After eating the overdone puerquitos from Super Tacos & Bakery, I thought I might have better luck baking my own with this recipe. Not so much. First things first, the picture above is what puerquitos should look like: fluffy, cakey pigs. (Although the frosting is a bit of an aberration.) Below, what my puerquitos looked like.

Flat as a pancake. My dough didn’t rise, which probably had something to do with my application of baking soda. The recipe called for the baking soda to be applied to the molasses separately, and instead I just tossed it in with the rest of the batter. Also, despite letting the dough chill overnight, I wasn’t able to roll it out for a cookie cutter (I was planning to use a star in lieu of a pig).

Another, more essential problem with my puerquitos was the taste. The recipe called for a tablespoon of espresso powder, which completely dominated the flavor. Not in a bad way, necessarily, but it just was distinctly un-puerquito-like.

I’m anticipating better results my next go-round in the kitchen—I’m planning to try this recipe next, and it doesn’t involve espresso.