Mexican buñuelos: what they are, types and recipe

What is it?

Mexican bunuelos are thin discs of wheat dough fried until golden and crisp, dusted with sugar and cinnamon or bathed in piloncillo syrup flavoured with aniseed. They belong to the universe of Hispanic fried sweets, but in Mexico they took on an identity of their own with variants as distinct as the knee bunuelo, the wind bunuelo and the cheese bunuelo. They are made especially between 16 December and 6 January, forming an indispensable part of posadas, Christmas Eve, New Year and Twelfth Night. Their consumption is linked to a popular tradition: eating them over clay plates that are then smashed against the ground to attract good luck.

Origin and history

The bunuelo arrived in New Spain with the Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century, deriving from the Arab-Andalusian tradition of sweets fried in oil or lard. The word comes from old Catalan bunyol, documented since the Middle Ages. In Mexico the sweet was adapted using pork lard, wheat flour and aniseed, and was tied to the cycle of Catholic December festivities. Larousse Cocina records that in Oaxaca bunuelos are served in a bowl with piloncillo syrup, a custom inherited from the viceregal period. Mexico Desconocido documents that distinctive versions developed in Sinaloa, Nuevo Leon and the Bajio: in Aguascalientes the square bunuelos have been sold at fairs since the 19th century. The tradition of breaking the plate after eating them comes from the union of indigenous offering practices with Christian year-end celebrations.

Characteristic ingredients

There are three great families of Mexican bunuelos. The knee bunuelo is made by stretching small balls of dough over the knee covered with a cloth until they are very thin; they are fried in lard and end up as crisp as large wafers. The wind bunuelo, originating in central Mexico, is made with a hot iron mould dipped in a light liquid batter; when fried it forms hollow flowers or stars. The cheese bunuelo, typical of Oaxaca, has fresh cheese in the dough and is served with piloncillo syrup, guava and cinnamon. The basic dough combines wheat flour, egg, lard, sugar and aniseed. The syrup that accompanies them is made by boiling piloncillo with cinnamon, star anise, orange peel and sometimes tejocote, until a dark, aromatic syrup is obtained.

Cultural significance

In Mexico the bunuelo is much more than a dessert: it is a marker of the December festive calendar. During the posadas and the New Year dinner they are sold in bulk in the streets, squares and fairs, alongside champurrado and ponche. In Aguascalientes there is the National San Marcos Fair where the square bunuelos are the stars; in Oaxaca traditional cooks keep alive the knee bunuelo technique passed down from generation to generation. The custom of making a wish and breaking the clay plate after eating them represents the symbolic break with the old year. This practice, a syncretic fusion of indigenous and Christian traditions, is still alive in states such as Oaxaca, Puebla and Tlaxcala. Traditional Mexican cuisine, recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2010, includes the bunuelo among its emblematic sweets.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a knee bunuelo and a wind bunuelo?

The knee bunuelo is stretched by hand over a cloth resting on the knee until it is thin and flat, while the wind bunuelo is made with a hot metal mould that is dipped into liquid batter to form hollow figures such as flowers or stars. Both are fried, but their texture and shape are completely different.

What do Mexican bunuelos taste like?

They have a neutral, buttery flavour from the flour-and-lard dough, but gain sweetness from the topping: sugar with cinnamon in the dry version, or piloncillo syrup with aniseed and orange peel in the bathed version. The texture is the key: crisp at the first bite and soft where they absorb the syrup.

How are bunuelos served at Christmas?

They are served hot or warm, dusted with sugar and cinnamon or bathed in piloncillo syrup in a deep dish. In Oaxaca they are accompanied by hot chocolate or atole, and traditionally served on a clay plate that is smashed against the ground when finished, to make a wish and attract good fortune in the new year.

Where do bunuelos come from?

Bunuelos arrived in Mexico from Spain in the 16th century, with roots in Arab-Andalusian pastry-making. In New Spain they were adapted with pork lard, aniseed and piloncillo, and developed regional variants such as the square bunuelo of Aguascalientes and the Oaxacan cheese bunuelo, shaping a distinctly Mexican December tradition.