Available in most bakeries in the country, these shortbread-esque cookies are a common sight in Mexico. In contrast to many American sweets, polovorones are known for their nutty, hearty flavor, which comes from wheat flour. The combination of simple pantry ingredients, food coloring, and cocoa gives them a tender yet slightly crunchy texture and bright tri-color design. In keeping with their namesake (polvorón, which is Spanish for powder or dust), each cookie gets a dusting of granulated sugar fresh out of the oven.

Directions

1. In a stand mixer, cream the butter, shortening, and powdered sugar together until smooth.
2. With mixer on low speed, add in the egg, vanilla, and baking soda. Continue to mix until uniform.
3. Turn the stand mixer off. Gradually add in wheat flour, mixing after each addition, until a soft cookie dough begins to form.
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead a few times with your hands. Divide dough into 3 equal parts and place in separate bowls.
5. Add pink or red food coloring to 1 portion of dough and knead until dough is desired color. Repeat with yellow food coloring and second portion of dough, then with cocoa powder and third portion of dough, kneading until thoroughly combined.
6. Cover each bowl of dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
7. On a lightly floured surface, roll each dough color into a log with a diameter of about 2 inches and a length of 16-18 inches.
8. Place the three logs side by side on a large sheet of plastic wrap, then cover tightly and roll gently to fuse the three colors together. At this point, you can adjust the shape of your cookies by giving the log flat sides to create square or triangular cookies, if you'd like.
9. Freeze dough in plastic wrap for 30 minutes while you preheat the oven to 350F.
10. Remove dough from freezer, remove plastic wrap, and lay dough over a clean surface. Using a sharp knife, cut the log into 1/4" thick cookies. Place cookies onto a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes, or until bottoms are lightly golden.
11. Remove cookies from oven and dust with granulated sugar while stil warm before enjoying.

Nellie's Notes

To store these cookies, place in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 2 months.