Tía Lupe’s Polvorones

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat a cookie sheet with oil or cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cinnamon, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a large wooden spoon or your hands, blend the dry ingredients. Using a pastry cutter, blend in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarsely ground cornmeal. Add the eggs to the flour mixture. Using a spatula, blend well to make a smooth dough. Knead for about 1 minute.|

Break off pieces of dough and roll to the size of a walnut. You should have about 36 pieces. Place the rounds of dough about 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheet. Press with your fingers and flatten to ½ inch thick. The cookies should be about 1 inch apart. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until light golden on the bottom.

Place the cookie sheet on a rack to cool for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with cinnamon sugar. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months. Makes 36 cookies.

To make Mexican Cinnamon Sugar: In small bowl, blend ½ cup sugar with 1 tablespoon freshly ground Mexican cinnamon. Mexican cinnamon, or canela, is Ceylon, or “real” cinnamon, and is different from typical ground cinnamon found in most supermarkets. Typical grocery-store cinnamon is cassia, or Saigon cinnamon. Mexican cinnamon is softer, more like vanilla, while cassia is bolder and spicier, the flavor most North Americans are used to. To use Mexican cinnamon, you usually have to grind it yourself: Place Mexican cinnamon sticks between two sheets of plastic wrap. Using a small hammer or mallet, crack the sticks into small pieces before placing in a spice grinder or blender. Process until finely ground. Pass through a fine sieve, such as a tea strainer, to remove larger pieces.