My husband has been talking about these “snacks” since … forever. He finally found me a recipe for the Criollitos here (beware, the link is in Spanish) and so I decided to make them. I didn’t like the ones I tried while I was in Argentina, but these ones were tweaked a bit for my taste. They’re freaking delicious.
FOR THE DOUGH
3 tsp dry active yeast (The original recipe called for 25 g of fresh yeast.)
300 ml warm water
1 teaspoon malt extract or sugar
500 g all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt (The recipe called for 15 grams of salt (half teaspoon). This was WAY too little. Next time I’m going to add 2tsp of salt)
For filling
160 grams of room temperature but not super soft butter
(I made this recipe on a day that was 35C outside and the butter hated me. I had to refrigerate it until it was pliable but neither hard nor soft)
50 g of all purpose flour
1.5 cups grated parmesean cheese
Instructions
1. Dissolve yeast in warm water and sugar.
2. While you’re waiting for the yeast mixture to froth, mix all of the filling ingredients together in a separate bowl.
2. When the yeast is bubbly (around 3-5 min depending on the temperature of your house), pour it into a stand up mixer. You can do all of this in a mixing bowl and mix everything by hand. I’m too lazy to knead my own dough.
Then add the flour and salt and mix until the dough is combined into a soft mass. Knead the dough for about 3 minutes, or until it feels cohesive, but not sticky.
3. Cover with plastic wrap and rest in the refrigerator for 40 minutes.
4. Roll dough into a 1 inch thick rectangle.
5. Place the filling on half of the rectangle and leave a 1 inch boarder around the edges. Fold the dough in half so the filling in sandwiched between the two layers. Roll the dough to 1/2 inch, then refrigerate for 1/2 hr.
6. Take out the mass and fold into 3 sections ( like how you would fold a letter or a bath towel), roll to 1/2 inch. If the mass is too soft (as it was for me in the 35C weather), stick it back in the fridge for a 1/2 hr. Otherwise, fold it in 3 again, and roll it out again. It is these steps which are creating the layers. Stick it in the fridge for a 1/2 hr.
7. Take the mass out of the fridge and fold it into 3 sections again. Roll it to a 1/2 inch and then fork it all over. Then cut out the shapes you want, and let rest to rise for about 1 hr or until the Criollitos are about double their height. YES, that’s right!! You won’t have to stick it in the damn fridge but you have to let it sit out for an hour! Do not skip this step.
Waiting to be cut up.
These haven’t risen yet.
I got bored with squares, rectangles and triangles 🙂
8. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 min.
You tired yet? It took me the whole afternoon to make these damn things, but they were worth it. I’m going to make them again next month 🙂 The recipe makes a lot of Criollitos so I stuck a whole bunch in the freezer and we snacked on the rest. You can take them out the freezer and stick them in a 400 degree oven until they’re warm and crispy, about 5 min. I think. I haven’t tried it yet. When I do, I’ll edit this section. Enjoy!
You can have your cake and eat TEA too! 
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