If you like Arepas, you will LOVE Arepitas Dulces... they are just perfectly sweet!

Arepitas Dulces (Small Sweet Arepas) remind me of my abuelita (Grandmother). She used  to make me Arepitas pretty frequently. They are the sweet version of our Arepas. I loved the way they bubble up. That little piece of thin dough was so magic and still is. Here is my granny's recipe, passed to my mom and then to me.

Ingredients:

• Harina PAN (Corn meal flour - you can find it at ethnic markets)
• Sugar
• Canola Oil
• Cinnamon (optional)

Before preparing the dough, heat the oil in a deep pot or pan. The oil should cover the Arepitas Dulces when you fry then. I usually put enough oil to be two fingers deep (Note: this is not a diet recipe!)

Prepare the dough as if you were to make Arepas (see recipe here).  Once the dough is soft, add some sugar to it - I recommend about 2 spoonfuls of sugar per cup of flour - but you can put more or less to taste.

(Tip: add a small ball of dough to the hot oil and leave it there while you do all the Arepitas - It will prevent the oil from burning)

Make a little ball of dough with your hands and flatten it carefully until it forms a disc about 1/8 of an inch thin.

Carefully, put the disc into the very hot oil (this is important - for this to work the oil needs to be extremely hot).

Immediately pick up a big spoon and start pouring hot oil over the Arepita. Do not stop, keep doing this until you see a fine layer of dough starting to lift up or bubble. Keep going, you will noticed the whole Arepita will have this delicious bubble on it. Keep pouring hot oil until the bubble turns nice and brown. Then your Arepita is ready.

When your Arepita is ready take it out of the oil carefully - try not to pinch it with a fork or you will burst the bubble. Put it on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil and go on to fry the next one!
 

I like to eat my Arepitas Dulces with a nice Coffee or a Hot Chocolate - or like they say in Argentina, with a Submarino!