Pristiños navideños

Pristiños are a traditional Christmas dessert in Ecuador. These fried pastries are served with miel de panelaor piloncillo syrup. Pristiños are usually made in the form of a crown, but depending on the family who makes them they can have different shapes. Pristiños are a cousin the better known buñuelos that are also a popular Christmas dessert in Latin American and Spain. One of the main differences between pristiños and buñuelos is that pristiños are made with baking powder while buñuelos are made with yeast, the buñuelo dough is also a more liquid dough.

• 1 cup water


• 2-3 cinnamon stick


• 2 whole cloves


• 1 tsp. anise seeds

Pristiño dough:

• 3 cups flour


• 1 tbsp. sugar


• 1 tsp. baking powder


• ¼ tsp. salt


• 6 tbsp. butter (3/4 stick) or 3 oz


• 2 egg yolks


• 1 tbsp. lemon juice


• ¼ cup aguardiente


• ½ cup lukewarm spiced water + additional as needed. If using regular water, then add ½ tsp ground cinnamon, 1/8 tsp ground cloves, 1 tsp anise seeds directly to the dough


• ~2 cups of canola oil for frying