Maria Cookies Flan

You will only want more of this Maria cookies flan! It has a denser texture than a conventional flan and the peculiar flavor and aroma of the cookies. Indulge for a day, try a piece of this flan and dream awake with its deliciousness! If you like dessert recipes, on this website we will guide you step-by-step through this delightful flan.

The curious history of Maria cookies

Since the beginning of the 20th century, Maria cookies were almost the only ones you could find in Spain. They have been companions of breakfasts and snacks of several generations and at that time there were no other cookies like Oreo. Maria cookies began to be manufactured in 1923 thanks to the Eugenio Fontaneda company. In the 50s and for decades Fontaneda was the main cookie company in Spain with a market of millions of consumers.

Where does the name of this best-selling cookie come from? The name was not invented in Spain, but in London and centuries ago, in the 19th, the Fontaneda company used the translation of another cookie that was already being made in England called ‘Marie biscuit’. This specialty was created in 1874 by pastry masters George Hender and James Peek, on the occasion of a royal wedding, that of Alfred of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Duke of Edinburgh and Maria of Hesse Darmstadt. In honor of the princess, they named the cookie ‘Maria’.

 

How to make the recipe Maria Cookies Flan

1. Prepare a saucepan and add the milk, the piece of orange peel (without white part), the vanilla essence, and the cinnamon. These two ingredients will help to flavor the milk. Bring it to a boil and then turn off the heat and let it settle for about 15 minutes.
2. Filter the milk using a strainer, to avoid bits of cinnamon or orange floating around.
3. Preheat the oven at a low temperature, 248 degrees and prepare a mold or several for the flan and a tray or oven-safe dish.
4. While the milk rests, we are going to prepare the caramel. It is very easy to prepare at home if you follow this few steps. First, heat the sugar over low heat but do not add liquid or it crystallizes. Stir the sugar with a wooden spatula or spoon, this will help it to melt. Once the sugar turns 'blonde' or golden, it is time to turn off the heat. Be careful with the sugar if you leave it longer and it gets dark it gets bitter. If you like chocolate somewhat bitter, then instead of turning off when it's golden, let it turn brown and then turn it off.
5. Once we turn off the heat, add the water and lemon juice. Stir to integrate these ingredients. Pour the caramel into the mold or molds we are going to use for the cookie flan.
6. Break the cookies with your hands or, even better, in the chopper as it is finer to the palate.
7. Beat the eggs in a container, and combine with the cookies, then add the milk and beat to integrate the ingredients.
8. Pour the flan mixture into the corresponding mold or molds. To make the flan we will use a common technique in pastry: the bain-marie. It's very simple and guarantees spectacular results. The key is low oven temperature and time. That is, it's worth waiting for it to cook slowly rather than increasing the temperature.
9. How to make the bain-marie.
10. The oven will already be hot, place the flan mold on the baking tray or oven-safe dish and place it in the oven. Then with a glass, add water to the tray (not to the molds), until the water reaches just below the halfway mark of the mold. Cover the flan with aluminum foil to prevent a crust from forming.
11. Close the oven and set a timer for one hour. Don't get desperate, and during that time, do not open the oven.
12. After one hour, open the oven and carefully remove the mold, if it has set you will notice it when moving the mold, if you think it's not ready yet, put it back in the oven and set an extra ten minutes. It will definitely be set by then.
13. Take it out of the oven and let it cool, then put it in the fridge for 4 hours before serving.
14. When unmolding, use a bit of very hot water, dip the knife in the water and insert it into the edges of the flan in the mold to start detaching it.
15. When serving, you can decorate it with a Maria cookie, with a bit of whipped cream or a raspberry.

Notes and Tips

You can also prepare this flan with Oreo-type cookies, in that case, it will have a chocolate color that children (and adults) will find very eye-catching.