Coricos - How to make gluten-free donuts

(Published in Pacific Pearl magazine January 2023)

Have you heard about Coricos? I have to confess that if I buy Coricos cookies, I can’t just eat one. It’s either the whole box or nothing. So what are Coricos? Mexican coricos cookies look like a mini donut, have a nice crumbly texture, subtle spiced aroma and are sweetened with piloncillo or brown sugar. They are naturally gluten-free and perfect to serve with a coffee in the morning or your favorite tea in the afternoon. Coricos are available in Sinaloa, as well as Sonora and Baja California. They are also known as Tacuarines.

Corico comes from Coricochis in the indigenous Cahita language. The Cahíta were a native tribe living in the northwest of Mexico. The only two surviving Cahita-speaking tribes nowadays are the Yaqui and the Mayo-Yoreme. Tacuarines comes from the word Tacuarinero, the nickname of the South Pacific railway between Altata, Culiacan and Durango. During the late 19th and early 20th century it was common for women to get on the train to sell these cookies to hungry passengers.
So if you have a chance, get a box of Coricos at candy stores in or near the market or try your hand at making them at home. Provecho!

Ingredients (makes 30 Coricos):
300 gr. (10 oz.) piloncillo or Brown sugar
1 cup water
1 teaspoon anise seed
½ kg (1 lb) lard or butter
½ tsp salt
2 eggs
4 cups Masa harina
2 tsp baking powder
 
Preparation:
Bring to the water, piloncillo sugar and anise seed to a boil, set the heat to low and simmer, while stirring from time to time until piloncillo is dissolved and has become an aromatic and light syrup (about 10 minutes).

Place lard or butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add salt and, using the wire whip, mix at high speed until light and fluffy (about 7 minutes). Add the eggs and mix until fully incorporated. Add masa harina, and baking powder. Use the paddles and start kneading the dough at low speed while pouring the piloncillo syrup until everything is fully incorporated. In the end, the dough should have a texture like play dough and shouldn’t stick to your hands.

Now shape the cookies: Pinch a bit of the dough and roll it into a ball with your hands. Place the ball on a surface and with the palm of your hands roll it into a rope about 5-6 inches (13 cm) long. Take both ends of a rope and overlap them, pressing a little bit to make a ring shape. Repeat until all dough is used and transfer the unbaked coricos to a baking sheet lightly floured with masa harina.

Preheat your oven to 360°F/180°C and bake the cookies between 15 to 18 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove the sheet from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes, then with a spatula remove the cookies and place them in a cooling rack.

Allow the coricos cookies to cool down completely, then transfer them into an airtight container or a zip bag and store them at room temperature for up to one week.

If you’re ready to learn more about Mazatlan’s culinary scene, make sure to book your seats for one of the Flavor Teller food tours.

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