This recipe for our traditional Mexican wedding cookies is super easy to make! The best part? You need only 6 ingredients to make them in a matter of minutes. Enjoy!
Some years ago, when my son was still in elementary school and before we started homeschooling, we always used to bake these Mexican wedding cookies for his teachers and for our neighbors around Christmas time. Now he’s a young man and he just likes to bake them because he loves them so much!
His first love is chocolate chip cookies… well, mostly the cookie dough. But, wedding cookies were our first choice for Christmas cookie baking.
They are so easy to make and your kids will enjoy helping to make them too. I hope you take the time during this holiday season to make these Mexican wedding cookies and enjoy one another!
History Behind Mexican Wedding Cookies
When I was growing, I knew these cookies to be called "polvorones" which refers to the white powdered sugar that coats the cookie.
In Mexico, we actually have several types of different polvorones. These small parcels are sold wrapped in colorful tissue papers in some regions of México, but not as wedding cookies. These wedding cookies are not very common everywhere, but they are occasionally given to guests at wedding parties in the Northern States of México.
In America, you might know them as snowball cookies!
Snowy day in the Sierra Tarahumara, Chihuahua, Chih., México (Photo Courtesy taringa.net)
Traditional Mexican Wedding Cookies
Here is a list of ingredients you will need to make this cookie recipe...
- Pecans or walnuts
- All-purpose flour
- Salt
- Unsalted butter
- Confectioner sugar
- Vanilla
Please note: For exact measurements of the ingredients listed above, scroll down to the recipe card located at the bottom of this post!
How To Make Mexican Wedding Cookies: Step By Step Tutorial
To make things easier for you, I am going to break down the directions to this recipe into sections.
Before you start doing anything, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and grease 2 large baking sheets or line them with parchment paper.
Chop The Nuts
- Place the pecans in a food processor and chop finely.
- Remove 1 cup of the pecans and process the rest into a very fine texture almost like cornmeal. (See picture below for the difference in texture)
Note: Just be careful to not over-process the pecans or you will end up with pecan butter. This way you can still enjoy the pecans when taking a bite into the cookies.
Mix The Dry Ingredients
- In a large bowl, thoroughly mix the flour, salt, and chopped pecans. Stir and set aside.
Beat Butter and Sugar
- In a separate bowl, beat the butter with ⅓ cup confectioner sugar.
- When it gets light and fluffy, stir in vanilla.
Tip: Use your mixer for this step!
Mix The Dry Ingredients With The Butter Mixture
- Gradually add the flour and pecan mixture to the butter and beat at a low speed for a few seconds until it forms a coarse dough that resembles oatmeal.
Form Wedding Cookies
- Roll one tablespoon of dough into a small ball. They should be about 1 inch in size.
- Place 1 ½ inch apart on your baking sheets. Do not overwork the dough because if you do, the end result will leave you with a flat cookie.
Bake Nutty Cookies
- Bake for about 15-18 minutes. They will be ready when their bottom is beginning to brown and the cookies are firm.
- Remove from oven and let them cool for 3 minutes on the baking sheets and then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Roll Cookies In Sugar and Enjoy!
- Place the 1 ½ cup of confectioner sugar in a bowl. Roll cookies in the sugar, working with 2 or 3 at a time. Roll again to completely coat them.
What To Serve With Mexican Wedding Cookies
When we serve these during the holidays, I also love to make a batch of my famous Mexican hot chocolate. The kids absolutely love it! I also love to make some champurrado.
How To Store Mexican Cookies
To make sure these cookies stay fresh, store these cookies in an airtight container. You can leave them out on the counter for up to 3 days or you can save them in the fridge for 7 days.
More Authentic Mexican Recipes To Enjoy
If you enjoyed this recipe for wedding cookies, take a look at some of these other authentic Mexican recipes:
- Mexican Little Piggy Cookies (Marranitos)
- Piloncillo and Pecan Cookies (Chorreadas)
- Hojarascas Recipes
- Griddle Cookies
- Mexican Polvorones- Sevillanos Style
I hope you make this recipe for Mexican wedding cookies! If this recipe was of any help to you, come back to let me know your experience. Please leave us a comment done below and tell us all about it!
¡Buen provecho!
Mely
Mexican Wedding Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups of pecans or walnuts
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks of unsalted butter 16 tablespoons, softened
- ⅓ cup of confectioner sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ½ cup confectioners’ sugar for dusting.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 F and grease 2 large baking sheets or line them with parchment paper.
- Place the pecans in a food processor and chop fine. You can also use a blender for this purpose.
- Remove 1 cup of the pecans and process the rest into a very fine texture almost like a cornmeal. Just be careful to not over-process the pecans or you will end up with pecan butter. This way (by leaving some coarse pieces) you will still enjoy the pecans when giving a bite into your cookies.
- In a large bowl, thoroughly mix the flour, salt, and pecans. Stir and set aside.
- Use your mixer for this step. In a separate bowl, beat the butter with ⅓ cup confectioner sugar; when it gets light and fluffy stir in vanilla. Gradually add the flour and pecan mixture and beat at a low speed for a few seconds until it forms a coarse dough that resembles oatmeal. The dough can be made one day ahead and when ready to bake brought back to room temperature to form the cookies.
- Roll one tablespoon of dough into a small ball, they’re about 1 inch in size. Place 1 ½ inch apart on your baking sheets. Do not overwork the dough, if you do so, the end result will be that of a flat cookie.
- Bake for about 15-18 minutes. They will be ready when their bottom is beginning to brown and the cookies are firm.
- Remove from oven and let them cool for 3 minutes on the baking sheets and then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- Place the 1 ½ cup of confectioner sugar in a bowl. Roll cookies in the sugar, working with 2 or 3 at a time. Shake any excess if necessary. Roll again to completely coat them.
Armida McGough
I have tasted these cookies with anis but I’m not sure if these are done by just substituting the anis for the vanilla can you advise?
Mely Martínez
Hello armida,
You can add anise if you want, they will be delicious.