Mexican Wedding Cookies are deliciously buttery, with nutty flavor and soft texture that melts in your mouth. I love these Mexican cookies. They are one of my favorite cookies, and I can always savor them.
Do you know the best part of a wedding after the ‘I do’?It’s the dessert table in the corner for me! Loaded with sweet dishes and delicious treats, the dessert table is always the star of the show at a wedding. From a beautifully decorated wedding cake to delicious and mouthwatering cookies, the dessert table is usually surrounded by people with plates, chatter, and laughter!
Mexican wedding cookies are one of the sugary delights that often take a spot on that table. Sweet and buttery with a hint of cinnamon- these cookies are an absolute delight when shared with friends and loved ones. With a generous dusting of powdered sugar, the cookies look stunning on a cake stand.
As you take a bite, the sugar coating cracks open to reveal a buttery, soft inside with a nutty flavor and soft crunch. The creamy texture combined with balanced sweetness and nuttiness is what makes this dessert so special!
What Are Mexican Wedding Cookies?
Before we dive into the recipe, let’s take a moment first to talk about the traditional Mexican wedding cookies recipe.
Cookies are often a common sight in weddings and Mexican weddings are no different! Served at weddings and cultural festivities, Mexican wedding cookies hold a significant place in Mexican cuisine. Baking and sharing these cookies helps strengthen family bonds and create long-lasting memories.
Mexican wedding cookies are also called Russian tea cakes, Snowball Cookies, Shortbread Cookies, and Polvorones. The signature powdered sugar layer on the outside gives the cookies a snowball look that’s too good to ignore!
With a crumbly texture and buttery flavor, these cookies are a delightful treat for any celebration. Easy to pack and carry, you can gift these cookies wrapped in a decorative box to add a personal touch that shows you care. Delicious and with a melt-in-your-mouth texture, these Mexican wedding cookies are the perfect treat to brighten someone’s day with a smile!
Customizing Your Mexican Wedding Cookies
Crafted with a few handfuls of ingredients, today’s recipe is the basic version of Mexican wedding cookies. Depending on what you like, you can add or substitute some of the ingredients and personalize the cookies to make them uniquely yours.
Here are some ideas for customizing your Mexican wedding cookies:
Nuts
I have used chopped pecans for this recipe. However, these cookies can be made with almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts or even pistachios. Each nut variety brings its unique flavor and texture to the dessert and gives it a delicious twist. Pecans and walnuts are the most popular choices for making Mexican wedding cookies.
Almonds are added for extra crunch and a little bit of sweetness. Cashews are better suited for making cookies with a soft center, while hazelnuts bring a sweet and nutty flavor profile to the cookies.
Spices
Spices help enhance the sweetness of the Mexican wedding cookies and make them stand out among other dishes!
Along with the cinnamon that’s added to this recipe, you can try experimenting with other spices by using nutmeg, cardamom, and cloves. While cinnamon is a traditional choice for this recipe, cardamom pairs beautifully with the nutty flavor of the cookies and adds a bit of sweetness to it. A small amount of nutmeg and cloves add depth while complimenting the other spices used in the mix.
When it comes to using spices, even a small amount goes a long way. So, be careful while adding these ingredients, as it’s hard to balance the flavor once you overdo it.
Cream Cheese
If you want the cookies to have a super soft texture that melts as soon as you take a bite, use cream cheese along with mascarpone in this recipe. With a higher content of fat and moisture, cream cheese helps bind the dough more easily and smoothly. As a result, you don’t have to work hard to handle the dough or shape the dough into balls.
If your cookies tend to spread a lot in baking, try adding cream cheese to the batter. Cream cheese contains milk protein, which helps the cookies to maintain their shape and bake without spreading. As cream cheese reduces the sweetness level of the batter, consider increasing the sugar for this recipe if you decide to add this ingredient.
Chocolate
Being a chocolate lover, I can’t help but think how good these cookies will taste with some chocolates in them! The buttery and nutty flavor will particularly go well with dark or semi-dark chocolates.
You can add chocolate to this dessert in several different forms. To enjoy delicious pockets of gooey chocolates, try adding chocolate chips to the batter. The creamy texture of the cookies will taste even more delicious with the rich, melted chocolate layers!
You can also use cocoa powder for a finer texture. Cocoa powder will give you a chocolaty flavor while keeping the cookies smooth and delicate. Depending on your preference, you can use dark chocolate, milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate and white chocolate for this recipe.
To get the best flavor, go for high-quality chocolate bars or cocoa powder and enjoy a deep and delicious chocolate flavor in every bite. Adding too much chocolate makes the cookies heavy, so start with a small amount- around ½ cup for each batch and taste as you go to see if you want to add more.
Recipe Card
Mexican Wedding Cookies Recipe | Mexican Cookies
Ingredients
For Roll The Cookies
- 1 cup / 120 g Powdered Sugar
Instructions
Prepare The Pecans
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 180 degrees Celsius.
- Place 1/2 cups of roasted pecan into the food processor.
- Pulse it a few times, just enough to chop them into small sizes. Don’t overdo and chop them too much.
- You can use store-bought chopped pecans if you want to skip this part.
Make The Dough
- Take a large mixing bowl and place 1/2 cup of room-temperature butter in it.
- Add 1/4 cup of powdered sugar and 1 tsp vanilla essence to the bowl.
- Use a hand mixer, spatula, or stand mixer to combine the ingredients until smooth and creamy.
- Add 1 cup of all-purpose flour, a little at a time, until fully incorporated.
- Stir in the pecans you chopped earlier into the mix. Use a hand mixer or a spatula, and you can also switch to your hands and gently knead the dough.
- Use a spatula to pick up the dough in your hand. Keep patting it in your hands; now it’s ready to form little cookie balls.
Form The Cookies
- Grab a cookie sheet and line it with parchment paper.
- Using a measuring tablespoon, scoop 1 inch of cookie dough for each cookie.
- Roll the dough between your palms to form smooth, round balls.
- Place the formed balls on the prepared cookie sheet. Keep a little space between each cookie so they have room to expand(although these cookies don’t expand that much).
Bake, Coat and Serve!
- Place the cookies inside the preheated oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes or until the bottom is nice and golden.
- Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10-15 minutes.
- Take 1 cup of powdered sugar in a bowl, then roll the warm cookies into the powdered sugar.
- Roll the cookies gently until all the cookies are fully coated with the powdered sugar.
- Display the powdered cookies on a cake stand or package them in colorful gift boxes for a delicious homemade Mexican cookie treat!
The name may make it sound like these cookies are only enjoyed at weddings. But the truth is, these cookies are perfect for any occasion! Whether you are hosting a birthday party, anniversary, social get-together, or spending a cozy day at home, you can always bake and enjoy these little delights. You don’t need any occasion- just a recipe and cravings to savor these delicious Mexican cookies!
Recipe FAQs
You can store the Mexican wedding cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 week at room temperature. For longer storage, refrigerate the cookies with parchment paper for about 2 weeks.
Use the right amount of flour for the cookies to maintain its shape. Also, chill the dough for a short amount of time before baking to solve this issue.
You can add more nuts if you want, but the nutty flavor may overpower the cookie taste. Keep in mind that for the best flavor, the ideal ratio is 1 cup of chopped nuts for every 2 cups of flour.
For coating the cookie balls, you can use granulated sugar instead of powdered sugar. You can also leave them plain if you want a less sweeter option.
