Mantecaditos, crispy butter cookies, are perfect to serve alongside the afternoon cafecito. These Dominican cookies are very straightforward to prepare, even for the novice baker. See just how easy these lovely treats are to make with our thorough recipe with a handy video.
By - Reviewed: . Original: Jan 2, 2009
Why we ❤️ it
There are two things that we Dominicans love after a good lunch: a cafecito and a dulcito (a little coffee, and a little sweet). Yeah, we are just as fond of diminutives.
Full dessert is OK, but it's not exactly the custom in the Dominican Republic. A few bites of something sweet and a cup of our insanely sweet coffee just do the thing to please our national sweet tooth (teeth?). Mantecaditos (butter cookies) -- notice the diminutive there again? -- are the perfect accompaniment to the post-lunch coffee, and perfect prelude for a -- diminutive alert! --siestesita.
What are mantecaditos?
Mantecaditos are the classic Dominican butter cookies: simple, crispy, and buttery.
Unlike the Danish Christmas butter cookies we all love (yes, we have that recipe!), and subject of so many memes, these Dominican cookies are much simpler, cheaper, and easier to make, and very much a part of our traditional Dominican dessert repertoire. The "easier to make" part is what I like the most about it.
The ingredients in mantecaditos - butter, vanilla, flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and eggs - are also affordable and easy to find anywhere. They don't require a mixer, molds, or extruders, which means that if you have an oven and - preferably - a food processor, you're all set.
Mantecaditos (Dominican butter cookies)
How to serve
These are great with a Dominican cafecito, but if you're not into coffee, Té de jengibre (ginger tea), and Té de Limoncillo (lemongrass tea) go great with it too.
Top tips
- The traditional mantecadito recipe calls for vanilla, but you can try other flavors too. I particularly like rum (non-alcoholic flavoring) or almond flavoring. Feel free to experiment.
- Make sure the butter is cold when you start the preparation. This is key to crispy cookies.
About this recipe
Learning how to make mantecaditos may be one of the simplest things when it comes to baking. The ingredients are accessible, and the preparation is effortless.
There are very little that changes in this recipe from cook to cook, but if you have any tips to make this differently or better, I'd love to hear them. Let me know in the comments.
Video
Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 egg (medium)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1½ stick salted butter, (¾ cup [185g]) chilled, plus extra for greasing the baking tray
Instructions
1. Mix
In the food processor vase, combine vanilla, flour, sugar, egg, baking soda, salt, and butter.Pulse until the mix forms rice-sized granules.Chill the dough while the oven is preheated to 400 ºF [200 ºC].
2. Shape
- Form balls with the dough, about an inch in diameter. Place down on a greased tray (or lined) and press down to flatten to about ¼ inch thickness (about half a centimeter).
3. Bake
- Bake in preheated oven until lightly golden (about 15-20 minutes). Please keep an eye on them because they can go from light golden to burn really fast, and - as most ovens are not really precise - the cooking time is not exact.Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature on a wire tray.
4. Serve
Serve cooled with coffee or tea, or store in a tightly closed jar. for 24 hrs, or refrigerated for two days.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated automatically based on ingredients listed. Please consult your doctor if you need precise nutrition information.
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If you want to try more Dominican cookies and similar desserts, I recommend Conconete, the Dominican coconut cookie, Suspiritos, our meringue kisses, and Deditos de novia, guava-filled cookies.
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