The Borrachitos, popular sweets from Puebla

Another delicious example of the many desserts and sweets that Puebla has in store for us: the borrachitos… The Borrachitos are sweet jelly candies, sprinkled with sugar and flavored with lemon, pineapple, strawberry and many more, with the featured ingredient being a touch of alcohol, and it is because of this alcohol that this name was given to the candy.

Like many other sweets from Puebla, the borrachitos were born from the creativity of the nuns of the Santa Clara convent, going as far back as the colonial times, and these sweets were given to their benefactors as a token of their appreciation. However, the nuns soon discovered that they could also profit from selling them to the public.

Since its early days, production of the borrachitos has been bolstered by strong demand from consumers and it has become one of the emblematic traditional desserts from Puebla. They are sold at many local candy stores and requested not only by tourists, but also those who live in this city.

How to make Borrachitos

Ingredients:
* 4 cups [1 liter] of water
* 1 cup [200 grams] sugar
* 1.5 milliliters of flavoring extract (fruit flavor of your choice)
* 1 cup [130 grams] cornstarch
* 2 tablespoons [20 grams] of agar
* 1 and 1/2 tablespoon dry gelatin [20 grams], dissolved in a little water
* 1/3 cup Rhum, or to taste
* Food colorings; red, green and yellow, to taste
* Sugar you will roll the borrachitos into, in the last step

Preparation:

1) First we begin by bringing the water to a boil, then add the starch, the food coloring you chose, the gelatin, the agar-agar and stir continuously.

2) When it has boiled, pull away from the heat and let it cool down and add the rhum, I suggest using about 1/3 cup, but that it's up to your taste.

3) When this preparation becomes slightly colder, add the sugar and the flavoring of your choice, approximately 10 to 12 drops, stirring continuously.

4) Pour it all in a large bowl, let it set in, by placing in the refrigerator. When they are well seized and jelled, cut into small rectangles of 1 x 2 inches.

In a large bowl sprinkle more sugar; roll the borrachitos in the granulated sugar…