Orange and Anise Vegan Hojarascas (Polvorones)

These vegan hojarascas, also known as polvorones, are scented with ground anise and orange zest, and dusted with cinnamon sugar. In the US these are known as Mexican wedding cookies, and are dusted with powdered sugar. In northern Mexico, where I’m from, they are very popular during the Christmas season. You can see them displayed in panadería windows, and are often given as gifts.

Polvorones dough in the metal bowl of a stand mixer. This is the mother of all cookie recipes (cue angelic choir). It might just be one recipe, but you can make many different kinds of cookies, I made 3, apricot thumbprint cookies, hojarascas dusted with cinnamon sugar, and pecan hojarascas dusted with powdered sugar. On the other hand, if anise and orange isn’t your thing, you can add ground nuts, dried fruits, or even coat them in chocolate. Our favorite cookie out of the three was a small round one dusted in cinnamon-sugar.

Vegan hojarascas dough in the metal bowl of a stand mixer.

Now that we live in San Antonio visiting family is so much easier, and I am very happy to be spending Christmas in my childhood home. My mom goes all out on the Christmas decorations, and the kids are so excited about Santa coming and are counting down the days. We are making tamales tomorrow for Christmas eve, and are planning all sorts of games and activities for the children. I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Vegan hojarascas dough mixed up in the metal bowl of a stand mixer.

Vegan hojarascas shaped on a metal baking sheet.

The Recipe: Orange and Anise Vegan Hojarascas

  • I used Earth Balance as a butter substitute, which is salted, so if you use salted butter omit the salt in the recipe.( I did try to make these with coconut oil, but I wasn’t a fan of the result.)
  • The recipe is so simple. You cream butter and sugar, then add the orange zest, anise, and vanilla extract.
  • You can add 1/4 cup of finely chopped pecans if you like nuts, then dust with cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar depending on your preferences. ¡Enjoy!

Baked vegan hojarascas stacked on a black surface.

Orange and Anise Vegan Hojarascas

These vegan hojarascas, also known as polvorones, are scented with ground anise and orange zest, and dusted with cinnamon sugar.
Pin Recipe Print Recipe
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Mexican
Servings: 24 cookies
Calories: 118kcal
Author: Dora R.

Ingredients

  • 5 oz. (2/3 cup) Sugar, granulated
  • 12 oz. (1 ½ cups) Vegan butter, room temperature
  • 16 oz. (3 cups) Flour, all-purpose
  • 1 tsp. Ground anise seed
  • 1 tbsp. Orange zest
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla extract

Cinnamon-sugar:

  • 1 ¼ cups Cane sugar
  • 1 tbsp. Freshly ground cinnamon

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350F.
  • Cream butter and sugar, in an electric mixer with the paddle attachment.
  • Add vanilla, orange zest, and ground anise. Mix.
  • Slowly add flour, with mixer at low speed. Mix until well combined.
  • Line 2 sheet-pans with parchment paper. Roll out dough on a floured surface to ¼ inch thick and cut into desired shapes (you can also roll dough into 1 inch balls and bake them that way).
  • Place cut dough on sheet-tray, 1 inch apart from each other.
  • Bake for 15 minutes or until bottoms become golden brown.
  • Remove from oven. As soon as they are cool enough to handle, dust with cinnamon sugar.
  • Place on a wire rack to cool.

Notes

You can add ¼ cup of finely chopped pecans to the dough if you like and eat nuts. You can also use this cookie dough recipe to make thumbprint cookies. Dust with powdered sugar instead of cinnamon sugar for a more Mexican wedding cookies look. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 118kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5.7g | Saturated Fat: 1.1g | Sodium: 67.16mg | Potassium: 15.8mg | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 250IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 0.5mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @dorastable or tag #mexicangonevegan!
Nutrition Facts
Orange and Anise Vegan Hojarascas
Amount Per Serving (1 cookie)
Calories 118 Calories from Fat 51
% Daily Value*
Fat 5.7g9%
Saturated Fat 1.1g7%
Sodium 67.16mg3%
Potassium 15.8mg0%
Carbohydrates 15g5%
Sugar 8g9%
Protein 1g2%
Vitamin A 250IU5%
Vitamin C 0.4mg0%
Calcium 5mg1%
Iron 0.5mg3%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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5 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    These are delicious, and as an added bonus I love how quick they are to make as well. They have been made several times in the past couple of weeks (after my husband forwarded the link to me by way of an obvious hint).

    Thank you for all your recipes, I’ve enjoyed delving further into Mexican vegan cuisine. The pan de muerto were also delicious.

  2. 5 stars
    These are delicious and super versatile. I am a follower of the Great British Bake Off, and this week was Mexican Week, so I wanted to bake something Mexican. So glad I found your website. I will be posting a Tik Tok video about your recipe today and will refer people to your website! Thank you!

  3. I make my wedding cookies with powdered sugar. This week I made three kinds of tamales, one with Huitlacoche, one with beans and one with Jackfruit.
    Thank you for your recipes.
    I am from Los Angeles but live in Canada. Mexican, especially vegan, is fun to make and finally most ingredients are available. When I first arrived you couldn’t even get tortillas.

    1. I’m so glad ingredients are available now!! I know how hard it is when you can’t get the stuff. When I first moved to the US my parents would send me a package every month.

5 from 4 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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