• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
That Recipe
  • Recipes
  • Members
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Members
  • Subscribe
  • follow the fun

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • Members
    • Subscribe
  • follow the fun

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • Γ—
    • Frosted pecan blondies on a plate
      Frosted Maple Pecan Blondies: Simple Indulgent Dessert Bars
    • green sauce in a jar
      Chermoula Deliciously Easy African Green Sauce
    • almond ricotta pie topped with strawberry sauce
      Almond Ricotta Pie: Rich Creamy Italian Dessert
    • close up of a bowl of chili with beans. topped with cheese.
      Wendy's Chili Copycat: Meaty Two Bean Chili
    • shrimp and white beans on a plate
      Discover the Deliciousness of Shrimp Oreganata
    • top down view of shrimp spinach frittata topped with avocado
      Shrimp and Spinach Frittata Easy One Pan Meal
    • chicken and broccoli stir fry
      Easy Healthy Chicken and Broccoli Skillet
    • bowl of cocktail wieners in sauce
      Sweet and Spicy Cocktail Wieners
    • Welsh cakes (cookies) on a plate
      Welsh Cakes A Unique and Easy Dessert!
    • eggnog biscotti and a cup of coffee
      Eggnog Biscotti: Crunchy Holiday Treat
    • Southern Tea Cakes on a plate
      Southern Tea Cakes: Tender Tangy Treats
    • collage of no bake treats
      No Bake Recipes to sell at Bake Sales
    Home Β» Recipes Β» Cookies

    This site contains affiliate links to various websites, including Amazon.com. read more

    Tortitas de Santa Clara Mexican Pepita Glazed Cookies

    Published: Apr 28, 2024 Β· Modified: Jul 11, 2024 by Audrey Β· This post may contain affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Tortitas de Santa Clara are delightful Mexican cookies featuring a velvety cookie with a pumpkin seed glaze.

    Are you looking for a traditional Mexican dessert that is not only delicious but also holds a special significance in Mexican culture? Allow me to introduce you to Tortitas de Santa Clara, delicate velvety cookies with a crunchy pepita glaze.

    These delicate cookies, originally created by nuns in the 16th century, are a symbol of love, tradition, and mouth-watering flavor.

    Read on to learn more about these treats.

    Cookies with a light green glaze on a plate with text overlay Tortitas de Santa Clara

    I have no idea why these are called tortitas (meaning pancakes) instead of galletas (meaning cookies). I do know the name comes from the Convento de Santa Clara in Puebla, Mexico where the cookies were originally baked.

    Don't be intimidated by the long instructions. They aren't hard to make, I just thought more detail was better here and I think more white space makes it easier to read than a blob of text.

    Cinco de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day

    Mexican Independence Day is September 16. Cinco de Mayo is actually the celebration of Mexico's victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. It isn't as big of a deal in Mexico as we make it out to be in the United States (kind of like St. Patrick's Day in Ireland, but that's a rant for another day).

    These cookies originated in Puebla, so I think they will be the perfect treat to top off your meal on May 5th or anytime you want a traditional Mexican cookie.

    Ingredients for Tortitas de Santa Clara

    Other than the raw pepitas, all of the ingredients are basic baking ingredients:

    • all purpose flour
    • powdered and granulated sugars
    • baking powder and baking soda
    • butter and milk
    • egg yolks (save the whites for another recipe)

    The egg yolks help create the velvet like texture of the cookie and the golden color. If you don't want to separate the eggs you can use two whole eggs instead.

    Preparing the Pepitas for Tortitas de Santa Clara

    The glaze on these cookies should be white. Getting every bit of green skin off of the pepitas (pumpkin seeds) is a bit tedious, to say the least.

    You need to soak them overnight, and then slough off the skin until you are left with nothing but white seeds. Despite my best effort there was still a faint green hue to mine.

    One recipe suggested swapping blanched almonds to achieve a light golden color. But, I'd rather have the pepita taste than another almond cookie.

    More Cinco de Mayo Recipes from #OurFamilyTable

    Our family table logo

    Celebrate Cinco de Mayo or any day with these delicioso recipes from some of my favorite bloggers.

    Celebrating Cinco de Mayo

    • Black Bean & Corn Salsa from Art of Natural Living
    • Blackstone Mexican Street Corn from Jen Around the World
    • Mangonada Float from Pandemonium Noshery
    • Pork Tacos with Jalapeno and Pineapple Slaw from Hezzi-D's Recipe Box
    • Skillet Mexican Beef and Rice from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
    • Taco Casa Burrito Boats (Retro Copycat) from Palatable Pastime


    We share Recipes From Our Dinner Table! Join our group and share your recipes, too! While you're at it, join our Pinterest board, too!

    Cookies with a light green glaze on a plate with text overlay Tortitas de Santa Clara

    Recipe

    Print Recipe Pin Recipe

    Ingredients
     

    • 3 cups raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
    • Β½ teaspoon baking soda
    • Β½ cup salted butter (room temperature)
    • 1 cup powdered sugar
    • ΒΌ teaspoon baking powder
    • 3 cups all-purpose flour
    • 3 large egg yolks
    • 2 cups sugar
    • ΒΌ-Β½ cup whole milk

    Instructions
     

    • The day before baking the cookies, Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Add the pepita seeds. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, add baking soda and let sit overnight.
    • Rub the pepita seeds between your hands to remove the green skins. Drain the water from the pan while keeping the seeds in the bottom of the pot. Add more water and rub them again. Drain completely and place on a clean towel to dry.
    • In a mixing bowl beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, 2-3 minutes. Gradually add powdered sugar and the baking powder beat on low speed until incorporated scraping the bowl as needed, about 2 minutes.
    • Add the flour 1 cup at a time beating on medium until incorporated. Add egg yolks one at a time beating after each until it is incorporated. Add Β½ cup warm water and beat until dough is smooth and can be formed into a ball. Wrap dough in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes.
    • Preheat oven to 375℉. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon baking mats.
    • Place half the dough between two sheets of waxed paper or parchment paper and roll out until ΒΌ inch thick. Using a 3 inch circle cookie cutter (or a glass) cut out the cookies and transfer to the baking sheet, about Β½ inch apart.
    • Use a smaller circle cutter to make a slight indentation in the middle of each cookie. Press the tines of a from the inner circle out around each cookie.
    • Bake the cookies at 375℉ until golden brown around the edges, 13 to 15 minutes. Cool on the sheets on wire racks.
    • While the cookies are baking puree the dried pepitas in a food processor until they become a soft, smooth paste, about 5 minutes.
    • In a large saucepan combine granulated sugar mixed with ΒΌ cup water and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until the mixture is a light syrup, about 8 minutes. Stir in the pepita paste and cook for 3-4 minutes until the mixture is thick and shiny.
      Remove from the heat and stir in ΒΌ cup milk to make the mixture a bit more liquid.
    • Put a tablespoon of the pepita glaze in the center of one cookie. The glaze should spread to the inner circle and stop. If it doesn't spread on it's own add the remaining milk.
      Repeat with remaining cookies. Let stand until the tops of the filling are dry to the touch

    Sound fabulous? Share it!

    more sweet Mexican recipes

    sopaipillas on a plate with cinnamon sugar and honey
    Sopaipillas
    glass of iced horchata with text overlay "dairy free horchata"
    Dairy Free Horchata

    Until next time, happy eating!
    ~Audrey

    More Cookies

    • peanut butter dream bars stacked on a plate
      Peanut Butter Dream Bars: Copycat Mrs. Field's Recipe
    • Lemon cranberry cookies on a plate (English Easter biscuits)
      English Easter Biscuits Sunny Lemon Cranberry Cookies
    • honey lace cookies on a plate
      Honey Lace Cookies: Crispy Golden Cookies
    • stack of mint chip candy cane cookies
      Mix in a Jar: Mint Chip Candy Cane Cookies

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Christie

      May 04, 2024 at 4:28 pm

      I am so intrigued by that pepita glaze! It looks so yummy on top of those pretty cookies.

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    audrey humaciu in kitchen

    Welcome, I'm Audrey, an avid "maker" that believes home made is better.

    Whether it's cooking, crafting, gardening, home dΓ©cor, even blog design, I love getting my hands dirty and trying new things... even if I make a mess in the process.

    learn more -->

    Spring Favorites

    • glasses of lemon blueberry punch with text overlay "sparkling lemon blueberry mocktail"
    • bowl of carrot soup
    • strawberry spinach salad in a bowl
    • square cake topped with fresh strawberries and fresh lavender blossoms

    See more Spring Recipes β†’

    Member Only Content

    Get access to members only content for FREE!

    collage of recipe guides

    Join today

    * indicates required

    /* real people should not fill this in and expect good things - do not remove this or risk form bot signups */

    Intuit Mailchimp

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy/Disclosures
    • Cookie Notice
    • Copyright Notice

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Work with me

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright Β© 2025 ThatRecipe

    Manage Cookie Consent
    We use cookies to optimize our website and our service.
    Functional Always active
    The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
    Preferences
    The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
    Statistics
    The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
    Marketing
    The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
    Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
    Preferences
    {title} {title} {title}