Mantecao

Spanish Butter Cookie

São Paulo, Brasil— Rafael Letizio

Mantecao/Mantecau/Mantecal (the exact spelling changes on my family's recipe books) is a simple sugary cookie of Spanish origins. The recipes came from my great-grandmother and her sister, who learned and slightly changed the original ingredients of their mother's version, who moved to Brazil in the beginning of the 1900s.

Mantecal was not a special and cherished dish, nor a common sweet I would have often in my childhood; it was rather something my grandmother or her sister would bake on random weekends, mainly closer to the holidays, and send some to my home when we visited them.

In 2019, I moved to Italy. It was the first time I lived far from my family, speaking a different language and in a different culture. It was the first time in my life I felt anxiety. I was short on money, but cooking and eating became important ways for me to feel grounded in those days. One of those nights, I found a three-ingredient cookie recipe on YouTube, to which I decided to give a try with the stuff I had at home. It was not until I put one in my mouth that I realized it tasted exactly like the Mantecal I would have back home. There's something special about being away from home, finding a recipe that mimics the recipe my family brought from another place. So many stars aligned to connect these four places and for me to, unexpectedly, have a memory from home.

Ingredients

My grandmother's recipe: 250g vegetable shortening 2 cups sugar (best if superfine/caster) All-purpose flour, as much as needed My mother's recipe: 1 cup oil 1 cup sugar (best if superfine/caster) 2 cups flour

Method

My grandmother's recipe: 1) Beat in the mixer. Add the sugar and beat more. Mix the flour up to the right consistency. 2) Make small balls, put on a non-greased pan, and bake on low temperature. It must be white and well baked. Make some small balls and take to the oven first to test the temperature. My mother's recipe: 1) Mix everything, add a little more flour if needed. 2) Do not grease the pan. Make small disks (1-inch diameter) and bake at low temperature (180°C/360°F) for about 35 minutes. Note: I used butter and beat by hand with a fork, about 2 cups of flour, up to a soft and slightly moist dough.