Sweet and buttery, these Mexican Wedding Cookies are shortbread bites filled with pieces of pecans in every bite. These wedding cookies are so simple and take only six ingredients to make. Perfect for any occasion, but especially the holidays, these little snowball-like cookies will practically melt in your mouth!
These Mexican Wedding Cookies, also known as polvorones, are perfect for holidays because they look like snowballs. You can make them quickly in a few steps and there is no chill time. Because they are shortbread-style, these cookies are soft and buttery. They disappear quickly so they are always a hit with everyone. These cookies are great for holiday cookie boxes, as well as my easy russian tea cake recipes, classic sugar cookies, and homemade hot chocolate cookies.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE
Butter When you pick butter, make sure it is unsalted butter and not salted butter. You should not use the same amount of salt in salted butter from different brands. Otherwise, you may end up with a salty cookie. The butter should be soft enough that your finger doesn’t leave a dent when you press it into the pan. It will be difficult to make it smooth if it is cold.
Powdered Sugar — You’ll need to powdered sugar both for the cookie dough and after baking. You can find my post on making your own powdered Sugar here.
Pecans — You can either buy them whole, halved, or chop them by hand or use a food processor to blitz them. They can also be purchased already chopped.
HOW TO MAKE MEXICAN WEDDING COOKIES
Use a stand mixer fitted to a paddle attachment to beat the butter, 1/2 cup confectioners sugar and salt until light and fluffy. This should take about 2 to 3 mins. Mix in the vanilla and beat until well combined.
2. Slowly add the flour to the mixer, beating on low until it is well combined. Mix in the pecans.
3. Take a handful of the dough and form balls with your hands. Place the balls 1-inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until tops are set and bottoms are golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool in the pans for five minutes.
4. Place the remaining 1 cup confectioners sugar in a medium bowl. Work in small batches and roll the warm cookies in the sugar. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cool cookies again in confectioners sugar.
Pro Tips To Make This Recipe
For the best tasting polvorones, use real vanilla extract and not artificial extract.
Make sure you measure your flour accurately! The most common error is to add too much flour to a recipe. This will result in a dense and dry cookie. A scale is the best and most efficient way to measure flour. Use a spoon to fluff the flour, then use a knife or a spoon to level it. You can overpack your measuring cup if you scoop the flour directly from the bag.
A cookie scoop is a must-have! A cookie scoop will ensure that your Mexican cookies bake evenly and are of the same size. It’s worth buying if you intend to bake cookies often.
To speed up the process of bringing butter to room temperature, cut the butter into small cubes.
Sift the powdered sugar if it is too lumpy after measuring.
This is why it’s so important to make sure that you roll the wedding cookies twice in powdered sugar. The powdered sugar can melt on the cookies if the cookies are still warm when they are first rolled. The second coat ensures that the cookies are completely coated.
Pecan pieces should be small so that the dough balls can be rolled easily.
To get a stronger pecan taste, toast the pecans in a skillet and then chop them finely.
These cookies are not very expandable so you can fit 18 (or 3×6) cookies on one sheet pan.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
ARE THESE THE SAME AS RUSSIAN TEA COOKIES?
These cookies are almost identical! These cookies may be called different things depending on where you live. They might be called snowball cookies or polvorones or pecan balls.
Do I have to use PECANS?
These wedding cookies can be made with other nuts such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts and pistachios. If you don’t have enough pecans, you can use a combination of nuts.
HOW DO I STORE LEFTOVERS
For up to two weeks, store polvorones cookies inside an airtight container. Keep them in a cool, dry place in your kitchen. The moisture in the cookies will cause condensation which can affect the fluffy powdered sugar. To prevent them from sticking together, I suggest placing a parchment sheet between each layer.
Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 15 Minutes Total Time: 30 Minutes
Servings: 24 Calories: 162kcal
Equipment
Mixer & Baking Sheet
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened (227g)
- 1½ cups powdered sugar divided (180g)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour (210g)
- 1 cup finely chopped pecans
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350F. Two baking sheets should be lined with parchment paper.
Use a stand mixer fitted to a paddle attachment to beat the butter, 1/2 cup confectioners sugar and salt until light and fluffy. This should take about 2 to 3 mins. Mix in the vanilla and beat until well combined.
Slowly add the flour to the mixer, beating on low until it is well combined. Mix in the pecans. Take a tablespoonful of the dough and form into balls using your hands. Place the balls 1-inch apart on baking sheets.
Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes, or until the tops and bottoms are set. Allow the cookies to cool in the pans for five minutes.
Place the remaining 1 cup confectioners sugar in a medium bowl. Work in small batches and roll the warm cookies in the sugar. Cool completely on a wire rack. Reroll the cooled cookies in confectioners sugar. Cookies can be kept in an airtight container up to two weeks.
Notes
· For the best tasting polvorons, use real vanilla extract and not artificial extract.
· Make sure you measure your flour accurately! The most common error that can lead to dense cookies is adding too much flour. A scale is the best and most efficient way to measure flour. Use a spoon to fluff the flour, and then use a knife or a spoon to level it. You can overpack your measuring cup if you scoop the flour directly from the bag.
· A cookie scoop is a must-have! A cookie scoop will ensure that your Mexican cookies bake evenly and are of the same size. It’s worth buying if you intend to bake cookies often.
· To speed up the process of bringing butter to room temperature, cut the butter into small cubes.
· Sift the powdered sugar if it is too lumpy after measuring.
· This is why it’s so important to make sure that you roll the wedding cookies twice in powdered sugar. Cookies are still warm when you roll them. Powdered sugar can melt on the cookies. The second coat ensures that the cookies are completely coated.
· Pecan pieces should be small so that the dough balls can be rolled easily.
· To get a stronger pecan taste, toast the pecans in a skillet and then chop them finely.
· These cookies are not very expandable so you can fit 18 (or 3×6) cookies on one sheet pan.
Nutrition
Calories: 162kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 26mg | Potassium: 31mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 239IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 1mg