Since then, I have been asked about them continuously.
The first time I heard the name Mexican Wedding Cookie was once we moved to Washington D.C. Nor were there any of those cookies, at any wedding in Mexico that I have ever attended. There were no Mexican Wedding Cookies at our Mexican wedding (though there were a ton of roosters doing their Cock a Doodle Do thing next door, which made it hard for us to say our vows real loud…). I lived there all my life until I married my husband, another Mexican, and moved to the U.S. Lastly, I should mention Rick Bailes does not have a pan de polvo recipe in either of his cook books that I own, or any, as far as I know.I had never heard the name Mexican Wedding Cookies. Anyway, back to the topic at hand, I would really appreciate any insight readers may have about this specific anise/cinnamon flavored ingredient, and also, what the name of this slightly tongue numbering anise flavored spice is. For those of you not familiar, Beecave is a much higher income area with a fairly different demographic. Thus, this is likely why I used to only be able to find these pan de polvo cookies at an HEB in San Angelo, a more predominantly hispanic area, then eventually they were available in east Austin (riverside HEB), and finally, in the past year or two, at the HEB in Beecave. If something catches on, HEB will hone the recipe for mass production and market the product at other stores, based on social/racial demographics. I worked for the company for a couple years, and I know that, often, authentic recipes like this are the result of employees being given a bit of creative freedom, particularly with products made in house, like baked goods. As most HEB shoppers likely know, HEB does have an extensive network in northern Mexico, so it is not impossible for this spice to be exotic. It wasn’t something I had ever heard of before, so I am assuming it was something traditional and local. I recall Rick Bailes (Mexico, one plate at a time) mentioning a mexican spice that tastes like anise and numbs the tongue a bit. My second hypothesis is a bit tricker and will likely require the knowledge of a serious foodie. I think this would account for the subtler anise flavor than expected in the anise pod pieces, and the slightly sweet and sublte cinnamon hint that only comes from actual fresh cinnamon stick. I think they make be a result of HEB saving time/money for mass baking by brewing the “cinnamon anise tea” with coursely ground star anise pods and cinnamon sticks, and then adding the entire tea mixture to the dough so they don’t have to go through straining the liquid. After scouring different spiced pan de polvo recipes online, I have come to a couple possible conclusions. HEB doesn’t list them in the ingredients list at all. I have noticed that they don’t have a very strong flavor and that they make my tongue go slightly numb. I am wondering if they are coursely ground pieces of the star anise pod itself, or if they are something else entirely. There are little dark brown/black pieces inside the cookies that taste like anise, but definitely aren’t anise seeds. My question is specifically for those who have had the HEB bakery pan de polvos. They are more like shortbread, and taste like a mix between the powdered sugar and nut variety with the cinnamon and anise variety. Ironically, the povalitos mix that heb puts out does not have the correct texture at all. My dad has been trying to get this recipe right for the longest time.
I was just eating some of the HEB pan de polvo cookies with the anise flavor and decided to google them.