Marranitos Christmas Ornaments

I absolutely love living on the border but even more so during this time of year. If you’ve never experienced Mexican traditions in December, I promise you, your taste buds have been missing out! From buñuelos to tamales, atole to pan dulce, the foods we eat during Christmas time are like a culinary soundtrack to some of my favorite memories. That’s why, when Treetopia asked if I wanted to participate in their Christmas Mornings with Treetopia campaign, I knew I wanted to make these Marranitos Christmas Ornaments!

On Christmas morning, after the kids have unwrapped their gifts, it’s become a bit of a tradition to have both sides of our families over for a festive potluck brunch. I always make a big pot of Instant Pot Vegetarian Posole (click on link for my recipe!), my mom usually brings a couple dozen tamales, and inevitably, someone shows up with a big box of pan dulce. In case you’re not familiar with Mexican pan dulce, it’s traditional “sweet bread” that can be found all over Mexico and includes many varieties including one of my personal favorites, Marranitos.

Marranitos (also called cochinitos or puerquitos) translates to “little pigs” and are the perfect balance of part cookie and part bread. Made with pilloncillo (natural cane sugar) and molasses, these cookies are often mistaken for gingerbread although after one bite you realize they have a taste all their own! I haven’t actually ever made these at home because we’re lucky enough to have them available at all our local grocery stores. I’ll show you how to make ornamental versions instead!

Marranitos Christmas Ornaments

Materials:

• 4 cups flour
• 1 cup salt
• 1 1/2 water
• 1/2 cinnamon

Step 1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. You can begin mixing with a spatula but I promise, eventually you’re going to have to use your hands. You may need to add a bit more water if the dough is too crumbly. Be careful that you don’t add too much or it’ll get slimy though!

Step 2. Roll out half of the dough on a floured surface to about 3/8″ thickness. I used cinnamon instead of flour because I wanted my “cookies” to be a bit darker on the surface.

Step 3. Use a pig cookie cutter (affiliate link) to cut out shapes and a straw to punch the circles that you’ll use to hang these ornaments from.

Step 4. Place all the little piggies on a couple baking sheets and bake in your oven for 30 minutes. Once done, remove from heat and allow to cool before adding baker’s twine and hanging. You may want to spray with a layer of sealant if you’re planning on storing these for the future.

I love how absolutely delicious my Slim Addison Spruce Christmas Tree from Treetopia looks! You may remember the Candy Cane Corner Tree I posted a few weeks ago and how I needed to conserve space since we live in a pretty small house. This slim tree is absolutely perfect for the corner of our living room. Saves on space without sacrificing the look! You can check out more slim options from Treetopia here.

Hope you enjoyed this peek into our Christmas morning traditions. Make sure to follow Treetopia on all their social media outlets (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest) to check out how other bloggers in the U.S. and U.K. celebrate. Have a wonderful holiday season!