5 cups) all-purpose flour
5 teaspoons baking powder
coconut oil, for frying
For the sugar coating
792g (4 cups) white sugar, divided
454g (2 cups) water, divided
Method:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the butter until creamy, then add the eggs, flour, baking powder, and water and mix until everything is just combined. Turn the dough out onto a floured works surface and split your dough into four equal portions. Place the remaining three portions inside a plastic bag while you work with the first portion.
Now, using a fork take a small amount of dough and flatten it into the prongs of the fork. Using your thumb, roll the dough off the fork at a slight angle to create a shell shape. Watch my video to see how it is done. You should get approximately 70 cookies from each portion of dough. Once all your cookies have been shaped cover them with a loose cloth and allow them to dry out for at least six hours, but up to overnight is best.
Once the cookies have dried, fry them in the hot coconut oil until they are golden brown and place them on paper towels to allow access oil to drain. Once all your cookies are fried, you can move onto the final step. Portion the cascaron into four groups. In a large pot add 1 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of water. Allow the sugar to come to a simmer. once the sugar reaches between 225° to 230° turn off the heat and quickly add the cascaron to the pot. Stir it gently so all the cookies are coated. Be careful to not break up the cookies. As the sugar cools, it will begin to crystallize.
Once the sugar has crystallized onto the cascaron turn it out onto a cookie sheet and allow it to cool completely. Wash out your pot and repeat this step three more times until all your cookies are sugar coated.
Watch the video below for a better idea on how to shape the cascaron.
These cookies are so special to my family, I hope you invite your family and friends over this Christmas season and sit down to make a whole lot of Cascaron! Trust me they are definitely worth the work. If you want to stay in the loop and never miss another blog post, subscribe to my blog here.
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