The coyotas are traditional mexican cookies that were created in the 19th century in Hermosillo, state of Sonora; now of course there are many ways to make Coyotas; the traditional recipe is to make them with flour dough and fill with piloncillo, that unrefined mexican sugar. Making coyotas is easier if you have a tortilla press, but this is not essential.
Ingredients
* 7 cups flour
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 lb. shortening
* 1 and 3/4 tablespoons Baking powder
* 1/4 cup warm water
* 1/2 cup piloncillo, which you will "melt" in the 1/4 cup water
* 1 cup water,
* 1 cup piloncillo, ground or chopped
* 1 more tablespoon Flour to mix with the piloncillo
Preparation
2) In mixer bowl place the flour and salt, shortening in the middle cut in big chunks and stir with the paddle on low speed until it has a sandy consistency and some lumps of shortening left.
3) Now add the baking powder with warm water with the piloncillo dissolved in this water. Knead until fully combined, forming one big dough ball. Remove from mixer and knead by hand for about 3 minutes should be a soft dough that is smooth and doesn’t stick to the table. Cover with a cloth and let stand 30 minutes.
4) Mix the full cup grated piloncillo with the tablespoon of flour and set aside.
We want this recipe to yield 20 coyotas, split the dough in 40 balls (20 bases and 20 tops), so you will have to adjust accordingly. Once all the dough balls are ready, put in the tortilla press and flatten. If you do not have a tortilla press, you can press the dough with a pyrex lid against a flat surface.
5) Preheat the oven to 400 ˚F. To stuff the coyotas you put a bottom on the prepared baking sheet, previously lined with baking paper or greased. Scoop a spoonful of the piloncillo with flour mix and spread on the base, then cover with the coyota top and press the edges one against the other to seal the cookie, with a fork.
6) Bake the coyotas in the oven for about 30-40 minutes, until they get a nice golden brown color.
Take out of the oven, remove from pan and let them cool down completely before serving.