Mexican buñuelos: types, recipe and Christmas origin

What is it?

Mexican buñuelos are thin discs of wheat dough fried until golden and crunchy, dusted with sugar and cinnamon or bathed in aniseed-flavoured piloncillo syrup. They belong to the universe of Hispanic fried sweets, but in Mexico they acquired their own identity with variants as distinct as the knee buñuelo, the wind buñuelo and the cheese buñuelo. They are prepared especially between 16 December and 6 January, forming an essential part of posadas, Christmas Eve, New Year and Three Kings Day. Their consumption is linked to a popular tradition: eating them on clay plates which are then broken against the ground to attract good fortune.

Origin and history

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

Characteristic ingredients

There are three major families of Mexican buñuelos. The knee buñuelo is made by stretching little balls of dough over the knee covered with a cloth until they are very thin; they are fried in lard and come out crunchy like large wafers. The wind buñuelo, originating from the centre of the country, is made with a hot iron mould dipped in a light liquid batter; when fried it forms hollow flowers or stars. The cheese buñuelo, typical of Oaxaca, has queso fresco in the dough and is served with piloncillo, guava and cinnamon syrup. The basic dough combines wheat flour, egg, lard, sugar and whole aniseed. The syrup that accompanies them is prepared by boiling piloncillo with cinnamon, star anise, orange peel and sometimes tejocote, until a dark, aromatic syrup is obtained.

Cultural significance

In Mexico the buñuelo is much more than a dessert: it is a marker of the December festive calendar. During posadas and the New Year's Eve dinner they are sold loose in the streets, squares and fairs, alongside champurrado and ponche. In Aguascalientes the Feria Nacional de San Marcos features square buñuelos as a key attraction; in Oaxaca traditional cooks keep alive the technique of the knee buñuelo, passed down from one generation to the next. 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, lives on in states such as Oaxaca, Puebla and Tlaxcala. Traditional Mexican cuisine, recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2010, includes the buñuelo among its emblematic sweets.

Frequently asked questions

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

The knee buñuelo is stretched by hand on a cloth resting on the knee until it is thin and flat, while the wind buñuelo is made with a hot metal mould dipped in 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 buñuelos taste like?

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

How are buñuelos 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 broken against the ground at the end, to make a wish and attract good fortune in the new year.

Where do buñuelos originate?

Buñuelos arrived in Mexico from Spain in the sixteenth century, with roots in Arab-Andalusian confectionery. In New Spain they were adapted with lard, aniseed and piloncillo, and developed regional variants such as the square buñuelo of Aguascalientes and the Oaxacan cheese buñuelo, shaping a December tradition properly Mexican.