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Pemoles (Piloncillo and Anise Biscuits from the Huasteca)

Name: Pemoles (Piloncillo and Anise Biscuits from the Huasteca)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 150 g Grated piloncillo (raw cane sugar); 1 tsp Ground cinnamon; 0.5 tsp Bicarbonate of soda; 60 ml Warm water; 80 g Lard; 1 tbsp Anise seeds; 1 pinch Salt; 300 g Plain flour; 1 tbsp Sugar (for sprinkling)

40 min (20 prep + 20 cook) Easy 24 servings San Luis Potosí

Edmond Bojalil

Recetas Mexas

Published: 29 Mar 2026 · Updated: 29 Mar 2026

Rustic piloncillo and anise biscuits from the Huasteca Potosina of San Luis Potosí.

About this recipe

Pemoles are rustic piloncillo and flour biscuits with anise, a traditional sweet from the Huasteca Potosina baked in wood-fired ovens for festivals and markets.

History & Origin

Pemoles are one of the oldest and most beloved sweets of the Huasteca Potosina, prepared since colonial times in the Teenek, Nahua and mestizo communities of the municipalities of Tamuín, Ébano, Tampaón and Ciudad Valles. Their name has Nahuatl origins and refers to a biscuit or sweet bread made with the most basic ingredients available in any Huastecan home: wheat flour, piloncillo, lard and anise seeds. The simplicity of the recipe reflects the subsistence cooking of the Huasteca peoples, where sweets were a luxury crafted from whatever was to hand. Pemoles are baked in wood-fired ovens, which gives them a slightly smoky flavour and a unique texture: crisp on the outside and just barely soft within. At the Sunday markets of the Huasteca Potosina, Teenek and Nahuatl women sell pemoles wrapped in coloured tissue paper alongside other traditional sweets such as alfajores, biznaga candy and coconut macaroons. They are the ideal sweet to take on a journey or give as a gift, keeping fresh for a week at room temperature. For the Huastecan people, pemoles are more than a sweet: they are a symbol of cultural identity and of the sweetness of the Potosino land.

Estimated cost

£4.20

Total cost

£0.18

Per serving

* Approximate prices based on UK supermarkets

Nutritional information per serving

120

Calories

Protein

20g

Carbohydrates

Fat

0.5g

Fibre

60mg

Sodium

* Approximate values. May vary depending on ingredients used.

Method

1
Dissolve the grated piloncillo in the warm water. Set aside.
💡 If you cannot find piloncillo, substitute packed dark brown sugar; the flavour will be less complex but it works.
2
Mix the flour with the bicarbonate of soda, salt, ground cinnamon and anise seeds in a bowl.
3
Add the lard at room temperature and rub in with your fingers until you have a coarse crumble texture.
4
Add the piloncillo water a little at a time, mixing until you have a soft dough that does not stick. Do not overwork it.
💡 The ideal dough is as soft as modelling clay; if too dry, add one more tablespoon of water.
5
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Roll the dough to 5 mm thickness on a floured surface. Cut with 6–7 cm round cutters.
6
Place on a baking tray lined with parchment. Sprinkle lightly with sugar. Bake for 18–20 minutes until the edges are golden.
💡 Pemoles brown more on the base than the top; watch that the underside does not burn.
7
Leave to cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an airtight tin at room temperature for up to a week.