Boxes of Ensaimadas for Family & Cousins…

We always have great plans to cook this and that during the holidays and while our larders are stocked to the gills, inevitably, the actual output falls short of our ambitious plans. I am getting older, and while I still rise bright and early, I am less inclined to bake bread at 4am with gusto like I used to just 5-7 years ago. Despite delays, we do eventually cross-off all the “must-do’s” for the holidays — and the home baked ensaimada and cinnamon rolls are MUST-DO’s in our household. They remind me of family, tradition, comfort, and frankly, you can’t beat the smell of bread baking during the holidays…

With cousins scheduled for a post-New Year’s dinner, I decided to make a batch of Sister’s old-fashioned ensaimadas, this time with grated queso de bola worked into the dough, as well as piled high as a topping along with butter and sugar. The recipe was featured here.

It really takes 2-3 batches for me to get them right every holiday season but these turned out just fine on the first try. Cousins took home boxes of ensamaidas tied with baker’s twine. It’s not like anyone needed more calories after the holiday bingeing, but all of them accepted nonetheless…

Folks who are used to the airy mall versions of ensaimada might find these versions curiously heavy and substantial, a sort of cross between a nice brioche and a little bit of croissant and with a burnished dark brown exterior rather than a pale yellow puff. But this is how I remember them, and this is probably the style I will continue to enjoy for many, many more years…