Torcidos – our family Christmas recipe

As promised, I’m bringing back this recipe to the blog, since it deserves its special place in the world wide web. Here is our most praised Christmas recipe: our family Torcidos.

This recipe is in my family since I remember and there is still a person to try them and don’t love it.

Torcidos are a kind of fried cookie with a bit of orange flavor decorated with sugar and cinnamon, perfect to eat as a sweet snack any time of the day. In the morning with a cup of coffee, after lunch as desert or at night with your your tea. I guarantee you, even all the kids in the family can’t get enough of them!

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Difficulty: **

Serves: 10 people

Total time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

25 tbsp of flour;

3 eggs;

1 pouch of vanilla sugar;

1 small orange (juice and zist);

1 teaspoon of salt dissolved into the orange juice;

1 teaspoon of baking powder;

10 tbsp of white sugar.

Instructions:

1. Zest the orange and reserve both parts (the juice and the zest).
2. Dissolve the salt into the orange juice and reserve.
3. Add the flour to a mixing bowl and open a hole in the middle.
4. Place all the ingredients inside of it.
5. Mix it well with a wooden spoon until it starts to detach.
6. Continue mixing it with your hands until you can form a ball that detaches completely from your hands. Use flour to help with this step.
7. Let it rest covered with a blanket in a warm place (preferably near a fireplace) for 30 minutes.
8. After the mix rises to double its size, cover your counter with flour and cut it into small squares.
9. Time to mold: make an “e” form with every square. (This is the time to call the little ones and all the family to help!)
10. After all the “e’s” are ready, it’s time to bring a frying pan on the stove with very hot oil.
11. Add some “e’s” to the frying pan and let them fry until golden
12. Another step for the kids or the rest of the family: after removing the Torcidos from the frying pan and placing them into a napping-covered plate (to absorb the oil), cover each one in the sugar and cinnamon mixture.
13. Store them in a big Tupperware or a beautiful Christmas plate. It’s time to eat them!

PS: If you are in Portugal I would recommend you choose Branca de Neve flour. For some reason many years of experience have confirmed that using different brands don’t result in the same result. We are still to discover why.
PS2: These torcidos can last several days. Storage them closed into a tupperware in a dry space (or anywhere really as soon as is outside of the fridge). The challenge is making them last that long!