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Almojábanas (Colombian Cheese Bread)

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Almojabanas

These Colombian Almojábanas are delicious for breakfast or for an afternoon snack with a cup of coffee.

I published an almojábana recipe several years ago and it’s loved by many readers, but I was not completely happy with the recipe. I am not a baker, but, I’ve certainly improved my baking skills over the years! I want to share my new and improved version including the step by step video. Baking is truly a science and I’m happy to continue to deliver you tested and improved recipes!

Well, to tell you the truth I am always scared of baking, but sometimes I crave my favorite Colombian “parva”, so I bake. Parva is what we call our baked goods in the region of Antioquia. Although this recipe is very easy to make, the problem I have is that in the USA, I don’t find “cuajada”, a fresh white cheese made with non-pasteurized milk, and this is the base for Colombian Almojábanas. So, I have tried this recipe at least 4 times with various kinds of cheese and although the bread is not quite the same as I make in Colombia, it is pretty close and delicious!

Almojabana007

Ingredients
(8 Almojábanas)

1 1/4 cups of masarepa or precooked cornmeal
3 cups queso fresco
1 cup shredded mozzarella
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
4 tablespoon whole milk

Receta de Almojabanas

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400° F.

Mix the masarepa and cheese in a food processor.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Divide into 8 equal-size portions and shape into a ball.

Place on a greased baking sheet and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until they are golden. Serve warm.

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This was printed from MyColombianRecipes.com

Comments

  2. They look so soft and appealing to me. I bet they smell so tempting. We generally put the cheese inside such balls and then bake in Turkish cuisine. But this one sounds easier. I can try this with cottage cheese here.

    Reply

      • Yes! I purchased my authentic Harina Pan through Amazon. You can get 1 pk. or a box of 12 packages. If you go on Pan’s website you can see many other great Colombian recipes including cakes & other sweets too! Born but not raised in Colombia. Harina Pan helps me keep up with the cooking traditions including Empanadas! Delicioso!!!

        Reply

  3. I’m still looking for masarepa! Now, I’m even more determined to find it – these looks delicious. I’ve had pão de queso (Brazilian cheese bread) before; I would love to try these to add to my list of cheese bread favorites!

    Reply

    • The best is pre-cooked corn flour , brand is Harina P.A.N. !!! And is so easy too, besides its great flavor for Colombian cheese bread.
      For me the best is to see the proportion os cheese vs flour is 2 to 3/4 cup !!! YEAH !!!

      Reply

  4. This cheese bread looks divine!

    We are part of a cooking club and each member (12) gets the opportunity to host 1-2 a year. I think you have me convinced that when our opportunity comes around again, that Colombian will be the theme.

    note: A friend of ours who is in the cooking club is an American who grew up in Columbia and although he may not be a registered follower is following your blog.

    Reply

  5. Ummm! Erica. este pan tiene una pinta estupenda! y tiene que estar buenísimo.
    Me apunto la receta.
    Una pregunta, ¿El queso lo pones rallado?.
    Un beso.

    Reply

    • Hola Empar,
      El cottage cheese es cremoso, entonces no tienes que hacer nada con el.

      Gracias por visitarme y por el comentario!

      Reply

  10. Yay!! Can’t wait to try them! I have the same problem…I can find queso fresco, and queso blanco…but no cuajada. When I was in Florida I found it, but that didn’t help me much!

    Reply

  12. Baking is not my first choice either, but I always seem to surprise myself in a good way with how it turns out. I may have to have another one of those attempts with this yummy looking bread!

    Reply

  14. Looks delicious!! Erica, can you use any kind of raw white cheese? Raw meaning unpasteurized? Would raw white cheddar be too strong? Check out azurestandard.com. They sell various raw cheeses that you can order online or join a group in your area.

    Besos!!
    diana

    Reply

  17. We had these at our wedding. There are a ton of Colombian bakeries in Jackson Heights, Queens, and one day we walked up and down the neighborhood trying each and every one until we found the perfect cheese bread. We had them delived to our reception and served them with the appetizers. So so good! I’m going to surprise Alejandro and make these for him

    Reply

  20. I am so grateful that you share your recipes. My grandmother always measure “al calculo” which makes it so hard for me to cook Colombian food. But your exact measurements give me so much confidence in trying Colombian recipes.

    I made this recipe yesterday and the flavor was very close to the real thing. However, I will try it with both Queso Fresco and Queso Cotija next time. My step mother says both cheeses are available in Mexican Markets. If it turns out well, I’ll post it on my blog: http://thehorttshearawho.blogspot.com.

    Reply

  21. Gracias, Estoy en Francia y a pesar de la variedad de quesos, tampoco he encotrado cuajada, solo “Fromage blanc” que es una crema, tuve que adicionar mas harina porque la masa estaba muy liquida :), quedaron deliciosas, Muchas Gracias

    Reply

  22. What type of cottage cheese? Dry? 1%? 2%?

    I want to make these for a Colombian friend!!

    Your website is wonderful!

    Reply

  24. These are just as delicious as bunuelos, especially if you love cheese like me!!!!

    Thanks for the recipe, Erica!!

    Saludos,
    SC

    Reply

  25. Erica, what a fantastic blog! My boyfriend and I (un pereirano) have been trying out all number of recipes, but ingredients and substitutes are even more difficult to find in Australia than in the US. In the US I was often able to find good substitute ingredients, such as non-pasteurized milks, cheeses and dairy products, in health food stores. You might want to try one of those, and if near a Whole Foods suggest that they start stocking them. Gracias para las recetas!

    Reply

  26. Erica,
    i just got an email from my sister and she brought up something I overlooked earlier…this recipe calls for “Cottage Cheese”… My family has always used Ricotta instead.. I have never tried it with cottage, does it make a big difference in taste??? Still loving your site!!

    Reply

  27. El Paramedico-

    I did not use ricotta before, but I would try it next time. They taste delicious, but nothing like cuajada 🙂

    Reply

  28. Bueno las hice no salieron tan mal jajaja eso si si les falto un poquito de sabor no se que me falto pero deliciosas!!! gracias por compartir tus recetas pues a traves de la comida se siente cerca de la tierrita!!!

    Reply

    • Gina- Gracias por el comentario. Yo pienso que la proxima vez que las prepare, voy a usar queso fresco y queso cottage.

      Reply

  29. I have a recipe for cuajada if you can find raw milk. I milk my own cow, so it is not a problem for me. I have not tried this cheese recipe yet, but it looks like others that I have tried, and seems fairly accurate. Try to find raw milk from pastured cows, it will taste more similar to those in Colombia – they have such a nicer way of doing things, more natural, with their livestock and agriculture. Thanks!

    Cuajada
    5 1/4 quarts fresh raw milk
    1/2 rennet tablet (junket rennet will not work)
    1 tbs salt (cheese salt or kosher)
    sieves and cheesecloth

    Place milk in large stainless steel pot near a heat source (fireplace, warm oven). Take 1/2 cup milk and warm it to 110 F. Mash rennet tablet with back of spoon and stir into warm milk. Add to larger pot, add salt. Stir gently in up and down motion for 30 seconds. Place in warm spot but not over heat for 3 hours until curd sets.

    Cut the curd and mix with a fork to break up curd completely. Set aside for 1 1/2 to 2 hours more. Ladle the curd out into five portions (5 seives lined with cheesecloth. Drain whey out over bowls for 4 hours. Discard whey. Fresh cheese should keep 5-7 days refriderated in zip bags.

    For info on cheesemaking, go to cheesemaking.com

    Also, know your source for the raw milk. Make sure the milk is handled properly and the cows have been tested for disease. See realmilk.com for details.

    Reply

  31. Hi Erica! My boyfriend is caleno and I tried to make almojabanas…but they didn’t taste like the ones I’ve had before. The masa was really runny so I couldn’t make them into balls. I am going to try regular cottage cheese next time, but do you have any other recommendations so that the masa won’t be so runny? Thanks!

    Reply

    • Marian- La masa es un poco aguada por lo del queso…..por que normalmente se hacen con cuajada, pero si cuelas el cottage cheese la proxima vez a lo mejor te salen mejor. Esta receta me dio mucha dificultad la trate como 4 veces con differentes quesos y esta fur la mejor aunque no igual que con cuajada!

      Reply

  35. Hi Erika: thank you for the information! I would like to make these and found a company here in the east coast that sells cuajada! it is called tropical . how would the recipe change if you had cuajada? thanks!

    Reply

  36. I love all of these recipes and I am so excited to make these! I was able to find cuajada today, would all the measurements be the same?

    Reply

  37. Hi Erika, i’m will be going to try la almojabana, el pandebono y banana orange bread, I really like cooking and baking, thanks for the recipes , I’m from Colombia too y ahora vivo en un pueblito pequeño en Alabama, no se si voy a encontrar yuca flour o cassaba starch, pero quiero intentar los tres, puedo preguntarte si tienes la receta de la arepa de choclo? gracias, felicidades

    Reply

  38. Hola Erika estuve intentando las almojabanas con maseca y cottage cheese, pero me quedaron muy aguadasy aqui en este pueblito no encuentro masarepa ni cuajada, yo estoy a3 horas de Panama City y no se si encuentre esos ingredientes alla, pero mi familia quiere que yo haga almojabanas y pandebonos, tambien arepa de choclo, gracias por tu ayuda, tienes una receta facil de empanadas de dulce de leche? y de guayaba? yo estoy haciendo de carne y de pollo y los americanos estan felices, pero me pidieron de dulce, perdona si te molesto mucho ,gracias

    Reply

  39. hello,
    i am a frenchy married to a colombiano !!!
    In France everyone cooks, and we don’t really have a particular food ( except for breads, cheeses and wines ^^). I, like millions other frenchies, love cooking !!!
    i have introduced my hubby to our french cuisine, and he loves it but i decided it might be time that i try to “take him back home”.
    I don’t have my mother in law around to help me with Colombian delicacies so i was happy to find your website.
    i have just tried to make almojabanas for my husband, and happily i found cuajada.
    Unfortunately it turned out pretty bad. In fact the almojabanas were very dry !!! nothing like the ones we buy at the colombian bakery. I used the same measure for cuajada than cottage cheese… maybe there is the mistake ??? i want to try again, do you have any advice ?

    thank you

    solene

    Reply

  40. Used to eat these all the time in Bogota and Medellin. I also miss natilla and bunuelos at Christmastime!!! AY La vida PAISA

    Reply

  42. Erica –

    So do you find cottage cheese the best substitute for cuajada. My sons love arepas boyacenses, which also requires cuajada and which I also cannot find in the United States. I have substituted many different cheeses with great failure. I have never tried cottage cheese though.

    Reply

  44. Erica what is the difference between Colombian almojábanas and Pande Bono? In Jackson Heights and other Colombian bakeries in NY they always used both names for the same product.

    Reply

    • Almojabanas are made with masarepa and Pandebonos are made with a mix of yuca starch and masarepa. The taste and the texture is different.

      Reply

  48. These were amazing! I used a soft cheddar cheese, that I shredded and then stirred some sour cream into to make the texture of cottage cheese. The constancy reminded me of a drop cookie dough, so I used my small disher to make 50 small balls instead of 8 large rolls. I’ve never tried the ‘real’ thing, so I don’t know how these compare, but we really enjoyed snacking on them, and my husband asked me to ‘definitely repeat this recipe.’ Thank you so much for sharing!

    Reply

  49. Hey Erica- I had some trouble with this recipe…I had to nearly double the masarepa in order to be able to make a consistency that would give me a ball (and it still seemed quite wet). Also, I cooked it for 30 minutes at 400…the outside was quite dark, but the inside still was slightly undercooked (again seeming to indicate the dough was still too wet). Is there a specific type of cottage cheese you use? Small curd vs large curd….4%, 2%, 1%…It’s the only thing I can think of that would make a difference. My husband said the flavor was definitely there, but obviously it wasn’t quite right. Thanks for your help! (I’ve made many of your dishes quite successfully for my Colombian husband- he’s always happily surprised; but, this one gave me trouble).

    Reply

  50. Querida Erica,

    Me encanta tu blog pues tienes las recetas de platos colombianos acomodadas a lo que uno encuentra por aquí en Estados Unidos y eso ayuda bastante.
    Quería hacerte una pregunta: mi hijo de seis años tiene que hacer una presentación en su colegio sobre Colombia. Yo estaba pensando mandar algo de comer típico y pensé en almojabanas. Que opinas sobre esta receta? Será que les gustaría a los niños de esa edad o podrías recomendarme algo más? No se me ocurre nada…. Te agradezco la ayuda desde ya!

    Reply

  51. We don’t have any problem getting sqeaky cheese – we just use fresh goat’s cheese. Our problem is getting the right flours although we can get Maizena.

    Reply

  52. Hola Erica, trate la receta hoy pero mi procesador está muy pequeño e intente varias veces, entonces creo que no me van a quedar muy bien…. Te estaré contando

    Reply

  53. Oh! I have made these twice – once with cottage cheese only, and one with 1 cup cottage cheese and 1 cup cotija cheese. The 2nd way seems closer to what I remember when we used to go into the panadería and say “Qué hay caliente?” early in the morning! Thanks for this wonderful website….

    Reply

  55. Erica, I tried this recipe, but the dough was very liquid. I wonder if I overused the processor. I added more Masarepa, so the almojabanas turned into kind of arepas. Flavor was delicious, but not the almojabana flavor that I was expected. Do you have some advice? I enjoy your website, thank you and have a very Happy New Year.

    Reply

  57. Hola Erica, tienes una receta para cuajada que se pueda hacer con leche sin pasteurizar como dices para usar en esta y otras receta? Gracias!

    Reply

  58. If wanting to prepare a Gluten free version just use Tapioca flour which is sold at most natural supermarkets like Sprouts.

    Reply

  59. Erica;
    I sort of like to fool around with recipes. I tried a local Mexican cheese named Cotija. 1/2n1/2 with Cottage cheese. It was really good. I halved the salt because Cotija is pretty salty. Came out nifty. I am going to up the baking powder a bit and add 1 tbsp. sugar in the next batch.
    Richard

    Reply

  60. Erica;
    I tinkered with the recipe a bit. I have Colombian friends who are familiar with the flavor of the Almojabanas and the first batch using the Cotija/cottage cheese was a bit salty. For batch two, I used Ricotta. For the lady (Ivonne) who thought her dough was too liquid, Ricotta is the answer. I brought the second batch to my Colombian friends and they agreed that I had nailed it. Ricotta is the answer.

    Reply

      • Erica;
        I note that many who wish to make this recipe can’t find, Masarepa. Almost any market in an area where there are Hispanics have a precooked corn flour called Maseca. It is the same flour that is used to make tortillas and tamales. Just check in the Hispanic foods aisle of your local supermarket

        Reply

  62. Alan;
    You have to be a bit careful with the Mexican cheeses. Most of them are either too dry ,don’t mix well, are too salty,&etc. For these rolls, I have found the best sub to be Ricotta. My Colombian friends agree. They even say they taste better than the ones made with cuajada which really doesn’t have much in the way of character.

    Reply

  64. Hi Erica. I am very happy I found this link. I have a question about the almojabana,can I make it with all porpoused flour instead of cornmeal??, I have been looking for a recipe but all of them have different kind of flours or mix. I really would appreciate your time. Thanks.

    Reply

  65. hi. well i tried the recipe with a little of all purposed flour and it came out pretty well.
    It was a little sticky at the begining but after i added more masarepa it was good.

    Reply

  66. Hi, Erica it did not turns good to liquid, so I add almost a1 cup and 1/4 of cup more of corn meal..they too longer than 35 minutes also hard and no too much cheese flavor….

    Reading the reviews, the recipe has not fix that the cottage cheese needs to be drain!

    That’s way my almojabanas did not turn good…..

    Reply

  68. The cottage cheese is a bad idea as some are having difficulty with he mixture being too loose and runny.

    I suggest using queso blanco either Colombian or Mexican as this makes the perfect consistency.

    Reply

    • I think RICOTTA is the answer ! Thanks to you all bloggers and to you Erika !!!!
      I bless you all. ABRAZOS.

      Reply

  69. Soy un fiel consumidor de almojabanas. Quiero preguntar si alguien sabe la receta para hacer postre de almojabana que es la misma almojabana sumida en un melao hecho de panela. Es delicioso. Lo he comido pero quiero aprender a hacerlo.

    Reply

  71. Hi there, I’m a Colombian living in Australia for many years. Thanks to inspirations from my mother and seeing her cook, I’m starting to try a few Colombian recepies. Thank you for your! I’m looking forward to trying this one 🙂

    Reply

  72. Hello! Great news for everyone who found this recipe too liquidy or runny. I had the same problem, but then added a 1/4 cup more masarepa and about 2 ounces of “cold” cream cheese. Problem fixed making batter thick enough. If you add more than that masarepa
    they’ll come out hard and less cheese flavor. It may also help to use the butter softened and not melted. My parents and I were born in Colombia, but I was raised in USA. I remember eating these fresh out the oven as a child and getting them at the paneria’s in Queens N.Y.C.
    Delicioso!!!!!

    Reply

  73. Muchas gracias..I missed that bread de mis amigos colombianos (no soy de Colombia pero me encanta su comida, panes etc)..Hize la receta, me quedo un poquito a galleta…use quezo fresco mexicano y mozarella cheese..veo que algunos dicen cottage cheese..ese sería en reemplazo de cuál quezo?
    Muchas gracias por tu blog me encanta

    Reply

    • Hola Pat! Si quires tratar “cottage cheese”, esé seria reemplazo para el queso fresco o queso Colombiano. Esta receta tipicamente se usa dos tipos de queso. Uno Como “tangy” y el otro como “milder” (mozzarella).
      Si te quedarón como galleta dos rasones me llegan a mente. Uno es que los fritó por exceso tiempo, y el otro es exceso harina de maiz. Si haces esó quedan duros cuando enfríen. Harina “PAN” es la mejor authentica. (Se encuentra facil en Amazon) Puede que esto te ayude hasta que veas a los amigos de Colombia o vayas a vacación.

      Reply

  74. Erica puedo usar cottage cheese en reemplazo del quezo fresco?
    Porfis déjame saber quiero hacerlos pronto… Gracias

    Reply

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