I used to make sweet tamales with raisins when the children were little, but not so much in the last few years. So, this year, I added these taste delights to the menu and they turned out terrific. I had to taste them several times to make sure [smile].
The key to these is small. Make the portion about bite size. Enough for 2 maybe 3 bites. Not too much, because they are pretty sweet. You can cut the sweetness by adding another cup of masa mixture (first beat with 1/3 cup Crisco, add 1 tsp baking powder and 2 tsp salt, then add mixture to the made sweet tamale mixture).
Sweet Tamales with Raisins
Ingredient List:
1/2 cup rum1 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnut pieces
2/3 cup Crisco shortening
2/3 cup sugar
2 cups masa harina
1/2 cup Borden's Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 teaspoons Coconut extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
12 corn husks, washed
Directions
If corn husks are pliable, proceed with recipe. If not, soak them in hot water for 30 minutes. Set aside until ready to assemble the tamales.
Filling
In a small saucepan, gently heat the rum. Do NOT boil, warm rum. Turn off heat. add the raisins and cover. Let the raisins soak and absorb the rum while you prepare the masa fillingn the bowl of an electric mixer beat the vegetable shortening until very light, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and half of the masa, and mix until combined. Add the coconut extract to the milk and stir.
Slowly add alternately with the remaining masa until mixture is the consistency of medium-thick cake batter. Add baking powder, salt and cinnamon, and beat for 30 seconds. Add the softened butter and stir to incorporate, being careful not to over mix.
Assembly
Spoon about 3 tablespoons of the masa batter into the center of a corn husk. Place about 2 teaspoons of plumped raisins in the center. Optionally, add a few walnuts. Fold 1 side over the batter, then the other to enclose the filling. Bring the bottom and the top over the filling to create a small package. Tie the tamale with a piece of a torn corn husk. Repeat with the remaining masa batter and filling.Line a steamer insert with a layer of unused corn husks. Lay the tamales in the lined steamer, and steam over simmering water until the tamales are cooked through and release easily from the corn husk wrappers, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Cool and refrigerate. Serve cold. Garnish with whipped cream.
Makes 12 to 18 sweet tamales
Serves 6 to 8
Top your enchilada dinner off with these sweet tamales with raisins to bring a nice contrast to your Christmas dinner meal. Yum!
That's it for today, blog.