Sopaipillas

Going out for Mexican food is one of the best things about living here, in this funky old town that never changes fast.
Bet you didn't know that a city of close to a million could exist in the US without having a Williams Sonoma, or a Pottery Barn, a Whole Foods, or even a Trader Joe's anywhere near it, didjya?  "Keep El Paso Backward," as the man says.
But, boy-howdy,  do we have our Mexican restaurants!  And we love them.  
And of course, we have our own little whang on Mexican food; it's kinda New Mexico, kinda Northern Mexico, kinda Tex-Mex.  But it's all good.  And we have sopaipillas.

The correct pronunciation by gringos is something spanish-speakers have given up on completely.  You used to hear the waitress politely but pointedly saying "so-piy-piyas" but hardly ever, now.   And you can forget all about Ruidoso EVER being said right.

But even if we don't say it right, we do love sopaipillas and honey.  And they are easy to make.  Yes, I said easy.  All you need is some ready-made flour tortilla mix, some baking powder, and some water.  Oh, and some oil to fry them in.  That's all.

First mix a teaspoon of baking powder in with a cup of tortilla mix.  Use a whisk, and get it  mixed up good.

Then add 1/2 cup of hot water, plus 2T. more.  Mix this up and the dough should look like this, reminiscent of play-doh.

Let it rest. Rest, little dough ball.

Then roll it out as thin as you can.  That should be about 1/8 of an inch.

Cut it into large triangles.  It's important that they be large, if you want inflation to be successful.
Let it rest a little more.  You can do this while you heat up your oil.  I used canola this time.

Get it hot.  Really hot.  Bubbling hot.

Then put your triangles in, one at a time.  They should blow up like little pillows.  Little, fried, greasy, delicious, pillows.

Take them out and let them rest again, this time on a sheet of brown paper. (or several)

Whether you dredge them in sugar and cinnamon is up to you.  I find that to be overkill.

Serve them with honey, and the idea is to make a little hole, pour the honey into the hole, and turn it around until the insides are coated.  Then eat.

Yes!  Exactly what you needed after the tostadas, chile con queso, enchiladas, refried beans and sopa de arroz.