Sopapillas

Let me start off by saying… Andrew LOVES Sopapillas! I felt quite a bit of pressure when I took this one on because I wanted to get them right! Sopapillas are a Southwestern dessert- they are native to the American Indian cuisine of the Southwest, not necessarily of Mexico (if I have my culinary history correct). They are these fried pillows of dough that puff up and are hollow in the center. Traditionally, they are served with meals as the bread and if there are any left, you eat them with honey for dessert. They seem to now be served just as a dessert, unless you are at an authentic restaurant (such as Sadie’s in Albuquerque- Andrew’s favorite); but as a dessert they are absolutely fine with me! They truly are heavenly.

The fear when making them was- will they puff??? Andrew has told me of being served dense, non-airy, non-pillow little bricks of dough. That is not what I wanted. So I Google searched and got out some cookbooks, and I did my research. I came up with what I thought was a winning recipe. And… SUCCESS! They were light and golden and airy and delicious. Drizzled with honey and cinnamon, I now understand the love of Sopapillas!


Ingredients
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
• 3/4 cup warm water, plus more as needed
• Peanut oil, for frying
• Honey or cinnamon sugar, for serving

Directions
Sift the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Add the shortening and water, work them in with your hands to make soft, pliable dough. Add more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, if the dough feels too dry. Gather the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Put the dough in the refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour so it will firm up a bit and be easier to roll and cut. (Dough can be prepared 1 day ahead, refrigerated.)

Unwrap the ball of dough and put on a lightly floured surface, cut in half. With a floured rolling pin, roll each piece of dough into a circle, about 1/4-inch thickness. Using a paring knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into triangles as you would a pizza. You should end up with 6 or 8 triangles per circle.

Heat 2-inches of oil to 375 degrees F in a heavy skillet or deep pot over medium-high heat.

Fry a few of the sopapillas at a time, keeping an eye on maintaining the oil temperature. As the sopapillas puff up and rise to the surface, flip them over with a slotted spoon or skimmer; about 2 minutes on each side. Carefully remove the sopapillas from the oil and drain on several layers of paper towels. Cool slightly. Serve hot with honey or cinnamon sugar.