New Mexican Sopaipillas Recipe – Mom's Mexican Recipes (2024)

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LauraNovember 29, 2022June 2, 20176 Comments on New Mexican Sopaipillas Recipe

New Mexican Sopaipillas Recipe – Mom's Mexican Recipes (2)

The New Mexican Sopaipillas Recipe is common in Hispanic culture and is a favorite among many Hispanic cuisines. Sopapillas can be served salty or sweet. Sopapillas are thought to have originated in Albuquerque, New Mexico, more than 200 years ago. New Mexican sopapillas are made from Tortilla-like dough. The dough is fried until it is puffy and a small air pocket appears within the pastry. In New Mexico, Sweet Sopapillas are often covered in honey or some kind of syrup and powdered sugar.

Did you know that the word “Sopaipilla” is the diminutive of “Sopaipa”, a word that entered Spanish from the Mozarabic language of Al-Andalus?

New Mexican Sopaipillas Recipe is a delicious food that you can eat and match it with vanilla ice cream, it is so easy to prepare the first step is; In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and shortening. Stir in water; mix until dough is smooth. Cover and let stand for 20 minutes. Then the second step; Roll out on floured board until 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into 3-inch squares. Heat oil in deep-fryer to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Fry until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels and serve hot.

New Mexican Sopaipillas Recipe – Mom's Mexican Recipes (3)

New Mexican Sopaipillas Recipe – Mom's Mexican Recipes (4)

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New Mexican Sopaipillas Recipe

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Author: Laura

Serves: 5

Ingredients

  • 2 cups Flour (sifted)
  • ½ tbsp. baking powder
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • ½ tbsp. sugar
  • 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 1 cup warm water
  • Vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a regular mixing bowl if making by hand) whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together.
  2. Create a small depression in the center and pour in the tablespoon of vegetable oil.
  3. Whisk in the oil.
  4. Gently pour in the warm water and knead the dough until it is smooth.
  5. It only takes one to two minutes using the dough hook in a stand mixer.
  6. If kneading by hand, gently knead in the bowl until the dough sticks together.
  7. Place on a lightly floured surface and continue until the dough is smooth.
  8. Divide the dough in half, and seal each half in a zipper lock bag to rest the dough while you heat the oil for frying.
  9. Heat frying oil in a stove top dutch oven, or in a heavy-duty frying pan, to around 340 to 350 degrees.
  10. The oil should be at least 2 inches deep.
  11. Remove one portion of dough and roll out on a clean, flourless surface.
  12. Roll the dough to a thickness of ⅛ inch.
  13. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into squares approximately 4 X 4 for a nice restaurant look.
  14. Place a sheet of plastic wrap over the rolled out dough.
  15. It's very important the dough stay moist and not dry out.
  16. Gently place an individual square of dough into the hot oil.
  17. It should begin to puff up within about 5 seconds.
  18. Carefully splash oil over the top, this really seems to help the sopaipilla puff.
  19. Once it's finished puffing up, fry until it reaches a light golden brown on both sides.
  20. Place in a large bowl lined with paper towels.
  21. Repeat with the remaining dough.
  22. Serve immediately with honey.

New Mexican Sopaipillas Recipe Tips

To those having problems getting a good “puff” out of your Sopapillas, here are some tips, all of which are related to keeping your oil at the right temperature:

  1. Use adequate oil. You want at least an inch depth of oil to fry in. Contrary to what some believe, more oil in the pot means less oil in your food, because the temperature stays more constant, and the food finishes cooking before it begins sucking up oil.
  2. You need a candy/fry thermometer. Don’t trust strange voodoo methods like timing the cooking of bread cubes. Don’t trust your electric skillet’s temperature controller (mine is off by about 75 degrees!) Spend $10 and buy a thermometer. There’s no excuse to guess at the temperature when it’s so cheap and easy to measure it.
  3. Don’t overload the oil. When I made these, I was frying no more than 2 sopapillas at a time. Putting food into hot oil is like dropping an ice cube into a warm beverage — the food is going to cool the oil around it. Putting a lot of food in will dramatically drop your oil temperature. This is especially bad if you’re also violating point #1 and not using enough oil.

New Mexican Sopaipillas Recipe – Mom's Mexican Recipes (5) New Mexican Sopaipillas Recipe – Mom's Mexican Recipes (6)

New Mexican Sopaipillas Recipe – Mom's Mexican Recipes (7) New Mexican Sopaipillas Recipe – Mom's Mexican Recipes (8)

Questions / Suggestions regarding the recipe? Comment below. Also, Don’t forget to Like our Official Facebook Page for our latest Mexican Recipes. Thank You!

New Mexican Sopaipillas Recipe – Mom's Mexican Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Do they eat sopapillas in Mexico? ›

The Sopapilla is a popular Mexican dish that can be prepared with a variety of twists. It can be served as desserts or entrees; either sweet or salty. However, the Sopapilla's most common form is the sweet pastry.

What is the origin of sopaipillas? ›

History of Sopapillas

Sopapillas are made from a deep fried dough that was introduced to Mexico and South America by the Spanish during the Columbian exchange. Throughout Spain, the sopapilla recipe varies.

What does sopapilla mean in Spanish? ›

A sopaipilla, sopapilla, sopaipa, or cachanga is a kind of fried pastry and a type of quick bread served in several regions with Spanish heritage in the Americas. The word sopaipilla is the diminutive of sopaipa, a word that entered Spanish from the Mozarabic language of Al-Andalus.

Are sopapillas Mexican or Native American? ›

Crispy, golden-brown pillows that are sweet or savory, sopapillas are a traditional New Mexican fried dough made with only five ingredients: flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and shortening. The dish is rooted in the American Southwest, where Hispanic, Spanish and Native American cultures converge.

What to eat with sopapillas? ›

Sopapillas are a delicious fried dough from New Mexico. They are perfectly fried puffed dough and traditionally served with a drizzle of honey or a combination of cinnamon and sugar.

Are beignets and sopapillas the same thing? ›

Sopaipillas look really similar to French beignets and taste similar to American donuts. All three pastries are made from deep fried dough but beignets are made from a more bread-like yeast dough where sopapillas are a little more light and flaky.

Are sopapillas and scones the same thing? ›

Sopapillas are fried scones or fried dough, a famous Mexican street food.

What is the most eaten thing in Mexico? ›

Corn is the main base of Mexican cuisine. Corn, chili, and beans were the “holy trinity” of food for Mesoamerican civilizations. In fact, corn is the source of great Mexican dishes such as 'enchiladas', 'huaraches', 'machetes', 'tlacoyos', 'sopes', 'molotes' and 'quesadillas'.

What is Mexico's signature food? ›

Chiles en nogada

Boasting the three colours of the Mexican flag, chiles en nogada is one of Mexico's most patriotic dishes. Poblano chillies filled with picadillo (a mixture of chopped meat, fruits and spices) represent the green on the flag, the walnut-based cream sauce is the white and pomegranate seeds are the red.

What is Mexico's favorite national dish? ›

Mole poblano has its origin story in the 17th century and is considered to be the national dish of Mexico - a point of pride. "It's very traditional.

Are sopapillas a Texas thing? ›

They're originally from Spain, and variations can be found in countries throughout Latin America including Argentina, Chile, and Peru. These versions are often flat, similar to buñuelos, but the Tex-Mex style, along with the New Mexican style, is puffy.

What state is the sopaipilla from? ›

They're quite popular in the West (particularly in New Mexico), but they're also a big, fat deal here in Texas.

Are sopapillas French? ›

It is said that the sopapilla originated in Albuquerque, New Mexico more than 200 years ago. However, they are most likely a descendent of sweet fried dough from Southern Spain which is known as sopaipa. It's commonly served with warm honey and syrup that has been flavored with anise or cinnamon.

What are the ingredients in buñuelos? ›

ingredients
  • 4 cups flour.
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder.
  • 1 teaspoon salt.
  • 12 cup sugar.
  • 2 eggs.
  • 1 cup milk.
  • 4 tablespoons butter.
  • oil (for frying)

What are Sopapillas made of chile? ›

Chilean sopaipillas are a traditional fried dough snack. They are popular street food; you can eat them at festivals, markets, and restaurants nationwide. What is this? Sopaipillas start with a simple dough mix of flour, squash, baking powder, and salt.

What state official pastry is the sopaipilla? ›

The classic bread accompaniment to a New Mexican meal, Texas named the Sopaipilla its official state dessert in 2003.

What's the difference between beignets and Sopapillas? ›

Sopaipillas look really similar to French beignets and taste similar to American donuts. All three pastries are made from deep fried dough but beignets are made from a more bread-like yeast dough where sopapillas are a little more light and flaky.

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