Polvorones: Toasted Flour, Lard and Almonds That Crumble at the First Bite
Toast the flour until lightly colored, stop mixing as soon as the dough comes together, and leave the baked sweets alone on the tray until they are completely cool.
According to the tourism guide published by the town of Estepa, in the Sierra Sur of Seville province, the town's sweets are made in autumn and then eaten in homes across Spain at Christmas. The polvorón (plural: polvorones) is one of those sweets: small, thick and tender, made with toasted flour, lard, powdered sugar and almonds, and fragile enough to fall apart as you bite into it.
That fragility is the appeal, and it is also the hardest part of making them at home. The dough resists being kneaded into a smooth mass, and the baked sweets can break if you lift them while they are hot. Most of the decisions in this recipe come back to those two points.
The recipe follows a single home-style formula from Miriam García of El invitado de invierno, a traditional Estepa-style polvorón. It is a home recipe, not the specification for the protected products sold under the Estepa name. For more dishes from the same country, see our Spain page.
We have not tested this recipe in our own kitchen, and we have not measured its real working time or counted how many pieces it makes. Ovens vary, so use the visual cues in each step along with the times.
Ingredients: Toasted Flour and Lard at the Center
All of the powdered sugar goes into the dough. There is no dusting of sugar at the end.
Equipment
- Baking trays
- Parchment paper
- Sieve
- Mixing bowl and spatula
- Food processor or grinder for the almonds
- Food wrap
- Rolling pin
- Round or oval cutter, 3.5–4 cm across (a small glass also works)
- Thin spatula
Choosing and Substituting: What Changes the Sweet
Flour. Harina de repostería translates as pastry flour. Using another soft wheat flour is an approximation on our part, and we have not compared brands or how much fat they absorb.
Lard. Lard carries the flavor and the way these sweets melt in the mouth, so check that the product you buy is made from pork fat. Butter or vegetable oil makes a different sweet rather than a like-for-like version of this one. We can't promise the same texture, and we don't offer conversion amounts.
Almonds. Unsalted, skinned almonds that you toast and grind yourself stay closest to the recipe. Ready-ground almond flour is a possible shortcut, but expect a different texture.
Sugar, cinnamon and salt. Use powdered sugar rather than swapping in granulated, whose coarser crystals have no support in this formula.
These sweets contain almonds, wheat and pork fat. Check the labels on your ingredients if you are baking for someone with an allergy or a dietary restriction.
Method: From Toasted Flour to a Fully Cooled Tray
Each oven step gives one temperature for a fan oven and one for an oven without a fan. Use the pair that matches yours.
Crumbling, Cracking, Breaking: What to Check
Crumbly is the goal, so a dough that looks sandy is not automatically a problem. These checks are our editorial guidance for the common trouble spots. They are not extra steps from the recipe, and because we have not tested it, they are not guaranteed fixes.
| Problem | What to check | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The dough won't hold together | Temperature of the dough and the state of the lard | Use lard that is soft but not melted, and gather the dough by hand. We don't suggest an amount of extra fat because the recipe doesn't give one |
| The dough cracks when rolled | Whether it is being worked too hard | Press the cracks closed by hand and avoid strong kneading |
| The dough feels pasty or greasy | Whether it was overmixed or the lard had melted | Next time, use soft unmelted lard and stop as soon as the mixture begins to come together |
| The ground almonds turn oily | Whether the nuts were still warm or were ground too long | Cool the almonds first and stop grinding before they become a paste |
| The flour is still pale after 15 minutes | Color, not just time | Keep toasting and stirring until it has a light color; 15 minutes is the minimum |
| The sweets break when moved | Whether they were still warm | Leave them on the tray until completely cool |
Serving and Keeping
Polvorones need nothing added once they are baked. Set them on a small plate after a meal, perhaps with a cup of coffee, and handle them gently.
To keep them, wait until they are completely cool, then store them in an airtight container. We have not confirmed a safe storage period, so we don't give a number of days.
Variations: A Different Recipe, Not a Mix-and-Match
Polvorón recipes differ in more than small details, so it is best to follow one from start to finish instead of combining steps from several.
Dr. Oetker España's version shows how far a home recipe can move. It uses 200 g lard, 380 g flour, 125 g ground almonds, one lemon, 1 tsp cinnamon and 150 g powdered sugar, with 100 g of that sugar in the dough and the rest for finishing. The flour and almonds are toasted in a frying pan for 10 minutes rather than in the oven, and the sweets bake at 180°C for 13 minutes before cooling completely on the tray. If you want a lemony, sugar-finished polvorón, follow that recipe as written.
A butter version is a reasonable home adaptation, but treat it as a different sweet with its own flavor. We have no tested amounts to offer for it.
Estepa, the Convent and La Colchona
Estepa's story reaches us mainly through two local voices, so it is best read as the town's own account rather than a settled history of the polvorón everywhere.
The Consejo Regulador, the body behind the protected geographical indications (IGP) for Mantecados de Estepa and Polvorones de Estepa, points to 16th-century records of mantecado making at the Santa Clara convent. It then turns to the late 19th century and Micaela Ruiz Téllez, known as La Colchona, who is credited with refining and toasting the flour. Sales are said to have spread through the transport work of Ruiz Téllez's husband. The council also explains that drying the outside of the sweets helped them survive the journey, and that they became popular as a Christmas sweet.
The town's tourism guide tells a similar story. It links the sweets' origins to Santa Clara, retells the story of La Colchona and her husband's distribution, and describes local factories in the first half of the 20th century and the regional products now protected by the IGP. It also describes the autumn production season and Christmas eating in Spanish homes.
Those 16th-century records concern mantecados, so they don't establish a birth date for today's polvorón, and this home recipe makes no claim to be the same sweet the convent made. We also don't name a single inventor of the polvorón in general.
Spain has other almond sweets, but they are a different kind of confection. Catanies from Catalonia, for example, are chocolate-coated almonds, while the polvorón depends on toasted flour and its crumbly texture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are polvorones the same as mantecados?
They are closely related, and the two names overlap. Explanations of the difference vary from source to source, including on shape, the use of almonds and surface finish. Miriam García's recipe page also notes that there are several theories, so we don't present one rule as definitive.
Why toast the flour?
Miriam García explains that toasting the flour is what gives polvorones their distinctive earthy, crumbly texture. It also explains why this dough is only brought together and not kneaded. Don't skip this step if you want that texture.
Can I use something other than lard?
You can bake with butter or vegetable oil, but the formula changes and you should not expect the same flavor or texture. Lard is central to this recipe, so we treat other fats as a different sweet.
Can I move them while they are hot?
No. Hot polvorones break easily, so leave them on the tray until completely cool. The Dr. Oetker España recipe, despite its different formula, also calls for cooling completely on the tray.
How many does this make?
The recipe page lists 38 raciones, or servings. That figure is not a measured count of 38 pieces, and your number will depend on the thickness and cutter you use within the stated ranges.
How long does the whole recipe take?
We don't give a total. The recipe page's header shows 10 minutes of preparation, 15 of cooking and 25 overall, but its steps include at least 15 minutes for the flour, 8–10 for the almonds, a 30-minute rest and about 12 minutes of baking, plus cooling. The 25-minute figure can't cover the whole process, so plan around the individual steps.
Sources
- Miriam García, El invitado de invierno, "Polvorones caseros." The recipe used here: ingredients, method, oven temperatures and times, the listed 38 raciones, the role of toasted flour in the texture, and the note that there are several views on polvorones versus mantecados. A home recipe, not an IGP product specification. https://invitadoinvierno.com/polvorones-caseros/
- Consejo Regulador de las IGP Mantecados de Estepa y Polvorones de Estepa, "Historia y tradición." The council's account of Estepa's sweet making, the 16th-century mantecado records at Santa Clara, Micaela Ruiz Téllez, drying the outside for transport, and the spread as a Christmas sweet. https://mantecadosypolvoronesdeestepa.com/historiaytradicion/
- Ayuntamiento de Estepa, Oficina Municipal de Turismo, "Estepa, ciudad de la Navidad (Folleto de Turismo)." The town's description of its location in the Sierra Sur of Seville, the Santa Clara and La Colchona stories, local factories and IGP protection, autumn production and Christmas eating in Spanish homes. https://www.estepa.es/export/sites/estepa/.galleries/DOCUMENTOS-general/Turismoplanos/Folleto-turismo.pdf
- Dr. Oetker España, "Polvorones caseros." A separate home recipe used only for comparison, including its different formula, pan-toasting, baking at 180°C for 13 minutes and full cooling on the tray. https://www.oetker.es/recetas/r/polvorones-caseros
