Marranitos (Mexican Gingerbread Pigs) are a pan dulce, or sweet bread, flavored with molasses and commonly found in Mexican bakeries. Best served with a cup of milk or coffee and eaten on weekend mornings!
Is this real life?! Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d learn how to make a batch of Marranitos (these little Mexican gingerbread pigs), let alone share them online. But here I am, sharing one of my favorite childhood Mexican treats like it’s no big deal. Who am I kidding – I’m nearly 30 years old and these are still one of my favorite Mexican sweet breads! Let me explain.
- they’re shaped like little piggly wigglys. that right there is enough to put them in my top five.
- they’re somewhere between a cookie and a cake. they’re not hard, but not totally soft either. best of both worlds.
- they’re not too sweet, which makes them perfect for dunking in a glass of milk or coffee on weekend mornings.
- did I mention they’re shaped like little pigs? okay, just checking.
If I could only pick one recipe to remind me of my childhood, it would be this one. I’ve probably said that about other recipes before, but I really (really, really) mean it this time. I grew up eating marranitos, or cochinitos as my family called them. I’ve also heard them called puerquitos, but they all mean the same thing – just different Spanish words for “little pigs”.
Mexican Pan Dulce
My family used to pick up a big bag of pan dulce, or sweet bread, at the local Mexican bakery every weekend to eat for breakfast or dessert, and the only bread I’d ever reach for was the marranito.
They’re the perfect mix of rich molasses flavor with a hint of sweetness that’s satisfying and filling. Unlike other Mexican sweet breads that never really hit the spot (I’m looking at you, conchas), marranitos always seem to do the trick.
Ingredients and tools you’ll need
Making these little Mexican gingerbread pigs is much easier than most people think! Aside from the usual baking ingredients like flour, butter, eggs and the like, you’ll need some dark brown sugar, milk, a bit of ground ginger and some unsulfured molasses. All are ingredients you can find at most grocery stores, so the actual recipe ingredients should be very easy to find.
However, my favorite thing about this recipe – the cute little pig shapes – is something you’ll probably have to order online. Here’s the exact Pig Cookie Cutter I ordered on Amazon. It’s smaller than the size of the marranitos you’ll find in a Mexican bakery, but it’s a normal size for homemade pan dulce.
I have no kids so I have no firsthand experience in this department, but I imagine this would be a fun baking project for the little ones. At least I certainly enjoyed making these. What’s more fun that stamping out little piggies with a cookie cutter?!
This recipe has been a huge hit in my house. Between John and I, we’ve eaten all but 3 of these gingerbread pigs and I’m definitely not sorry about it. It’s been cold and has even snowed here already, so we’ve been dunking these marranitos in some Mexican Hot Chocolate which I’ll be sharing on the blog soon.
Slowly but surely, I’m getting in the holiday spirit and am so excited that this will be the first year John and I spend Christmas together. We’ve been together for about 8 years and this is our first Christmas together! How nuts is that?
I’ve always gone to OKC to spend the holiday with family, and John’s always gone to central PA to do the same. Since we got married in May, we thought it’d be best to take turns every year and switch off Thanksgiving and Christmas. So this year, Christmas will be with my family and next year it will be with his.
I must admit, having our families be so far apart is definitely a challenge, but we’re making it work. It’s just one of many challenges I’m sure we’ll run into as a married couple, but that’s what it’s all about, right? All because of a little four letter word – love. 🙂
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!
More dessert recipes you’ll love
- Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars
- Capirotada (Mexican Bread Pudding)
- Baked Pumpkin Empanadas
- Baked Apple Empanadas
- Arroz con Leche
- Homemade Dulce de Leche
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (about 1 stick)
- 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup unsulfured molasses
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter until smooth. Add the dark brown sugar and mix until well combined. Add in one egg, molasses, milk and vanilla extract. Mix together until smooth.
- In a separate large bowl, add the flour, ground ginger, baking soda and cinnamon. Mix together to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients 1 cup at a time and mix until well combined. The dough should cleanly pull away from the mixing bowl.
- Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to 3/8 inch thickness (or a little less than 1/2 inch). Use a pig shaped cookie cutter like this one to cut into pigs. Place pigs 1 1/2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Brush the remaining beaten egg over the tops of the cookies.
- In a small bowl, crack open the remaining egg and whisk. Brush the beaten egg over the tops of the pigs using a pastry brush.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned.
Isabel’s Tips:
Nutrition Information
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Made these for the first time and they came out great!! My husband and son loved them. Thank you for posting!
I couldn’t wait until they had cooled, and when I bit into one, I was whisked away to my parents’ house where we used to get pan dulce every Sunday. My favorites were the marranitos, and this recipe didn’t disappoint. I followed it exactly, and they were perfect! Thank you!
Thank you for the recipe. I made these gluten free, I just substituted the flour for King Arthur gluten free measure for measure. They came out great!
Is there anything I can replace molasses with??
This recipe hasn’t been tested with substitutions yet, so unfortunately I’m not quite sure. You may be able to try using honey or dark corn syrup if you can find it. Molasses has a distinct flavor so keep if you substitute it, the flavor of the pan dulce won’t be the same. Just keep that in mind.
I made these exactly and your recipe and they were amazing! My family loved them and they gobbled them up in 2 days and they asked to make more. (My cookie cutter must have been bigger than yours because I did not get 28.)
Gracias!
Nothing but rave reviews when I’ve made these! “Better than the panadería” was one of the compliments! This has been favorite pan dulce as far as I can remember, so happy I can make my own!
Perfecto! My husband always pick Marinitos at the Panaderia so I wanted to find a recipe so that I could make them for him. This recipe came out wonderful and was super easy to make. I used salted butter (instead of the unsalted)–but other than that followed the recipe as written. They came out delicious and the dough was easy to work with.
These are awesome! “Piggies” were my favorite pan dulce treat as a child, this recipe tastes just like it did then. Thanks!
This recipe is fantastic! My first batch came out perfect. As a child growing up in Los Angeles, this was my favorite treat from Olivera Street or the Panaderia. Thank you for the excellent recipe.
This dough is so lovely to work with compared to gingerbread cookies, I may just make marranitos every Christmas instead. I’ve loved marranitos for forever but my family never really made desserts outside of pumpkin empanadas and arroz con leche. I’m glad I came across this recipe because it is near perfect! The ginger was a little strong for me and my flour is super dry so it sucked up all the moisture but nothing a little recipe tweaking can’t fix. Seriously, thanks for the wonderful recipe!
My family loves these cookies. We only bake half the batch at a time, unless we are having a party. The dough freezes really well. I have done the egg wash on top of the cookies but also do some with course sugar.
I was able to find the pig shaped cookie cutter at a local kitchen supply store.
Made these and they were delicious and super easy. Used a small cup as a cookie cutter and it worked fine. Even without the shape, everyone at work instantly recognized them as marranitos.
I made these cookies last year, and while they were good, they just didnt taste right to me. So, this year I decided to try doing it again, because in Minnesota, I’m deprived of a good mexican bakery. This time, I decided to only use 1/2 cup of molasses, and they came out perfect. Half of the cookies are gone, and I made them this week. My roommate who didnt grow up in a hispanic environment loved them, and my neighbors enjoyed them as well. 10/10 will make them again and will recommend this specific recipe.
I had no pig-shaped cookie cutter, but I DID have a bear-shaped cutter. Therefore, being from California and in honor of Monarch ( the name of the bear on the California state flag), I made “ositos”. My California-Mexican bears were a great hit with my family. I now have piggy-shaped cutters and will pile my plate high with puerquitos and ositos.
Aww, I love that so much! Ositos 🙂
I ran across this recipe and it brought back memories of going to the panaderia after mass with my father. I ordered the cookie cutter and made the marranitos as soon as my package arrived. Two days later my husband and I are fighting over the last piggie! My husband is a food snob (works in high-end food and beverage industry) and absolutely loved the cookies and asked me to make them again. I followed the recipe exactly and would not change a thing.
Love the recipe! Have you tried freezing dough or the cookies? Thanks
Hi! I haven’t tried freezing the dough or cookies. However, I think it would definitely be possible to freeze the dough without an issue. I would wrap the dough in plastic wrap, then place in a freezer safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Let the dough thaw overnight in the refrigerator the day before you want to make them.
I just made these today and they are delicious!! My 3yo LOVES them! My husband is from Guatemala and I’m from Alabama. He has introduced me to all things Hispanic. Some I love and some not so much. Lol. But this recipe is a keeper ❤️❤️❤️ I can’t wait to try the concha recipe next. Thank you❤️