Here’s the truth; Puerto Ricans make the same desserts for Thanksgiving and Christmas. What a shocker. I realized this when I started to think about the ones we eat during Thanksgiving, and I realized they were the same ones we eat during X-mas. But hey, there’s a reason why these desserts are a must all holiday season. They are beyond good. And there are so many Puerto Rican desserts out there for you to taste, so get ready to leave some room in your stomach, because here are a few sweet plates for the holidays that are (relatively) easy to make!
Flan de calabaza: pumpkin flan
This is the dessert my mom makes every year for the holidays. A flan is a type of custard, and I’ve eaten cheese, vanilla, coconut, coffee, and pumpkin. My favorite one is cheese flan since it has the same consistency as cheesecake (coincidentally my favorite dessert) because it has cream cheese. To celebrate, Thanksgiving pumpkin flan. The steps to make it are simple: you turn on your oven beforehand, use a special kind of mold for flans (that has a hole in the center), mix all the ingredients (including the pumpkin) in a blender before filling the metal mold with the mix. Afterwards, you put it in the oven for a certain amount of time, and listo! Overall, I think flans aren’t at all difficult to make since it’s a very straightforward recipe with ingredients that you probably already have at home.
Tembleque: a coconut pudding
The Tembleque is my favorite Puerto Rican dessert by far, and, after learning the recipe, I’m sure to prepare it for this year’s Thanksgiving! To make this coconut pudding, you mix all the ingredients directly into a pot before turning on the stove, you keep mixing it without stopping (this is crucial because it can ruin the whole mix) until it starts heating without it reaching its boiling point. After a couple of minutes, its consistency is supposed to change from liquid to a thick pureé-like one. After you make sure it’s not liquid, you pour your final product into small containers (bowls or cups) and put them in the refrigerator for a few hours. After that, your Tembleques are good to go!
Arroz con dulce: coconut rice pudding
Arroz con dulce literally means “rice with candy,” but the dulce part is actually referring to the raisins that give this dessert its signature sweetness. This is actually the only Puerto Rican dessert I’ve ever made. To make the arroz con dulce, your rice needs to have been soaked in water for a few hours until it retains the moisture. This is done so your rice isn’t hard and dry when you mix it in with the rest of the ingredients. When I made arroz con dulce, I had rice cooked before I started because I wanted my rice to be amogollao (clumpy). This gave it a more creamy consistency in the end, but this isn’t required. Although, if you decide to prepare it like that, make sure you add a lot of water in the pot when you make the rice so it can soak it up. After you leave the water to rest for a few hours, you need to add water to a pot and a few spices until it’s boiling. Let it rest before straining all the spices until you’re left with the seasoned water in the original pot you used. Afterwards, add the rest of your ingredients, including the rice (that includes the raisins!). Keep stirring until the rice soaks up all the coconut milk and just like with the Tembleque, pour your final product into small bowls or cups before putting them in the refrigerator for a few hours. After letting it rest, your arroz con dulce will be ready to be enjoyed!
Polvorones puertorriqueños: a type of shortbread cookies
Polvorones (or mantecaditos) are a type of shortbread cookie in Latin America. There are many types of these out there (like the Mexican polvorones), so each one has its own taste, color, and shape. Ours is renowned in its own right because we add sprinkles or guayaba (guava) to the cookies. Why? Because we’re extra. These are our Puerto Rican versions of cookies, and the recipe is like any other. After stirring all the ingredients in a mixer, you mold the finished batter into small balls before squishing them with your thumb just enough to give it its shape. This is done by making a small hole in the center of the cookie, but not so much as to flatten them like traditional ones. Also, you make holes so you can later add the guava or sprinkles. After arranging them in a tray, you put them in the oven, and presto! You have a fresh batch of Puerto Rican mantecaditos!
Dessert is served!
And there you have it! Now you can make all these Puerto Rican dessert recipes for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and apart from being delicious they’re also easy to make!