Good Food from Mexico (1962) – Molletes / Biscuits

Mulvey, Ruth Watt., and Luisa Maria Alvarez. Good Food from Mexico. “Molletes.” New York: M. Barrows, 1950. P. 205. [TX716.M4 M85 1962]

By Jessica Rollison, an undergraduate nutrition student at UTSA

When I picked out this recipe, I was excited because it was a bread dish. Certain steps in the recipe intrigued me, such as separating the egg whites and yolks and folding them. This interested me because I had never done this while cooking before and I found it fun to learn something new. The recipe included fairly common ingredients and was quick and easy to prepare. However, the outcome was much different then I expected it to be. Nothing went wrong with the recipe; I just expected the molletes to taste completely different than they did. They turned out tasting like a white cornbread in the shape of a cookie that was “liberally” covered with sugar. According to my research, though, that is indeed how they are supposed to taste.

because I was unable to find Nixtamalina in a store near me, I used white corn meal in my recipe. If you can find it I would recommend making one batch with nixtamalina and one with white corn meal to see if you can taste a difference and see if you have a preference. Overall, this recipe was fun, quick, and easy to prepare and, although not quite to my taste, may be enjoyed by others.

Molletes (Biscuits)

• 2 eggs
• 6 tablespoons of butter (melted)
• ¼ pound of nixtamalina (packaged or canned), or a pound of white corn meal
• 1 cup of flour
• 2 teaspoons of cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• ½ cup of milk
• 6 tablespoons of sugar

Beat egg whites, then yolks, and fold together. Add the warm melted butter. Add the nixtamalina or white corn meal, add the flour sifted with the cream of tartar and baking soda. Mix well and add the milk slowly until soft dough is formed. Place round spoonfuls on a greased cookie sheet and sprinkle liberally with sugar. Bake in moderate oven on 375 degrees Fahrenheit for fifteen to twenty minutes or until light brown. Yield is four dozen.