On a recent trip to New Mexico, I visited Jane Butel, who owns a Southwestern cooking school near Albuquerque. She served my husband and I these great cookies and told us the story behind them. These anise-spiced cookies are the state cookie of New Mexico (does any other state have an official state cookie?), but they were first made in Mexico to celebrate the Mexican Army's victory over Napoleon's Army on May 5th....yep, that's what Cinco de Mayo is all about. And, that's why you use a fleur de lis-shaped cookie cutter!! 

1 1/2 cups lard, chilled
1 cup plus 3 Tbsp. sugar, divided
2 eggs
2 tsp. anise seeds
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt
About 3 Tbsp. brandy (or apple juice or milk)
2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Beat lard and 1 cup sugar in a bowl until fluffy. Add eggs and anise seeds and beat further until very light and fluffy. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture in four portions alternating with the brandy. Mix on the low speed of the mixer to combine the ingredients well after each addition to create a stiff dough.

Place the dough on a long piece of parchment paper. Fold the long end of the parchment paper over the dough and press until about one inch or slightly less in thickness. Refrigerate until chilled.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll out dough between parchment paper to just under 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with flour dusted fleur de lis-shaped cookie cutter or 3-inch rounds. Combine the 3 remaining Tbsp. of sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl; sprinkle the mixture on top of the cookies or dip one side in the mixture.

Place cookies on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until the tops of the cookies are firm. Cool cookies on a wire rack.

These jam-filled Bulgarian Christmas cookies are a child’s delight. In Bulgaria, they are traditionally made with lard. You can substitute butter if you wish, but using lard is the authentic Bulgarian way. Find the best lard you can, unhydrogentated and organic is best.

This recipe makes a beautifully pliable dough that doesn’t spread while baking, so you can place the cookies very close together on the baking sheet. Maslenki can be stored and enjoyed for up to a month (that is, if they last that long). The longer they stand, the softer they become.

3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup lard
4 cups white flour
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla
*your favorite jam

Beat the eggs well and then add sugar; beat until light and foamy (about 5 minutes). Melt the lard, and when slightly cooled (so as not to cook the eggs), slowly add the lard to the egg/sugar mixture.

Combine the dry ingredients. Slowly add the flour mixture to the egg and lard mixture to create a firm dough. Divide into 3 balls. Roll out each ball until it is 1/4-inch thick. With a small glass or cookie cutter, cut circles. In half of the circles, punch a 3/8-inch hole in the center.

Bake  in an oven preheated to 375°F for 8-10 minutes. Remove and when completely cooled, spread the whole halves with jam. Top with the halves with holes. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

*I prefer a tart jam like red raspberry or apricot. Plum or rose jam is good, too.

Note: When I started making these cookies, I used the ring from a baby bottle (the piece that holds the nipple in place) to cut out the cookies. For the hole in the center, I used the top of a Crayola marker. After I while, I found some marvelous cookie cutters in an antique store that are perfect for the job.

This recipe is from Deb Smith.....thanks so much for sharing a family recipe.

3/4 cup lard
3/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 lg. egg
1 tsp vanilla or almond flavoring
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups flour

Beat the lard, sugar and egg together until creamy and well blended.

Stir in the vanilla, and add the baking powder and flour until a dough is formed. (At this point, you could stir in some nuts and chocolate chips to make this into toll house dough) Form dough into balls about 1 inch in diameter, and place on a cookie sheet. (Leave plenty of room between the cookies, as they will spread considerably when baking).

Flatten the balls slightly with your fingers to make a round cookie. (For sugar cookies, sprinkle the top with a bit of sugar.) Bake in a preheated 350 oven until the edges are nicely brown. Remove and let cool. Makes about 18 cookies.

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*** HOWEVER, I would never mess around with a small recipe like this, though. I'd probably
double or even triple the recipe right from the get-go. I have no trouble getting rid of cookies around here.