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1
Sift the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
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2
Add the shortening and water, work them in with your hands to make a soft, pliable dough.
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3
Add more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, if the dough feels too dry.
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4
Gather the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap.
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5
Put the dough in the refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour so it will firm up a bit and be easier to roll and cut.
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6
(Dough can be prepared 1 day ahead, refrigerated.
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7
).
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8
Unwrap the ball of dough and put on a lightly floured surface, cut in half.
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9
With a floured rolling pin, roll each piece of dough into a circle, about 1/4-inch thickness.
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10
Using a paring knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into triangles as you would a pizza.
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11
You should end up with 6 or 8 triangles per circle.
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12
Heat 2-inches of oil to 375 in a heavy skillet or deep pot over medium-high heat.
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13
(Reduce the temperature to 350 if you prefer a less crispy sopapilla.
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14
).
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15
Fry a few of the sopapillas at a time, keeping an eye on maintaining the oil temperature.
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16
As the sopapillas puff up and rise to the surface, flip them over with a slotted spoon, skimmer, or chopsticks; about 2 minutes on each side.
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17
Carefully remove the sopapillas from the oil and drain on several layers of paper towels or a brown paper bag.
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18
Cool slightly.
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19
Serve hot with cinnamon sugar or honey.
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20
Serving Option: If desired, let sopapillas cool, then pipe whipped cream in the center of each sopapilla triangle, and use a spoon to drizzle a bit of strawberry sauce over the whipped cream.
