These meringue cookies, known as merenguitos, are a traditional Cuban cookie that’s easy to make with just five ingredients! It’s the perfect treat to whip up with the leftover egg whites you’ll have after making crema de vie (aka Cuban eggnog). Crema de vie and merenguitos are quite pair at Christmas time!
You can find these little merenguitos at most grocery stores in Miami, but I don’t really like the store-bought ones because they are very crisp. I like them when they are slightly crunchy on the outside, and the inside is soft and chewy, just like a marshmallow. You can control how crispy they get by the amount of time you bake them.
5-ingredient Meringue Cookies
These little meringue cookies have no flour… you just need egg whites, sugar, vanilla and cream of tartar. I like to add a little flavored liquor like Amaretto, but it’s not traditional. You can also add a little colored sugar crystals to match your theme, like these red crystals for Christmas.
Just whip the egg whites until foamy, add the sugar gradually and beat until stiff peaks form. You know the meringue is stiff enough when it can hold its shape when the whip is turned upside down. Then, add the vanilla, Amaretto (if using) and cream of tartar, and beat another thirty seconds.
You can spoon the egg whites onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper, or you can use a pastry bag to pipe the meringue into pretty, little fluted mounds. I used a Wilton 1M tip to do this.
Next you can sprinkle tiny sugar crystals on top, then stick in an oven set to 200 degrees, and cook for 45 minutes. If you want them to be a bit crisper, you can leave them in the oven until they are cooled.
Fun Variations For the Merenguitos
You can have some fun with these! Add other great toppings such as unsweetened flaked coconut, cocoa powder or cinnamon. I use unsweetened since the meringue is sweet enough.
You can also fold in a bit of food coloring to the meringue before piping if you want pastel-colored merenguitos. These are fun at baby showers!
And you can also sandwich two merenguitos with a little dulce de leche. Really addicting this way!
These meringue cookies, known as merenguitos, are a traditional Cuban cookie that’s easy to make with just five ingredients! It’s the perfect treat to whip up with the leftover egg whites
Ingredients
Scale
4 egg whites
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
Pinch salt
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon amaretto (optional)
Parchment paper
Instructions
Preheat oven to 200 degrees
Place the egg whites and a pinch of salt into the mixer and mix on medium for 2 minutes until the egg whites are foamy. Increase speed to high and gradually add the sugar ¼ cup at a time. Beat the egg whites with the sugar for about 6 minutes until stiff peaks form. The egg whites should hold their peaks even when you turn the whites upside down. Add the cream of tartar, amaretto liquor and vanilla and beat for another 30 seconds.
Pipe meringue into little mounds.
Optional: Sprinkle with sugar or shredded coconut.
Bake for 45 minutes. Let it cool in the oven.
Notes
For softer meringue cookies, remove the cookies from the oven to cool.
Enjoy a traditional Cuban feast with these Noche Buena recipes made from scratch. Noche Buena in Spanish means “Good Night.” And it is a good night surrounded by friends, family and fantastic Cuban food!
I’ve put together a Noche Buena menu for you with traditional Cuban dishes, desserts and more. I hope you enjoy making these for Christmas!
Our traditional Cuban Christmas Eve Dinner includes:
Lechon Asado
Roast Pork
Congri
Black Beans & Rice
Yuca with Mojo
Starchy Yuca Vegetablewith Garlicky Citrus Sauce
Caramel Flan
Here are all the Cuban food recipes you need to make the best Noche Buena feast this Christmas!
¡Buen Provecho!
Cuban Roast Pork “Lechon Asado”
Cuban roast pork is as Cuban as it gets, folks. This traditional Cuban dish is known as lechon asado in Spanish, and it’s the go-to feast for every special occasion, especially Noche Buena. It’s served for Christmas and, in many Cuban homes, for Thanksgiving, too! The pork is marinated overnight or even longer and then cooked until it falls off the bone and the skin is super crispy.
The Best Cuban Congrí Rice (Black Beans And Rice)
Congri is my favorite Cuban side dish to make for Noche Buena. This is Mami’s best beans and rice recipe and the one that her kids and grandkids want to learn and pass down. Every Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, my brother calls from North Carolina asking how to make it. It’s the best! But some folks prefer to have their black beans and rice cooked separately. If you’re one of those, I’ve got a black bean recipe for you as well.
Yuca With Mojo Is A Must For Noche Buena
Yuca with mojo is the traditional cuban side dish to serve with Cuban roast pork. In fact, yuca is preferred over the usual fried plantains. As much as we love our fried maduros and tostones, yuca and roast pork are a Cuban power couple. And, of course, you have to make enough for yuca fries the next day!
Caramel Flan Is The Best Cuban Dessert For Noche Buena
Caramel flan is, hands-down, the most popular Cuban dessert, and for a good reason. It’s a luscious, creamy, special-occasion-worthy dessert that is super easy to make. This is the dessert that’s on every Cuban table for Noche Buena.
Other Traditional Cuban Dishes To Make For Christmas, Even Before Noche Buena
We also love to make goodies like Cuban shortbread, coconut balls, guava bars and Cuban eggnog with sweeteneded condensed milk and rum. I invite you to try some of these Cuban holiday favorites! But you don’t have to wait until Christmas Eve to enjoy these. Make them a few days early and start your Noche Buena festivities early🎄🎅
Torticas De Moron (Cuban Shortbread) Is Melt-In-Your-Mouth Delicious
Torticas de Moron are a wonderful Cuban shortbread cookie that’s simple to make and so delicious! The shortening makes this cookie perfectly crumbly and once you bite into it just melts in your mouth. And it’s made even more irresistible with a dollop of guava paste! It’s a great addition to your Noche Buena menu, along with the Cuban flan, of course!
Coconut Balls Are Quick, Easy And So Adorable!
These coconut balls are such a Cuban treat. First of all, we LOVE coconut, so of course, we would make these. And if your an Almond Joy or Mounds fan, you’ll love these dipped in chocolate and topped with coconuts or almonds. They make great holiday gifts, too.
Boozy, Sweet Crema De Vie (Cuban Eggnog) Is So Good!
Cubans have their own version of eggnog known as crema de vie, and if you have a sweet tooth, you’ve got to try it! The Spanish translation for Crema de Vie is cream of life, and I can see why it’s called that. It tastes a lot like spiked flan because it has very similar ingredients. I like to have a little eggnog as I’m cooking up my Noche Buena feast, so I make this a few days early. You also need to let it sit for a day, so definitely make it early!
I hope you have a wonderful Christmas Eve celebration surrounding by family, friends and Christmas joy. ¡Feliz Navidad!
Cubans have their own version of eggnog known as crema de vie, and if you have a sweet tooth, you’ve got to try it! The Spanish translation for Crema de Vie is cream of life, and I can see why it’s called that. It tastes a lot like spiked flan because it has very similar ingredients.
I like to drink my crema de vie as I’m cooking. It makes it feel more like Christmas. Because when you live in Miami, you need a little help getting in the Christmas mood while it’s 80 degrees outside, so every little bit of Cuban eggnog helps!
Ingredients In My Delicious Crema De Vie
The reason I love this Cuban eggnog is that it tastes a lot like spiked flan. Like my caramel flan, crema de vie is made with eggs, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and vanilla. In fact, I always drink a bit of the flan when I make it because it tastes so good!
Crema de vie has two more ingredients not found in flan, though. Star anise syrup and rum are added to the mix. Not all recipes use star anise, some use cinnamon instead. But I love the flavor of the star anise in this Cuban eggnog recipe. And, I always sprinkle a little cinnamon on top, so you get all the Christmas flavors going on!
Now be warned, crema de vie is super sweet. I make mine with less sugar than most, but it’s still really sweet. The syrup contains one cup of sugar, and that’s in addition to a whole can of sweetened condensed milk. What can I say, Cubans are sweet ❤️
The rum helps cut down the level of sweetness, so it balances out the flavor. But eggnog is a sweet drink, whether you make the Cuban crema de vie or the traditional version. I use only half a cup of rum in the recipe, but you can add more if you like your eggnog very boozy. I stick to half a cup because that way, those who don’t like it super boozy can enjoy it, and the rest can add a little more.
To Cook Or Not To Cook The Eggs
Crema de vie is made with raw eggs, six egg yolks to be precise. Cubans don’t cook their eggnog. My mom says Cubans have been drinking it this way forever, and no one ever gets sick… that’s Mami’s logic for you!
However, if you’re giving it as a gift or bringing it to a gathering, you may feel better cooking the eggs. So, this recipe has an optional cooking step. Cooking the yolks takes a little patience because you don’t want the eggs to cook too much or too fast, or you’ll end up with lumpy eggnog. Nobody wants that. So, it’s important to temper the eggs first (this means gradually introducing little amounts of warm milk to the yolks). You also need to cook at a low heat and stir constantly.
Give The Crema De Vie A Day To Settle
I gotta be honest, if you taste this Cuban eggnog right after it’s done, it’s not that great. The flavors need a little time to settle and get to know each other. So refrigerate the nog overnight before serving and always keep refrigerated.
Try some Cuban eggnog this Christmas, and let me know how you like it!
Crema de vie (aka Cuban eggnog) is a traditional Cuban drink made with sweetened condensed milk, rum and star anise. So good!
Ingredients
Scale
1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 ounces)
1 can evaporated milk (12 ounces)
6egg yolks
1/2 cuprum
1 teaspoonvanilla
pinch of salt
1 cupsugar
2 cups water
2star anise (2 full stars)
Cinnamon for garnish
Instructions
Make Simple Syrup
Mix 2 cups of water, 1 cup sugar and two star anise. Add to a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes or until it thickens slightly. Let cool.
Mix
Remove the star anise from the cooled syrup and add to a blender, along with the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks, rum, vanilla and pinch of salt. Blend on low for a few minutes.
Strain and pour into a bottle and refrigerate overnight. You need to give the flavors some time to mellow and get to know each other.
If you have an issue with using raw eggs, you can cook the eggs:
Heat the evaporated milk over medium heat until it’s warm, but not boiling. Should take about 8-10 minutes .
Beat the egg yolks in a bowl, then slowly add a few spoonfuls of the milk to the eggs to temper them. Continue to add the warm milk to the eggs a bit at a time. You don’t want the eggs to cook. Once you’ve added all the milk to the eggs, return to the pot and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly so the eggs don’t settle and cook at the bottom of the pan. Let it cool and strain before mixing with the other ingredients. Blend as indicated above.
Serve with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Refrigerate overnight before using, it’s much better that way.
Keywords: crema de vie, crema de vie recipe, cuban crema de vie, crema de vie drink, cuban eggnog
Now is the perfect weather to enjoy a nourishing bowl of garbanzo bean soup! But honestly, we make this Cuban garbanzo bean soup year-round… and I live in sunny Miami. This bean soup is very simple to make and tastes so, so good. So filled with meat and veggies, it’s hearty enough to be a meal. I like to have a nice big bowl with a bit of bread on the side. It’s comfort food at its best!
Bean soups are a big part of Cuban cooking, including black beans, red beans, white beans, garbanzo beans, you name it. This may seem surprising considering that Cuba is a tropical island. You’d think it would be too hot to have soups all the time, but it’s a perennial side dish in Cuban meals. In fact, if you go to a Cuban restaurant, you’ll find bean soups are on the menu as a side or as the soup of the day… always.
If you’re not familiar with garbanzo beans, they are chickpeas. There’s no difference between garbanzo beans and chickpeas.
What Goes Into This Garbanzo Bean Soup
This soup has a little bit of everything! It’s packed with ham and chorizo, potatoes, pumpkins, and cabbage. I like using ham hocks or smoked ham chops because the smoky flavor of the ham chops really adds a little kick to this soup.
Do you know what else adds a big flavor kick? The chorizo! You just need one link, but the spicy flavor of the chorizo is a big part of this soup. The chorizo in this soup is Spanish chorizo, not the Mexican version. Spanish chorizo is cooked and cured, and sold in small links. The flavor is similar to pepperoni, and you can usually find it in the same section in the grocery store.
This garbanzo bean soup also has pumpkin and potatoes. The sweetness of the pumpkin and the mild flavor of the potato complement the spicy chorizo perfectly. The pumpkin is softer than the potatoes and tends to dissolve into the soup, which is nice because it gives it a little extra body and creaminess. If you don’t want the pumpkin to dissolve, make sure to cut it into bigger chunks.
I love the cabbage in this soup, too! I use about a cup of cabbage cut into one-inch pieces. You can add more if you like it. Or, you can just add a small wedge, so it’s easier to remove it if not everybody likes it. My stepfather is not too fond of it, so my mom tends to leave it as a wedge. But when Mami and I made this soup for the blog, we cut up the cabbage, and he liked it just fine. So chop it! Veggies are good for you 💚
The spices in this garbanzo bean soup include paprika, thyme, cumin, oregano, bay leaves, culantro and aromatics such as onions, peppers, and garlic. It’s got all the goods, baby! If you’re not familiar with culantro, it’s a large leaf often used in Caribbean and Latin cooking. You should be able to find it where the fresh herbs are found. If not, you can omit it.
How To Cook Garbanzo Beans
First of all, I always soak the beans for a few hours or overnight before cooking them. Then, you can cook them on the stovetop or use the Instant Pot or a pressure cooker. I made my soup in the Instant Pot.
Rinse the soaked beans and add to a pot with water. I use about eight cups of water for one fourteen-ounce package of garbanzo beans (or chickpeas, same thing). Add the ham, half an onion, 1/3 green pepper, three garlic cloves, and bay leaves to the water. Do not cut the onions, peppers, or garlic cloves. We’re going to remove them once the beans are cooked. Now, cook the beans until they’re softened. This should take about an hour on the stovetop and thirty-five minutes in the Instant Pot.
Once the beans are softened, remove the onions, peppers, garlic cloves, and bay leaves. Sauté chopped onion, crushed garlic cloves and green peppers with olive oil until translucent and soft. Then, add the spices (paprika, thyme, oregano, cumin and another bay leaf) and tomato sauce and cook for another minute or so. Add the sauteed mix to the beans and throw in the chopped cabbage, potatoes, pumpkin, and chorizo. Add salt and pepper to taste and cook for about thirty minutes more, and you’re done! If you’re using the Instant Pot, just set it on sauté.
Enjoy with some soft Cuban bread croutons and a drizzle of olive oil. Or add a few spoonfuls of white rice. Cubans love it that way too. ¡Buen provecho!
Hearty garbanzo bean soup (chickpea soup) is a very popular Cuban dish made with ham, chorizo, pumpkins and cabbage. Total comfort food!
Ingredients
Scale
14 ounces dry garbanzo beans or chickpeas
8 ouncessmoked ham chops (you can use ham hocks too)
1chorizo sausage link (about an ounce, give or take)
8 ouncesredpotatoes
8 ouncespumpkin
1 cup chopped green cabbage
1 medium yellow onion
2/3green bell pepper
2 tablespoonsolive oil
3bay leaves
2culantro leaves
6garlic cloves
½ cuptomato sauce
1 teaspoonpaprika
½ teaspooncumin
½ teaspoonoregano
¼ teaspoonthyme
1 1/2 teaspoonsalt or to taste
¼ teaspoonblack pepper or to taste
8 cups water
Instructions
Soak the garbanzo beans for four hours or overnight.
Rinse the beans and add them to the Instant Pot with 8 cups of water. Add half the onion, 1/3 green bell pepper, 3 garlic cloves, culantro leaves, bay leaves and ham. Do not cut the onion and leave the pepper in one large chunk and the garlic cloves whole. We are going to remove these things once the beans are softened.
Cook in the Instant Potaffiliate link for 35 minutes on high pressure. If you’re cooking on the stovetop, bring to a boil and simmer for about an hour or until the beans are softened.
While the soup cooks, prep the vegetables.
Chop the other half of the onion, crush the garlic. You can chop the bell pepper or leave it whole. I don’t like the pepper in my soup so I leave it whole so I can avoid it or remove it. Chop the cabbage into one-inch pieces and peel and cut the potatoes and pumpkin into small chunks (about 1 ½ inches pieces). Also, slice the chorizo into ¼ inch slices. Measure out the spices.
Once the beans are softened, remove the onions, bell pepper, garlic cloves, and the culantro and bay leaves. If you want to, you can cut up the ham into bite-size pieces.
Add the olive oil to a sauté pan on medium heat. Once heated, sauté the onions, bell pepper and garlic and cook until softened. This should take about 4-5 minutes. Add the oregano, cumin, paprika and thyme and cook for 30 seconds. Add the tomato sauce and cook for another 30 seconds. Add the mix to the beans, along with the chorizo, vegetables and another bay leaf. Add the salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 30 minutes or so, until the potatoes and pumpkin are cooked through. If you’re using an Instant Pot, saute for 25 minutes.
Serve with some soft croutons and a drizzle of olive oil. Or serve with a hearty slice of buttered bread. It’s comfort food!
Torticas de Moron are a wonderful Cuban shortbread cookie that’s simple to make and so delicious! The shortening makes this cookie perfectly crumbly and once you bite into it just melts in your mouth. And it’s made even more irresistible with a dollop of guava paste!
For years I’d seen these cookies displayed at local Cuban bakeries, but I was never tempted to try them. They were usually huge and topped with sprinkles. It looked like a big old sugar cookie, and they just couldn’t compete with the pastelitos made with puff pastry and guava. But then a family friend made a batch, and I tasted a homemade version of these torticas de moron … wow, what a difference!
These Torticas de Moron Taste Like Old Cuba
These cookies are delicate and taste very old world… at least very Old Cuba! This is an old-time cookie named after the town of Moron, where it was first made.
Torticas de moron have just a few ingredients: shortening, flour, sugar, and lemon rind. I like to add a little bit of butter to mine, but just a little. These Cuban cookies also have a little sprinkling of sugar crystals to give them a slight crunch and extra sweetness.
I’ve seen different versions of this cookie running around the internet (this cookie gets around!). Some recipes use all butter (no shortening), vanilla, eggs, and even baking powder, but the original recipe doesn’t have all of that. I taste-tested this recipe with my favorite Cuban folks and they said this recipe tasted like the torticas de moron they grew up eating.
Look Ma! No Vanilla, Butter, Or Eggs!
What makes this cookie so crumbly and melt-in-your-mouth good is the shortening and the lack of moisture and leavening. Otherwise, it’s just a sugar cookie, not to say there’s anything wrong with that. I love those too! But torticas de moron are different.
Instead of vanilla, this cookie has a bit of citrus for flavoring. The original recipe used lime rind, but I like it better with lemon rind. Cubans use lime for everything. Some folks make it without adding the citrus. My mom likes it better that way, but she was outvoted 😛
I already mentioned this Cuban cookie is crumbly, and this means that the dough is too. I beat the sugar, shortening, and butter together and then added the flour and the lemon rind. The dough looks very crumbly and needs a little bit of kneading to come together, and even then, it’s not very elastic. Just shape it with your hands into a rough rectangle and then roll until it’s a quarter-inch thick. You can cut with a biscuit cutter or with the glass. You’ll notice the photos show some with a fancy crinkle cut on the edge and some are plain, either way it’s pretty delicious!
Sprinkle a little sugar on these before baking. If it’s Christmas time, you can use colored sugar. But most times I just use white sugar crystals for a little sparkle and sweetness!
Although they may not look it, these cookies are delicate and should be cooled on the cookie sheet for a minute or two before moving them to a cooling rack. If you try to move them when they’re hot, they could break, and then you’ll have to eat the crumbs to hide the evidence. Not a bad problem to have… but they are so much prettier when you’re patient. 😇
Kick It Up A Notch With Guava
These cookies are good on their own… but they are even better with guava. The sweetness of the guava and the slight tang of lemon go so well together! Just add a dollop of guava to the baked cookie after it’s cooled. I also sprinkle a little finishing salt because I like the salt and sweet together. If you don’t have finishing salt, you can use kosher salt.
You can buy a can of guava marmalade at the store, but I like to make my own. This way, the guava is a little thicker. But don’t stress it, the canned marmalade would be fine. You just have to store with a little more care so you don’t mess up the guava. Or, store without the guava and just add a dollop when you’re serving.
I also add a touch of orange liquor to the guava. Oh, it’s soooo good that way! I used Cointreau in mine, but Grand Marnier would also work.
Dress These Cuban Cookies For Christmas!
Make these torticas de moron for Christmas and add colored sugar crystals on top. You can also add a maraschino cherry to the center when you bake it. It’s very Christmas-y and makes great gifts for neighbors.
1 teaspoonCointreau or other orange liqueur (add more if you prefer a more intense flavor)
5 tablespoons water
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Prep:
Grate 1 teaspoon of lemon rind.
Cream the sugar, shortening and butter until smooth. Add the lemon rind and beat for 30 more seconds.
Mix two cups of flour until combined, using a wooden spoon or spatula. Add the last cup of flour and mix until you have a crumbly mixture.
Dump the crumbly dough onto a floured surface.
Knead until the dough comes together. Divide the dough in half and shape each one into a flat disc.
Roll each disc until it’s 1/4 inch thick and cut with a biscuit cutter or a glass. Roll the leftover dough and repeat the process until you’ve used up all the dough. As you cut the cookies, place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Sprinkle the shaped cookies with sugar crystals.
Optional Topping: If you’re using the maraschino cherries, add half a cherry to each cookie. You can use both the sugar and the cherries to decorate.
Bake: Bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden (mine took 18 minutes). Remove from oven.
Cool on baking sheet for about a minute. Then transfer them to a cooling rack. Be careful with these, because they can break easily. That’s why I don’t remove them from the baking sheet right away like I do with most cookies.
Guava Paste:
Cube 7 ounces of guava pasteaffiliate link and add to a pan set on medium low heat. Add 5 tablespoons of water and a teaspoon of Cointreau. Cook until the guava is melted and spreadable.
Guava Garnish:
Place a dollop of guava on each cooled cookie and sprinkle with finishing salt.
Keywords: Torticas de Moron, cuban cookies, guava cookies, cuban shortbread cookies, shortbread cookies, christmas cookies, cuban christmas cookies
These coconut cuties are such a Cuban treat. First of all, we LOVE coconut, so of course, we would make these. They are called coquito in Spanish (little coconut). Puerto Ricans also have a sweet treat called coquito, but in their case, it’s a holiday egg nog made with coconut milk… also great and worthy of its own post. But for today, let’s discuss these super quick and easy coconut balls.
3-Ingredient Coconut Balls
Don’t you just love when a cookie is so easy, carefree, and gorgeous? These coconut balls are just three ingredients: shredded coconut, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla. And you don’t even need a mixer! Just mix the three ingredients with a spoon or hands (hands are the best kitchen tool ever!). Then roll into a ball and bake them for about 15 minutes or until golden… and you’re done. Let them cool before you handle, though. If you move them while they’re warm, they are likely to fall apart, and then you’ll have to eat the crumbs. Well, maybe move one or two! 😉
Let me just say a quick word about sweetened condensed milk here because it’s a staple in every Cuban kitchen. We use it in lots of Cuban desserts like caramel flan, drizzle it on churros or eat a spoonful to satisfy a sweet tooth. Don’t judge.
Let’s Play Dress-Up With These Coconut Balls!
These coconut balls are good without any makeup. If you’re a coconut fan, you’ll love them just as they are. But if you’re a Mounds fan, you’ll love them dipped in chocolate with a little coconut sprinkle. Or, for the Almond Joy nuts out there, sprinkle some chopped almonds. Oh, yea!
To make the chocolate easy to work with, I suggest you buy chocolate wafers that have already been tempered. I used Ghirardelli dark chocolate wafers, and it was easy to melt, hardened quickly, and looked glossy.
These cookies make for a great holiday gift for teachers, co-workers, or neighbors. I like to make them for my hubby because he’s cuckoo for coconuts (ugh, that’s a seventies Cocoa Puffs commercial reference you probably won’t get!).
Anyways try these adorable little coconut balls and share your creations in the comments. I’d love to see how they turn out!
I love how quick and easy these coconut balls are to make. You need just three ingredients: shredded coconut, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. And you don’t even need a mixer. Just mix the coconut, milk and vanilla and shape into balls.
Ingredients
Scale
14 ounces shredded unsweetened coconut (see note)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Optional:
5 ounces dark chocolate melting wafers (I used Ghirardelli)
½ cup chopped, toasted almonds
½ cup shredded coconut
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Add the finely shredded coconut, can of condensed milk and vanilla in a bowl and mix until well blended.
Take a heaping tablespoon (I used a 1 ½ tablespoon scoop) and shape into a ball. If your hands get sticky, just dip in a bowl of water, it makes the work less sticky.
Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until golden. (Time may vary based on your oven and the size of the coconut balls.)
Optional Decoration:
Melt 5 ounces of melting wafers in a small bowl. Place the almonds and/or the coconut flakes in separate bowls. Once the cookies have completely cooled, dip the top in chocolate and then dip in the coconut or chocolate. If you want to add just a little bit of the coconut or almonds, just sprinkle a few on top of the melted chocolate instead.
Place in the refrigerator until the chocolate is hardened.
These coconut balls are super easy to make! They take very little time and effort and are great for a holiday party table or holiday gifts.
Notes
Use a finely shredded unsweetened coconut. If you can’t find it, just pulse the coconut shreds in a food processor until it’s finely shredded.
Calories do not include the chocolate or the toppings.
Fried rice balls are not usually a Cuban thing, but they are a delicious Cuban appetizer when you make them with arroz con pollo. These are essentially arroz con pollo fritters, so it’s surprising that it’s not a Cuban thing because we make fritters from just about anything, and we have so many rice dishes.
I first got the idea to make these from Finka Table and Tap, a local restaurant serving Latin fusion food in Miami. They have these on their menu and I just loved them so much I couldn’t wait to try them at home. My mom tried these and loved them too, so they have the Cuban seal of approval.
These rice balls are a perfect way to turn leftover Cuban chicken and rice into great tapas. And I gotta say I so love a tapas party made with leftovers… like picadillo empanadas or ropa vieja sandwich and now these arroz con pollo fritters.
How To Make Rice Balls
My son tells me that these fried rice balls are an Italian appetizer known as arancini, made with leftover risotto. My Cuban arroz con pollo a la chorrera that I made a few days ago uses a short grain rice very similar to risotto. So I can use my arroz con pollo to make a similar rice ball. The sticky rice keeps its shape nicely. But the recipe won’t work as well with long grain rice.
Ingredients for the fried rice balls:
2 cups leftover Cuban arroz con pollo a la chorrera
¾ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup sifted all-purpose flour
1 cup panko break crumbs
2 eggs
Vegetable oil for frying
I took a ¼ cup of rice and shaped into a patty, added about a tablespoon of shredded cheese to the center and shaped into a tight ball. I tried making these with cubes of mozzarella, but the cheese didn’t melt enough when you cooked it. So, I used the shredded cheese. It can get a bit messy stuffing the balls with the shredded cheese, but it doesn’t have to be perfect. Just make a nice, tight rice ball and then freeze for about ten minutes so they’ll hold their shape while you’re frying.
Then take them out of the freezer, dredge them through flour, dip them in beaten eggs and coat with panko breadcrumbs. You can stick them in the freezer while you heat up the vegetable. Also, fry these on high heat, since they don’t need to be cooked through. This way, the rice balls don’t fall apart. I fried them for about two minutes per side on medium-high heat.
It’s that easy! I like to serve mine with a little siracha mayo. You can buy this ready-made or easily make your own with about a third-cup of mayo and a teaspoon of sriracha sauce. It’s a perfect sauce for these fried rice balls!
You can also make these fried rice balls with leftover paella rice or risotto. And you can stuff them with other types of cheese. Experiment with whatever you have on hand. Add a little wine and you’ve got a tapas night!
Try making my Cuban arroz con pollo or paella mixta first and then make the rice balls with the leftovers. Tell me how you like them!
I love cooking with leftovers because it can be fun finding creative ways to turn the week’s leftovers into party food. It’s like recycling… it’s good for us and good for the environment.
But I almost threw this rice away and missed my chance to make the fried rice balls. I had made a delicious arroz con pollo a few nights ago and had just a bit left, not enough for another night. So it was off to the trash. But then I remembered the arroz con pollo fritters I had at Finka Table & Tap and my leftover rice became this amazing appetizer.
The reason I share this story is because we tend to throw away things that can have a second life, and I’m not just talking about food. Sometimes it’s a part of ourselves or our past. But our past can be recycled. Even our pain can be put to good use in helping someone else. God has taught me that in His economy, nothing is wasted. So I’m always looking for ways to turn ashes into beauty… and leftovers into Cuban appetizers.
I encourage you to find ways to recycle and find the beauty even in used things.
Sriracha mayo (1/3 cup mayo with 1 teaspoon sriracha)
Instructions
Prep:
Pulse the panko breadcrumbs to make the crumbs just a bit smaller (or stick in a ziplock bag and crush for a bit)
Take 1/4 cup of rice and shape into a patty. Add 1 tablespoon shredded mozzarella to the center and shape into a tight ball.
Place rice balls in the freezer for ten minutes
Dredge the rice balls through flour, dip in beaten egg and coat in panko bread crumbs.
Stick the rice balls in the freezer while you heat the oil for frying
Cook:
Heat two cups vegetable oil for frying over medium heat
Test the oil by throwing in a bit of panko to see if it’s sizzling hot
Once it’s sizzling, add the rice balls a few at time so you don’t crowd them
Fry the rice balls for two minutes on each side
Drain on paper towels
Serve with sriracha mayo.
Nutrition
Serving Size:1 ball
Keywords: Rice Balls Recipe, How to make rice balls, fried rice balls, cuban chicken and rice, arroz con pollo, cuban arroz con pollo, stuffed rice balls, arancini rice balls
I’m so excited to share this Cuban chicken and rice dish with you because it’s my favorite Cuban dish! For years, I would ask Mami to make this for my birthday. There are two versions of Cuban chicken and rice you can make, and my favorite version is arroz con pollo a la chorrera, which means that the rice is wet, similar to risotto (chorrera can mean a water spout or drip).
The Long And Short Of Arroz Con Pollo
For years, we lived in a house divided. Half of my family liked their chicken and rice made with short-grain rice (a la chorrera), and the other half liked it with long grain rice. Everything else about the dish is essentially the same, but the rice makes all the difference in the finished product.
Arroz con pollo a la chorrera is made with short-grain rice called Valencia Rice which is very similar to the rice used in risotto. So, the dish is saucy, and the rice is soft and sticks together. And, if you’ve got leftovers, you can make these super tasty fried rice balls (they are amazeballs, trust me!).
But you can also make arroz con pollo with long grain rice, and it will be just as tasty, but the rice will not be saucy and quite as soft. In this case, you’ll cook with less liquid.
Cuban Chicken and Rice Is Almost Like Paella
Arroz con pollo is very similar to paella, especially if you make it with short-grain rice. These rice dishes use most of the same ingredients, except that paella includes a variety of meats and a liberal amount of wine. You can make paella with pork, chicken, and seafood. One of my favorite versions is paella mixta with chicken, shrimp, and chorizo.
Arroz con pollo is simpler to make because you just need chicken. The other big difference is that chicken and rice cooks in beer instead of wine. First, you cook the rice with chicken broth and just a little bit of wine. Then, add the beer when most of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is almost done. Beer gives this dish a distinctive taste.
How To Make Arroz Con Pollo
I like to make this rice dish with dark meat because it’s tastier this way. I’ve made it with chicken breast, and the breast meat tends to be dry. Also, it does not absorb the flavors quite as much. To make this rice very flavorful, you should use chicken and drumsticks with the bone and skin. It gives the dish such a rich taste!
But I made my version with skinless, boneless chicken thighs because it’s easier to eat. I don’t like having the bones in the way. It’s really up to your chicken preferences. However, if you opt for skinless and boneless chicken, you should use a little more olive oil and definitely use chicken broth. The broth is optional if you’re using bone-in chicken because the bone imparts so much flavor.
The other ingredients include aromatics such as onions, garlic, and bell peppers. Although traditionally made with chopped green bell peppers and garnished with pimentos (roasted red bell pepper), I make some mods to suit my peeps. My stepdad does not like peppers in his food so I keep the peppers chunky so he can remove them easily. Also, I don’t like green peppers so I usually replace them with red bell peppers. We all have our quirks! 😜
The spices in this dish are smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, and bay leaves. Another seasoning I like to use in my Cuban chicken and rice is saffron. This is an essential ingredient in paella, but totally optional in arroz con pollo. But I love the spice so much that I usually add it to rice and tomato-based dishes. However, this spice is pricey and sometimes hard to find. So you can opt not to use it.
Some folks marinate the chicken the day before. But I usually don’t because I don’t always plan my meals a day ahead, like today 😯. So I typically rub the spices into the chicken and let it sit while I prep the rest of the items. If you have the time to marinate, you can add the wine, salt, pepper, spices, and garlic the recipe calls for to the chicken and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. But don’t sweat it, it will be good either way.
Once you’ve sauteed all the veggies and added the spices, and tomato sauce, add the rice and sauté for a bit. Then add the white wine and the chicken broth. Cook for about twenty minutes, until the arroz con pollo is almost done, and most of the liquid is absorbed. Then, you’ll add a cup of beer and let it finish cooking. You can add some olives if you like, too.
Garnish your Cuban chicken and rice with peas, roasted peppers, and parsley and served with a side of fried plantains. I like to use the twice-fried green plantains known as tostones. Fried sweet plantains known as maduros are another popular Cuban side dish. Add a side salad, and you’ve got a Cuban feast going on!
Cuban chicken and rice (aka arroz con pollo) is flavored with paprika, beer and saffronaffiliate link and makes an easy weeknight meal.
Ingredients
Scale
2 cupsValencia rice
3 cupschicken broth
2 pounds chicken thighs (I used boneless, skinless, but any way is fine)
1 cup chopped onion
½red bell pepper (I prefer red but you can also use green bell pepper)
4garlic cloves
1 1/2 teaspoonsmoked paprika
1 teaspoonsalt
½ teaspooncumin
½ teaspoonoregano
1bay leaf
¼black pepper
Pinch saffronaffiliate link threads (optional but highly recommended)
1/4 cup olive oil
½ cuptomato sauce
More salt and pepper to taste
¼ cupwhite cooking wine
1 cupbeer
Instructions
Prep
Trim the chicken pieces to remove the excess fat. Mix the cumin, oregano, paprika, salt, and pepper together and rub on the chicken. Let the chicken sit while you chop the onions and peppers and crush the garlic. Finally, measure out and rinse the rice.
Cook
Add two tablespoons of olive oil to a large frying pan or dutch pot and heat on medium-high. Add the chicken pieces and brown on each side. Don’t crowd the pan; cook into two batches if necessary. This should take about 4-6 minutes.
Remove the chicken, add the onions, garlic, and peppers, and saute until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and saute for another minute. Add the rice and saute for 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth, bay leaf, and saffronaffiliate link threads. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. At this point, you may want to add a little more of the spices or salt to taste. Add the chicken and turn up the heat to bring to a boil. Once it’s boiling, lower heat to medium-low and cover. Cook until the liquid is mostly absorbed and the rice is al dente. Then add a cup of beer, cover, and cook for a few more minutes until the rice is done and most of the liquid is absorbed. This could take 5-10 minutes. This is not an exact science, so check on it to make sure it does not overcook.
Garnish with peas and pimentos and serve the fried plantains and a side salad. Then, get a little cake, and you’ve got my birthday meal all set!
Notes
You can marinate the chicken overnight using the spices, crushed garlic cloves, and wine. In that case, still use the 2 garlic cloves and the 1/4 cup white wine in your preparation. You may also want to add more spices once you add the broth and taste the seasonings. I don’t usually marinate my chicken, but some folks do it this way.
To be totally honest, this dish tastes even better when you use the bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and drumsticks. But I don’t like picking through the bones, it’s a personally hang-up, so I opt for boneless and skinless. I don’t suggest chicken breast because it tends to be dry and doesn’t absorb as much flavor. However, if you go with the skinless and boneless chicken, make sure to add chicken broth.
To make this dish with long grain rice, cut the broth down to two cups (so it’s a one-to-one ratio). Then cut the beer amount to ½ cup and cook it until the liquid is fully absorbed.
Keywords: Cuban Chicken and Rice, Cuban Arroz Con Pollo, chicken and rice, chicken and rice recipes, cuban yellow rice and chicken, how to make arroz con pollo, cuban arroz con pollo
Pumpkin flan combines the creamy, lusciousness of caramel flan with the earthy goodness of pumpkin for the perfect fall dessert. This flan is super easy to make and looks very impressive, especially if you add a little caramel decoration to it. I also found some super cute chocolate pumpkins for a little extra drama.
While our love affair with pumpkins has deepened in recent years, especially with the advent of the pumpkin spice latte, Cubans have been making this pumpkin flan since way before PSL was even a thing. I remember my mom making this flan when I was eight, and I loved it way back then. It’s so creamy and pumpkiny, you’re tastebuds will thank me!
Fresh Pumpkin Mash
I tried different combinations of ingredients, and in the end, I settled on Mami’s version, which uses a caramel flan recipe with one and half cups of fresh pumpkin mash. I like this version best because the end result is a Cuban dessert that is luscious, creamy, and beautiful to look at.
Caramel flan is super easy to make and has just five ingredients that turn out a spectacular Cuban dessert with a decadent caramel sauce. The ingredients include sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, vanilla and eggs. This pumpkin flan also has caramel sauce AND a great pumpkin flavor.
Although fresh pumpkin adds a bit of work to the process, I liked it better than using canned pumpkin because it gives the flan a silky, light flavor and beautifully creamy color.
If you want to save a little time, you can use the canned pumpkin. Your flan will have a deeper color and a more robust pumpkin pie flavor, especially if you add a teaspoon of cinnamon to the mix. But I gotta tell you I didn’t like this as much. The flan came out too dark and too much like pumpkin pie. I wanted it to taste more like flan.
Pumpkin Flan With Canned Pumpkin
Pumpkin Flan Is Not Like Pumpkin Pie
I feel like I have to say this right off the bat because I struggled with this issue. To be honest, I hadn’t had pumpkin flan in years. I’d never made it myself, and Mami (aka Beantrain) hadn’t made it in quite a while, although I’d been pestering her for one.
So, the pumpkin dessert my tastebuds were familiar with was pumpkin pie, which has a deep, rich, and spicy pumpkin flavor. I expected that flavor with a little extra lusciousness thrown in, but it was not like that. Flan has a more delicate taste and color.
Pumpkin Flan Made With Fresh Pumpkin
At first, I wanted my flan to have a more robust pumpkin flavor laced with pumpkin spice. But I changed my mind after trying different variations. I found out that the closer I moved to the pumpkin pie flavor, the less it looked and tasted like flan. The color was much darker and the texture was not as smooth and creamy. So, I’m gonna let flan be flan and not put it through an identity crisis.
How To Make Pumpkin Flan
Flan is baked in a water bath known as the Bain Marie method. You place the flan in a roasting pan and fill the roasting pan with water. You can also make the flan in a pressure cooker or Instant Pot using a special flan mold. You still have to add the water, but it’s a bit quicker and easier than baking. However, I couldn’t do this with the pumpkin flan.
The reason for this is that the pumpkin adds more volume to the recipe, so the mix is too much for the flan mold (the molds have to be small enough to fit inside the pressure cooker). I tried anyway. I filled the mold to the top, put on the lid, and set it in the pressure cooker. The flan didn’t have enough room to cook and spilled out and became a watery mess. However Mami’s flan mold is a little bigger the oven.
This way, you can use any mold you like. You can use the flan mold, a cake pan, a pie plate or ramekins. I did not make mine in ramekins, but if you go this route, you’ll likely need 12 ramekins. Also, keep in mind that different mold sizes could impact the cooking time.
Caramel Decorations
This pumpkin flan has a delicious caramel sauce that’s just cooked sugar. As you heat up the sugar, it forms a thick syrup that quickly hardens. This caramel sauce is used to coat the flan mold before you add the flan mix. As the flan bakes, some of the caramel dissolves and becomes a fantastic caramel sauce. This is what makes flan so amazing!
I use about a cup of sugar for the pumpkin flan. But you can use a little extra sugar and create some decorative swirls with the hardening caramel that you can use as decoration. I even made a little basket to hold my chocolate pumpkins!
Looking to make a different pumpkin dessert for Thanksgiving? Give this pumpkin flan a try! Also, when you’re not in the pumpkin mode (is that even possible?) try my caramel flan, it’s the #1 Cuban dessert 🥰🍮
Pumpkin flan combines the creamy, lusciousness of caramel flan with fresh pumpkin for the perfect fall dessert!
Ingredients
Scale
1 pound fresh pumpkin to make 1 1/2 cups pumpkin mash ** See note
1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 ounces)
1 can evaporated milk (12 ounces)
5 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
1 cup sugar
Instructions
Make the Pumpkin Mash:
If you’re using fresh pumpkin, peel and cut the pumpkin into one-inch chunks. The pumpkin skin is hard to peel, but it’s easier to peel if you cut the pumpkin into strips first. Boil until fork tender and mash, about 15 minutes.
Make the caramel: While the pumpkin is cooking, prepare the caramel.
Place 1 cup of sugar in a medium saucepan on medium high heat. Cook until sugar melts and has a deep amber color. You can swirl the pan to help the sugar dissolve, but don’t stir it. This should take about 12-14 minutes.
Pour the caramel into the flan mold and swirl the mold a bit to get it up the sides a little. You need to work fast because the caramel hardens quickly, BUT be very careful not to spill the caramel or to touch the pie plate or cake pan where the caramel will be because it will burn you. I cannot stress this enough. USE MITTENS, THE CARAMEL IS VERY HOT AND CAN BURN YOU.
If you want to make some caramel decorations, you can heat up 1 1/2 cups of sugar and reserve some of the caramel to make decorations. In that case, pour about 2/3 of caramel in the flan mold. Then use a metal spoon to spoon out some of the caramel into a parchment to create different shapes. You can also pour it over an inverted, greased bowl to create a basket like the one I made. The shapes don’t have to be perfect, they will look great either way!
You can use different molds for the flan. I used a small, round flan mold. But you can use a pie plate, a regular cake pan or ramekinsaffiliate link. The size of the mold will impact the baking time.
Make sure to use a metal spoon for the caramel because the caramel is so hot it will melt a plastic spoon (caramel is serious business!).
Preheat: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Mix: Pour 1 1/2 cups mashed pumpkin, the cans of evaporated and sweetened condensed milk into a blender. Add the five eggs, a teaspoon of vanilla and a pinch of salt. Blend on low for about 30 seconds.
Strain:
You need to strain the mix to make sure no eggshell or solids end up in your flan. The easier way to do this is to hold a strainer over the flan container and pour the mix over the strainer.
Bain-marie:
Your flan container will cook in a water bath. Place your flan container (ramekins, pie plate or cake pan) in a large roasting pan with deep sides and fill the roasting pan with enough water to go halfway up the side of the container.
For the ramekins, bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes. You want the edges to be set and the middle to jiggle just a bit. The top should be a pale gold.
For the pie plate or cake pan, cook for about 1 hour or until the edges are set and the middle jiggles just a bit.
The flan mold I used cooked for about 1 hour and 20 minutes, so you need to check it as it cooks.
Chill: Remove the flan from the water bath and let it come to room temperature. Then chill it in the refrigerator overnight. To serve, run a paring knife around the edge to loosen and then invert in a cake plate.
Notes
You really need about 13 ounces of pumpkin but the skin adds a bit of weight so you need to buy about a pound of pumpkin.
If you don’t want to make the fresh pumpkin mash, you can use canned pumpkin. Keep in mind that canned pumpkins will make the flan darker in color and the taste will be a bit more like pumpkin pie.
The pan and the flan moldaffiliate link will end up with hard caramel stuck to it. To clean it, just soak the pan and the sugar will dissolve. Then it’s a breeze to clean.
Have you ever tried pumpkin rice? It’s so good and very much a Cuban thing. Cubans love to cook with pumpkins. We add them to our beans and soups. We turn them into pumpkin fritters and make pumpkin flan and custards with them. We’ve always been big into pumpkins and not just for fall.
And, of course, we add them to rice because Cubans can turn just about anything into a rice dish! It’s great comfort food 😍🍲
Pumpkin Rice Recipe Ingredients
The base of this pumpkin rice dish (arroz con calabaza) is a basic Cuban yellow rice recipe. For Cubans, yellow rice is a canvas you can use for any combination of ingredients you have on hand. So it’s actually a great way to clean out your fridge! But for this recipe, the star ingredient is pumpkin. I also included Spanish chorizo, ham, and salt pork (tocino) with the pumpkins. But you can use less meat and more veggies if you like because this yellow rice is pretty fast and loose!
I love the mix of the salty cured meats and the Cuban spices with the slightly sweet taste of the pumpkin. It’s a fantastic one-dish meal! Not all pumpkin rice dishes use chorizo or ham, but I love it this way. I also added some saffron threads, which is not usual, but it gives tomato-based dishes such a great flavor boost.
A really important note here: A critical step in this dish is adding the pumpkin towards the end of the cooking time so it doesn’t fall apart in the rice. I like to have a lot of chunky pumpkin pieces in my rice!
Cuban Yellow Rice Dishes Are So Versatile!
Rice or arroz is ubiquitous in Cuban cooking. Almost every dish is served with rice… either white, yellow, or a mix of rice and beans called congri. Of course, we’ve got a lot of ways to make yellow rice too! But all versions include onions, bell pepper, garlic, and Cuban spices such as cumin, oregano, and paprika. Some folks like to use the seasoning packets and Bijol (yellow food coloring), but I don’t use a lot of packaged stuff. I just use paprika for color.
The basic recipe uses a sofrito (sauteed onions, bell peppers, and garlic), tomato sauce, cumin, oregano, paprika, and then you can add other ingredients from there. If you’re adding meats, you should brown it first and set it aside to make the sofrito and add the other ingredients. We also sauté the rice for a minute or so before we add the liquid and the veggies. While you can use water, it’s best if you use broth. You can use chicken, vegetable, seafood broth, depending on what type of rice you’re making.
More Cuban Yellow Rice Dishes
Start with your basic sofrito, tomato sauce, spices, rice and broth and vary the add-ins. Soon I’ll be adding some of these recipes to the blog. If you’re really interested in one of these recipes, let me know and I’ll make it even sooner!
Arroz Con Calabaza– pumpkin rice can also include a variety of cured meats such as ham, chorizo, and salt pork. (Done!😉)
Arroz Con Pollo– yellow rice with chicken. You can use regular long grain rice or Valencia rice which is more like a risotto.
Arroz Con Salsicha – yellow rice with Vienna sausages… I know it does not sound that appealing, but it’s comfort food if you were raised eating it. In fact, my foodie son still loves this dish (don’t tell him I said that, though!).
Arroz Con Vegetales – yellow rice with vegetables. This dish is usually made with frozen mixed vegetables (corn, carrots, and green beans). You can add some ham or pork with the veggies too. If you’re using pork, make sure to brown it first.
Paella – these yellow rice dishes are from Spain and can be made with a combination of seafood, meats or both. All kinds of ways. I’ve got a paella mixta recipe made with shrimp, chicken, and chorizo that’s so delicious and easy to make. (Done! 😉)
Arroz Con Maiz – yellow rice with corn, my kids used to love this one!
Arroz Con Camaroncitos Secos – yellow rice with dry, salted baby shrimp. This ingredient is found in Chinese markets, but Cubans use it too.
I hope you enjoy making this pumpkin rice dish that’s perfect for fall or anytime, really! Let me know how you like it.
Chop the onions and peppers and crush the garlic. Measure out the spices so you can just add them to the sauté at the right time. You don’t have to do this, but I find it makes the process easier.
Cut the salt pork into half-inch pieces. Cut the ham into one-inch cubes. Slice the chorizo links into half-inch rounds.
Peel and cut the pumpkin into one-inch cubes.
Cook
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. Saute the salt pork for about 3 minutes until it begins to brown. Add the ham and cook for another two minutes. Add the onions, peppers and garlic and cook for three minutes. Add the chorizo and cook for two minutes.
Add the rinsed rice and sauté for two minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the spices and the broth and adjust salt if needed. Then bring to a boil and cover. Let it cook for about 15-20 minutes and then add the pumpkin just as the water is mostly absorbed. Cook for another 10 minutes or until the pumpkin is fork-tender.
Notes
Sometimes the rice may take a bit more water and cooking time, depending on the rice you use. In that case, just add a bit of water and let it cook for a little longer. I usually add a quarter cup of water at a time and let it cook for another 5-10 minutes.
