Baking Up Sweet Traditions

JIMMY PUNZO HAS HAD TWO HANDS covered in flour since before he was a teenager. The Las Cruces native often helped his mother, Yvette, create confections for the baking classes she was taking. “She…

Bizcochitos

THE BELOVED BIZCOCHITO In 1989, New Mexico became the first state to declare an official state cookie, despite a humorous legislature floor debate over how to spell it. Bizcochito or biscochito…

Five Things To Do This Weekend

1 See the lights. The historic buildings at Fort Selden glow in the light of over 900 flickering candles on New Year’s Eve during the beloved Noches de las Luminarias, back after a two-year pandemic…

Officially Divine: Bizcochitos

Above: This classic recipe appears in The Best from New Mexico Kitchens . Photograph by Douglas Merriam. ADVICE FROM THE ABUELAS We asked two Santa Fe–based grandmas—and expert bizcochito bakers—for…

Advice from the Abuelas

Above: New Mexico's official state cookie has simple, yet rich flavors of cinnamon, sugar, and anise. Photograph by Douglas Merriam. GROWING UP IN TESUQUE, Loretta Sisneros Olguin had an elderly…

Recipe: Bizcochito Bites

Rude Boy Cookies Bizcochitos make the perfect holiday treat. (from Tasting: Cookies). Photograph by Douglas Merriam. Bizcochito Bites Makes 4–6 dozen, depending on size Rude Boy Cookies uses a…

Our Favorite Holiday Recipes

CELINA ALDAZ-GRIFE, founder and co-owner of Celina’s Biscochitos, in Albuquerque, says her biscochitos often bring customers to tears as they think back to their own grandmothers, aunts, or mothers…

The Cookie Different

WHEN MOST PEOPLE think of baking Christmas goodies, lard and anise may not come to mind as key ingredients. Unless they’re New Mexicans. Every December here, it’s blessedly impossible to avoid rich…

A Classic Biscochitos Recipe