Mantecados

The story

Mantecados, dense shortbread cookies flavored with cinnamon or lemon and individually wrapped much like polvorones, share with them an Andalusian origin and the same basic technique—a high proportion of fat to flour, which produces a dense, crumbly texture. The name comes from the word manteca (lard), a direct reference to the main ingredient that gives the cookie its characteristic texture. According to one popular, though not fully proven, folk story, the use of lard in these cookies after the period of the Reconquista also became a way for Christian families to show their identity publicly in times of religious tension—but this explanation should be taken with a grain of salt, since most of the more reliable sources cite lard simply as a practical, available ingredient. Today mantecados come in numerous flavors, from classic cinnamon to chocolate and lemon. They are eaten all through the Christmas season across Spain, with Estepa and Antequera in Andalusia as the best-known centers. For Spanish families in the diaspora, mantecados and polvorones are often served together on the same plate, hard to tell apart for someone outside the community, but clearly different to those who grew up with both.