With its naturally sweet taste, smoky flavor, and subtle notes of cocoa, hojica powder is the perfect match for a variety of baked goods. In polvarones, a popular Mexican shortbread cookie, the Japanese ingredient is introduced in both the cookie dough and rolling sugar for more meaningful flavor impact.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar, divided
- 2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract, Premium
- 1 teaspoon hojicha powder, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon, divided, Ground
- 1/4 teaspoon Ginger, Ground
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups pecan halves, chopped
Nutrition Information
(per serving)
With its naturally sweet taste, smoky flavor, and subtle notes of cocoa, hojica powder is the perfect match for a variety of baked goods. In polvarones, a popular Mexican shortbread cookie, the Japanese ingredient is introduced in both the cookie dough and rolling sugar for more meaningful flavor impact.
Instructions
Prep
- In bowl of stand mixer, beat butter on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add 1/2 cup of the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon hojicha powder, 1/4 teaspoon of the cinnamon and ground ginger; beat until well blended. Stir in flour and pecans.
- Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place on sheet tray. Wrap with plastic and hold refrigerated or frozen for service.
- In a bowl, mix remaining 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Hold ambient until ready to bake off cookies.
Service
- Heat oven to 350ºF. Arrange cookie dough 1-inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 15 minutes. Remove from baking sheets and immediately roll hot cookies in confectioners’ sugar mixture. Place cookies on wire racks to cool.
- When cool, roll cookies in sugar mixture again. Lightly dust tops of cookies with additional hojicha powder to serve.

