Sweets!

Rice Pudding

7 c. water

1 cup long-grain white rice

1 cinnamon stick

1-12 oz can evaporated milk

1 14-oz can condensed milk

1 c. whole milk

¾ c. raisins

Ground cinnamon

Put the water, rice, and cinnamon stick in a medium-size heavy saucepan and set over medium-high heat.  Bring to a boil, uncovered, and cook until the rice is tender, about 18 min.  Strain out the liquid, discard the cinnamon, and reserve the rice.  Return rice to saucepan.  Stir the evap milk, condensed milk, and whole milk.  Continue cooking over medium-high heat until the mixture comes to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low and cook, uncovered, stirring constantly, until thick, about 20 min.  Add raisins and stir well.  Transfer pudding to a serving bowl.  Dust the top of the pudding with cinnamon and serve.



Flan

Flan is a traditional Mexican dessert and there are many versions. This Flan recipe is prized for it's simplicity. If you've never made flan before, now is the time to try this recipe.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Ingredients:

·       1 cup and 1/2 cup sugar

·       6 large eggs

·       1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk

·       2 13 oz cans evaporated milk

·       1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. You will need 6 ramekins or other specialty flan cook ware and a large baking pan to put them in.

Pour 1 cup sugar in warm pan over medium heat. Constantly stir sugar until is browns and becomes caramel. Quickly pour approximately 2-3 tablespoons of caramel in each ramekin, tilting it to swirl the caramel around the sides. Reheat caramel if it starts to harden.

In a mixer or with a whisk, blend the eggs together. Mix in the milks then slowly mix in the 1/2 cup of sugar, then the vanilla. Blend smooth after each ingredient is added.

Pour custard into caramel lined ramekins. Place ramekins in a large glass or ceramic baking dish and fill with about 1-2 inches of hot water. Bake for 45 minutes in the water bath and check with a knife just to the side of the center. If knife comes out clean, it's ready.

Remove and let cool. Let each ramekin cool in refrigerator for 1 hour. Invert each ramekin onto a small plate, the caramel sauce will flow over the custard.

Mexican Wedding Cookies 
from Pati's Mexican Table

2 cups all purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1/2 cup pecans, grounded or finely chopped

3/4 cup confectioners sugar, plus more to dust

1 egg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Using a food processor, blender, nut mill or knife, finely chop the pecans. Add the powdered sugar to the processor or blender (if that's what you used) and grind or chop. If done by hand, just mix together.

Mix the flour and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Drop in the chunks of butter and the vegetable shortening in teaspoon amounts. Begin to mix with your hands, until the butter and vegetable shortening are mixed in with the flour and salt. The mixture will turn into a coarse dough, with chunks of butter and shortening mixed throughout.

Add in the sugar and pecan mixture and work it all in. Crack the egg into the mixture thoroughly combine, using your hands. In less than a minute, the dough should be soft and malleable enough to be turned into a ball. Don't knead more than necessary, you just want it to come together into a homogeneous mass.

Butter a large cookie sheet. One by one, make small balls of dough with the palms of your hands. The dough ball should be between 1 and 1 1/2 inches wide. Place them on a baking sheet with about 1 inch in between the dough balls. Bake them for about 15 to 16 minutes, until they have a golden brown color.

Dust extra confectioners sugar over the top of the cookies and eat and serve.