“It's the holidays! With some help from my friends at @OurPlace, I tried making my abuela's buñuelos de molde :) They're super easy & you don't even need the mold if you're making the Central American variety!” 

– Baggio Ardón (@baggioardon.design)

In a large bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the batter, starting with the wet ingredients (eggs, milk) and slowly incorporating the dry ingredients (salt, baking powder, flour) until the batter is smooth and resembles pancake batter. Add water as needed to achieve this texture.

Preheat your frying pan with enough oil to dip your buñuelo mold or batter dollop. If using the rosette mold, leave it standing in the hot oil for at least a minute before using.

• For Buñuelos de Molde: While the oil heats, prepare a small bowl or plate with enough sugar to fully coat your buñuelos de molde with ground cinnamon to taste. You can also coat the buñuelo balls in sugar as well or prepare the syrup.

• For Buñuelo Balls: Heat 1 cup of water in a small pot. Add 2 sticks of cinnamon and 125g of piloncillo or about 1/2 – 3/4 cup of brown sugar and let dissolve in the hot (not boiling) water. Set aside to cool.

When ready, carefully remove your mold from the oil and gently dip 3/4ths of the mold into the batter. It should sizzle. Do not fully enclose the mold in batter as it will not release. If you're not using a mold, simply use a large spoon to scoop a dollop of batter.

Place the mold into the oil and lightly twist or shake until it releases. When golden, remove as it will continue to cook outside of the oil. For Buñuelo Balls, carefully drop the spoonful of batter to the oil and remove when golden. Place onto a frying deck.

Coat the Buñuelos in sugar or drizzle the syrup, whichever is preferred!

If you have trouble getting them to release from the mold, leave it in the batter for 1-3 seconds to help it pre-cook before adding to the oil.