Rhubarb Stuffed Coyotas

By: Tristan Guilbeault

Instagram: @tristangcooks

Easter is the celebration of Spring, the season of new beginnings. In Mexico, Easter is a very popular tradition that is accompanied by many different varieties of sweets. One such sweet treat is the Coyota from Sonora Mexico, a sweet dark cookie typically stuffed with fruits, caramel or brown sugar. My version pairs the great selection of jams at Amaranth with Red fife flour from Scottish Mills and browned butter. I choose to use the strawberry rhubarb jam, a personal favourite of mine. Rhubarb to me has always been the sign of spring, as soon as the snow dissipated the long tubes of dark red rhubarb would be reaching for the sun! Spring is all about the new and the old, this recipe combines Albertan ingredients for a delectable sweet stuffed cookie that will be sure to impress at Easter celebrations!

“Coyota,” in Spanish simply translates to female coyote, but the true meaning is a mixed woman of Spanish and indigenous descent. “Coyota’s,” in their dry arid environment of Northern Mexico used whatever ingredients they had to make a sweet treat; many traditional varieties even include beer as an ingredient for its yeast content!

Red fife is Canada’s oldest variety of wheat and has been grown in Canada since the 1840s. The story goes that a ship full of Ukrainian wheat was parked in the Glasgow harbour. A farmer tipped his hat into the ship gathering a couple of grains, he then shipped them off to Farmer Fife in Canada. To much surprise, the grains grew, but the family's cows ate all the heads of grain except for one. Farmer Fife managed to keep it and continued to grow the grain. By the 1860s it had spread across Canada. Eventually, the grain phased out, but it laid down the traits for all other varieties of wheat grown in Canada. Red fife has a lower gluten content than most traditional wheat but it also has a nice subtle nutty flavour and brings a beautiful light red hue to any bread or pastry. Nowadays this heritage wheat can be found growing in Saskatchewan and Alberta organically, Scottish Mills Red Fife Wheat carried at Amaranth is one such example.

Rhubarb Stuffed Coyotas

Recipe from Tristan Guilbeault

Dietary Restrictions: Nut-free, vegetarian, dairy-free
Total Time: 1 hour | (Preparation): 45 minutes | (Cooking): 15 minutes
Yields: 14 large cookies

Ingredients

Coyotas

● 3 cups Scottish Mills Red Fife Flour

● 1 cup Butter, browned

● 1 tsp Vanilla extract

● 2 Eggs

● 1⁄2 tsp Baking Powder

● 1 jar of your favourite Jam (I used Strawberry Rhubarb from Summerland Sweets, as well as the Haskap Rhubarb Spread from Prairie Hill Farms)

Syrup

● 3⁄4 cup Brown Sugar (150g to be exact)

● 1⁄2 cup Water

● 1 tsp Cinnamon

Optional

● 1 Egg, whisked

● Fine granulated Sugar for topping

Instructions

1. Begin by browning the butter. Put a small pot on medium-low heat and add the butter. Let it melt and come to a very light boil, stir every couple minutes to disrupt the milk solids on the bottom. We do not want these to burn, after 10-15 minutes the butter will develop this yellowish foam on top. Once this happens swirl the butter around to see the colour, it should be a light brown. Add this to a large metal bowl and let cool.

2. Make the syrup. Begin by adding the sugar, cinnamon and water to a small pot. Set it to medium heat and let the syrup reduce by 1⁄2, around 10 minutes. Let this cool.

3. In a medium bowl add together the salt, baking powder and flour. Whisk together.

4. Add the cooled syrup to the butter, whisking until well combined around 2 minutes, add the vanilla extract and the eggs and whisk for another 2 minutes. Now slowly add the flour mixture 1⁄2 cup at a time incorporating with a spatula. If the dough gets tough to fold, start using your hands and knead either in the bowl or on the counter. Add more flour if the dough is overly sticky. Knead the dough for 5 minutes, cover it and let chill in the fridge for 10 minutes.

5. Flour the counter and split the dough in half, begin to roll it out equally in every direction till the dough is around 0.5cm thick. Using a 10cm ring mold or bowl, dip into flour and then cut the dough into circles. Make sure one side is well-floured so they do not stick to the counter. The excess dough can be rerolled until no more circles can be cut.

6. Set the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two baking sheets and cover with parchment paper.

7. Take a piece of dough and add a heaping tsp of jam into the centre. Add another piece of dough on top and crimp the edges with fingers or a fork. Lay on a baking sheet and poke 5-6 holes into the middle of the cookie. Proceed with the rest.

8. Bake the cookies for 15 minutes and then let them cool down. These cookies may be enjoyed warm out of the oven, dipped in milk or coffee or just as is. Enjoy this delicious stuffed coyotas!

*For a golden brown pastry, brush the coyotas with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar before baking!

Substitutions

These pastry-style cookies can be made with any kind of jam or spread. Amaranth carries great products from Summerland Sweets, Crofter’s Organic, Good Good and Prairie Hill Farms. Other traditional forms of fillings include brown sugar, dates, pineapple, fudge and guava. The red fife flour can be halved with all-purpose flour if necessary but I recommend using 100% red fife. For sugar content, brown sugar is used as a substitution for piloncillo which is a dark, dense and solid form of cane sugar that is from Mexico. The best substitutions would be Eat Wholesome Light Brown Unrefined Cane Sugar, the Lakanto Golden Monk Fruit Natural Sweetener or the Coconut Sugar by Wild Tusker.

Tips

The dough should be soft and pliable like wet sand, if it is too sticky, flour may be added a tablespoon at a time until the dough is smooth. If the dough is dry and falls apart when rolled, add water a tablespoon at a time until it rolls easily. When measuring the flour do not pack it down, as it may throw off the measurement. The brown sugar however must be packed down to get the correct amount, that is why I have listed the weight in grams as well. Use a dough scraper if the cut-outs seem to be sticking to the counter, it is very handy. If the two layers of coyotas are not sticking together, take a wet finger and run along the edge of the dough. Do not add too much jam or the cookies may leak. Use a fork or cake taster to make the holes in the top of the coyotas. Once baked the cookies may be quite dry, leave them out on the counter overnight and they will soften, ready for dipping in milk, coffee or tea!

brown butter

“Brown” butter is a term used to describe butter that has been slowly heated to toast the milk solids within. These milk solids provide the brown butter with its signature nutty and sweet smell. Brown butter can bring a darker nuttier flavour profile, which can be good in both savoury or sweet dishes.

Storage

These cookies can be stored at room temperature for up to one week or kept in the fridge for up to one month.