Sopapillas

Directions

1. 1
   Sift the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
2. 2
   Add the shortening and water, work them in with your hands to make a soft, pliable dough.
3. 3
   Add more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, if the dough feels too dry.
4. 4
   Gather the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap.
5. 5
   Put the dough in the refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour so it will firm up a bit and be easier to roll and cut.
6. 6
   (Dough can be prepared 1 day ahead, refrigerated.
7. 7
   ).
8. 8
   Unwrap the ball of dough and put on a lightly floured surface, cut in half.
9. 9
   With a floured rolling pin, roll each piece of dough into a circle, about 1/4-inch thickness.
10. 10
    Using a paring knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into triangles as you would a pizza.
11. 11
    You should end up with 6 or 8 triangles per circle.
12. 12
    Heat 2-inches of oil to 375 in a heavy skillet or deep pot over medium-high heat.
13. 13
    (Reduce the temperature to 350 if you prefer a less crispy sopapilla.
14. 14
    ).
15. 15
    Fry a few of the sopapillas at a time, keeping an eye on maintaining the oil temperature.
16. 16
    As the sopapillas puff up and rise to the surface, flip them over with a slotted spoon, skimmer, or chopsticks; about 2 minutes on each side.
17. 17
    Carefully remove the sopapillas from the oil and drain on several layers of paper towels or a brown paper bag.
18. 18
    Cool slightly.
19. 19
    Serve hot with cinnamon sugar or honey.
20. 20
    Serving Option: If desired, let sopapillas cool, then pipe whipped cream in the center of each sopapilla triangle, and use a spoon to drizzle a bit of strawberry sauce over the whipped cream.