If you decided to make the recipe below please note you’ll have a lot of cookies. This recipe is below is for 12 dozen cookies, and that’s no mistake folks, we wanted to continue that tradition of sharing, just as us New Mexicans do. Let us know how you and your friends and family enjoyed the biscochitos.

Ingredients
-6 cups all-purpose flour
-1 tablespoon baking powder
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-2 cups lard
-1 ½ cups white sugar
-2 teaspoons anise seed
-2 eggs
-1/4 cup brandy
-1/4 cup white sugar
-1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl, and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the lard and 1 1/2 cups sugar until smooth. Mix in the anise seed, and beat until fluffy. Stir in the eggs one at a time. Add the sifted ingredients and brandy, and stir until well blended.

3. On a floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/2 or 1/4 inch thickness, and cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters. The traditional is fleur-de-lis. Place cookies onto baking sheets. Mix together the 1/4 cup of sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over the tops of the cookies.

4. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the bottoms are lightly browned

A fan and staff favorite around here is our Pumpkin Cheesecake Puff Pastry and Chef Andrew was kind enough to share the recipe. So if you’re looking for a last minute dessert to make for your holiday celebrations, this is a yummy twist in case your pumpkin pie is getting a little tiresome.

The following makes 16 Pumpkin Cheesecake Puff Pastries.

Combine the following in a small bowl:
• 2/3 cup of packed brown sugar
• ¾ tsp of cinnamon
• ¼ tsp of clove
• ¼ tsp of nutmeg
• 2 – 8oz packages of cream cheese (at room temperature)
Beat all together until smooth (5 min). Then, beat the following in one at a time:
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large yolk
Add and beat in until combined
• 1 can of pumpkin

Click here for a quick recipe for puff pastry. Once you’ve got that all set: roll out 2 sheets of puff pastry. Cut each sheet into 8 squares, press each square into an oiled cupcake tin. Put about 4oz of cheesecake mix in each puff pastry. Bake at 375 until puffed and golden brown (approximately 20 min). Most importantly, share and enjoy!

Let us know if you decided to make these, and how they came out. Until next week.

Our mezzanine has been transformed into a local artist’s gallery that has art from corner to corner. Be sure to save a little time next time you’re in to walk through and enjoy these pieces by an array of local artists.

In addition to our mezzanine being transformed, “Art in Action” allows the community to have a behind-the-scenes look at local artists creating their art in the lobby of Hotel Andaluz each month. Eliza Schmid will be featured on Nov. 13^th and J. Waid Griffin, also a painter, will be featured the following evening. Both shows will run from 5 – 8 p.m. Hotel Andaluz will donate a percentage of sales that occur during “Art in Action” to Harwood Art Center, a community outreach program of Escuela del Sol, an independent, non-profit Montessori school founded in 1968. harwoodartcenter.org

“Hotel Andaluz has always had a focus on local artists, which is evident in our mezzanine gallery,” said Howard Jacobs, General Manager of Hotel Andaluz. “This program takes it a step further and our ongoing partnerships with local organizations will give our guests a taste of Albuquerque’s thriving arts scene.” We are really excited about this new partnership and want to invite the community and guests to come experience this with us. Hope to see you on November 13 & 14!

Started by local artist Will Shuster in 1924, and continued today by the Santa Fe Kiwanis Club, it’s a spectacle not to be missed. As dusk descends, Zozobra is condemned by the crowd to a fiery fate. A Fire Dancer, along with 2-3 dozen children, “Glooms,” dressed in white sheets, take the stage at Zozobra’s feet. The Glooms dance and beg for Zozobra’s release, but are chased away by the Spirit Fire Dancer. Several Fire Dancers perform a riveting ritual as the Spirit Dancer teases flames closer and closer to the doomed behemoth. After much fanfare, Old Man Gloom is at last ignited. His robes ablaze, he comes alive, moaning and wailing and waving his arms, while fireworks light the sky. After a cathartic burn, he collapses in a charred heap, signaling the start of Fiestas de Santa Fe.

2012 marks the 88th annual celebration of Zozobra. For the people of Santa Fe, and pilgrims from across the state and country, it’s a chance to literally and figuratively burn the past and begin new. Come see Zozobra for yourself, and leave your cares aflame in The City Different.

Photo by Kelli R. Abeyta

First sold in 1969, the hotel was known as The Plaza throughout the 70’s, became La Posada in the 1980’s, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

In 2005, the property was sold to Albuquerque businessman Gary Goodman for $4 million, and underwent a $30 million green renovation, taking care to preserve its historic character and cultural significance. It opened as Hotel Andaluz 2009 as the only LEED certified hotel in the state and one of only two historic LEED certified Hotels in the entire country.

At Hotel Andaluz, we take pride in our vivid history, while forging a sustainable, eco-friendly future. Visit us to experience the very best of yesterday and today.

At Hotel Andaluz, we take our environmental sustainability mission very seriously and strive to maintain our eco-friendly reputation. Some of the many things that make us so green include solar thermal panels that heat approximately 60% of our hot water, sensors in every guestroom that shut off electricity when guests depart, fluorescent and LED lighting, dual flush toilets, a rainwater collection system that feeds our plants and trees, recycling, composting, and much more.  Come pay us a visit and see for yourself how beautiful green can be!

Guests can choose from a variety of guided or self-guided tours, including winery and geocaching tours. Advanced cyclists have the option to customize tours to include more challenging mountain biking trails with steep inclines and unique high desert terrain. Routes Rentals & Tours will meet guests at the hotel to either drop off bikes or depart for their guided tour. Tours can also be designed for corporate outings, social gatherings and weddings.

Beginning August 13, guests can simply click on the book now button on the Andaluz web site and enter the promotion code BIKE. Packages begin at $139.