Buñuelos De Almendras

This recipe hails from the late 18th-century Cuaderno de Cosina of Doña Ignacita, a fascinating manuscript cookbook produced in colonial Latin America. The collection captures both European influences and local adaptations found in the kitchens of the Spanish Americas. Buñuelos de Almendras—almond fritters soaked in syrup—reflect both the Moorish traditions inherited from Spain and the colonial penchant for extravagant sweets, demonstrating the luxurious use of eggs, almonds, and sugar in elite households. Recorded in 1789, these recipes belonged to an era when cookbooks were compiled by hand and used by skilled household cooks or mistresses to orchestrate elaborate feasts, often with local twists on Old World classics.

In Doña Ignacita's day, cooks would have used a stone or wooden mortar and pestle (mortero) to crush and blend the almonds, and heavy earthenware or copper pots for thickening the dough over open fire or coals. Mixing the dough and egg yolks would have been done by hand, likely using a wooden spoon or even bare hands for incorporation. Frying took place in deep, wide pans or cazuelas set over a brazier or hearth, with rendered lard or clarified butter as the frying medium. A basic metal pot would have served to boil the sugar syrup, and finished buñuelos would be fished from the oil with a slotted spoon or wire skimmer, then quickly dipped into the waiting almíbar.