Solteritas (Colombian Rosette Cookies)
Solteritas are thin, crisp orange cookies fried on a flower-shaped iron and served with a sweet cream of the same colour. They are the Colombian version of the Scandinavian rosette, and they need the mold: the iron is heated in the oil, dipped in the batter and returned to the oil. Makes about 30.
Servings: 30 Cookies
Calories: 67kcal
Ingredients
- 250 g wheat flour about 2 cups, sifted
- ½ cup water
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- A pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon orange food colouring purely visual; the recipe works without it
- Oil, for deep frying enough depth to submerge the rosette iron
For the cream
- 1 cup water
- 100 g sugar about ½ cup
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon orange food colouring
Instructions
- Sift the flour.
- In a bowl, mix the water, vanilla extract, orange colouring, sugar and salt.
- Add the flour and beat until you have a smooth batter, slightly thick but still pourable, closer to pancake batter than to dough.
- Heat a deep pot of oil to 350 °F (180 °C) and put the rosette iron in it to heat up. The iron must be hot before it touches the batter, or the batter will not stick to it.
- Lift the iron out of the oil and tap it on paper towels to shed the excess.
- Dip the hot iron into the batter, stopping just short of the top edge. If the batter covers the rim, the cookie will weld itself to the iron and will not release.
- Lower the iron back into the oil, keeping it submerged without letting it rest on the bottom of the pot.
- The cookie is done in 1 to 2 minutes, when it is set and pale gold. It should slide off the iron on its own.
- Lift the cookies onto a plate lined with paper towels.
- If a cookie will not come away from the iron, ease it off with a knife or fork rather than forcing it. The first one of a batch often sticks while the iron settles at temperature.
- For the cream, put the water, orange colouring, sugar and vanilla extract in a medium pan.
- Set it over medium heat and bring it to a boil.
- Dissolve the cornstarch in 50 ml of water and add it to the pan, stirring constantly. As soon as it comes back to a boil, take it off the heat and let it cool completely.
- Serve the cookies with the cream, filling them just before eating so they stay crisp. A drizzle of condensed milk on top is common.
Notes
You need a rosette iron for this recipe: a flower-shaped metal head on a long handle, sold in Latin stores as a molde para solteritas and in the US as a rosette iron, where it is used for Scandinavian Christmas rosettes. There is no workaround. Never grease the iron: it sounds helpful and makes the batter slide off.
Nutrition
Calories: 67kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 10mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 1mg