Mantecados are traditional shortbread cookies that are popular around the holidays, but delicious all year round! This favorite Spanish cookie is worth making and enjoying anytime.
If you're looking for more Spanish Christmas treats, try these recipes for polvorones and roscón de reyes.
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Ingredients
Wondering what ingredients you need to make a batch of tender mantecadas? Grab these key ingredients, and a few others, and you'll be off to a great start!
- Lard/Shortening: Instead of the traditional manteca (lard), I've opted for vegetable shortening, which helps provide the proper texture and consistency for the otherwise crumbly shortbread cookie. In Spain, pork fat is used (manteca de cerdo), which is an option if you have it available.
- Olive Oil: It may seem unusual to have olive oil in any cookie, let alone shortbread, but it gives this recipe a typical Spanish flair! Use a good quality oil with a great flavor, and it will make your cookies even better.
- Lemon: The subtle flavoring from the lemon zest and juice brings a delightful tang and brightness to the cookies.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Mantecados
If you’d like to see the full ingredients and instructions, scroll to the bottom of the post for the printable recipe card.
- Beat the shortening with a hand mixer, then blend in the olive oil. Add the sugar and keep blending until the mixture is smooth. (image 1)
- Add the egg, lemon zest, and juice of one half of the lemon to the mixture and beat until smooth. (image 2)
- Mix in the dry ingredients and the almond halves (if desired.) (image 3)
- Shape the dough into small balls, place on a greased cookie sheet, and flatten each one. (image 4)
- Bake at 325°F (163°C) for 15-20 minutes, or until they are lightly golden. Let them cool on wire racks before serving. (image 5)
- Enjoy these freshly baked Spanish mantecados! (image 6)
Recipe FAQs
Mantecados are small shortbread sugar cookies that require just a few ingredients and very little time to prepare. They're one of Spain's favorite sweet treats, and are super simple to make for any occasion. Mantecados are typically enjoyed during the winter and at Christmastime in Spain, but that doesn't mean they can't make an appearance year-round!
Polvorones always contain almonds, while mantecados usually don't (although I like to add them sometimes!). Mantecados can also be made in a variety of different flavors, so they are more versatile.
Mantecados originated in Spain, more specifically from the city of Estepa in southern Spain near Seville.
The name mantecados comes from the Spanish word manteca, which means fat or lard.
The rich history of mantecados includes hundreds of years of cookie preparation using the fat or lard from pigs near the city of Estepa. Estepa, located near Seville in Southern Spain, is known as the "city of mantecados" (la ciudad del mantecado).
Near the end of the 1800s, the cookies were preserved by drying them out. This technique helped market the cookies more widely beyond Estepa and into other cities in southern Spain.
Serve
Mantecados are typically enjoyed during the Christmas season in Spain, but are delicious enough to be made anytime during the year! Serve these cookies with traditional Spanish hot chocolate and their cousins Spanish polvorones for a fun snack or treat!
Expert Tips
- Make these cookies gluten free by swapping the flour for almond flour. The cookies will have a different texture but will still be delicious!
- If the dough mixture is too dry, try adding some milk to thicken it. If the dough mixture is too runny, try adding some additional flour.
- Handle the dough gently to keep it from getting tough.
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Mantecados: Traditional Spanish Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup softened butter or vegetable shortening or traditional pork lard
- ½ cup light olive oil
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 lemon peel grated
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 egg beaten
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup almond halves optional
Instructions
Making the Dough
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (163°C).
- Beat the vegetable shortening or butter by hand or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, then blend in the olive oil. Add in the sugar and beat until smooth.
- Add the egg and lemon zest to the mixture, then squeeze the juice of one of the lemon halves into the mixture. Beat until well combined.
- Add the flour and baking soda and beat until smooth, being careful not to overmix. Fold in the almond halves if desired.
Shaping & Baking
- Scoop the dough into teaspoon-sized pieces and roll them into balls. Place on a greased cookie sheet and flatten it down a little before baking.
- Bake the cookies for about 15-20 minutes, or until they're light brown. Carefully transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool before serving, and handle gently so that they do not crumble!
Notes
- Make these cookies gluten free by swapping the flour for almond flour. The cookies will have a different texture but will still be delicious!
- If the dough mixture is too dry, try adding some milk to thicken it. If the dough mixture is too runny, try adding some additional flour.
- Handle the dough gently to keep it from getting tough.
Nutrition
Photography by Giulia Verdinelli
Sherry B
When I lived in Madrid, mantecados were my favorite sweet treat. I'm so thrilled to have (finally) found a recipe. Can't wait to bake a batch. I don't recall the ones I would buy in the local panaderia having any lemon juice or zest, but I'm a huge zest fan, so I'll try the recipe exactly as written.
Funny, when friends would visit, they'd all want the fancy pastries from the pasteleria. For my money, you couldn't beat a big cup of café con leche ("desayuno" style) and a mantecado or two. In fact, when I recently visited Barcelona, those were the two things I was most eager to find. The café was easy -- it was everywhere. The mantecado took some luck, as they're more of a Madrid thing.
Muchas gracias por la receta!
Zara Kaufmann
So happy to find this recipe, it was always my favorite christmas cookie. In Spain we also buy them with chocolate, cinnamon and other flavours, so I suppose that would be easy to add.
Ricardo de Olivas y Cordova
En Colorado y Nuevo Mejico - donde ha existido la cultura hispana desde 1598 - se cocinan los bizcochitos de anis - que son mantecados y tradicionales para Navidad y las Bodas (casorios),
Olivia Zimmerman
Eran muy buenos y fáciles de hacer. Estaban un poco secos, pero todavÃa muy buenos.
De
Would love a recipe for the amazing home made spicy sausages I ate at a vineyard in Spain made by the mother.
Brooke Barba
¡Yo me encanta la receta! También, yo agregué azúcar glas.
Susan Garcia
My mother-in-law was from Southern Dpain. I've made these cookies for 46 years!
MjSousa
Hi. Do you make your cookies with butter, shortening or lard?