Easy Mexican Wedding Cookies

on May 11, 2019, Updated Jan 24, 2020

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These bite-sized Easy Mexican Wedding Cookies are a sweet and nutty dessert that isn’t over-the-top rich.

These bite-sized Easy Mexican Wedding Cookies are festive pops of a sweet and nutty dessert that isn't over-the-top rich.

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen that my family spent Easter weekend in Santo Tomas, Mexico. We made the trip with a few other families, so there was a whole bunch of kids to keep track of and a whole lot of fun in the sun to be had.

I have always loved the flavors of Mexican food — in fact, we accidentally ordered what we thought were shrimp tacos on our trip, but ended up with super authentic cow intestine tacos, instead! (Whoops.) I can promise you these Easy Mexican Wedding Cookies aren’t quite as adventurous, but they’re tasty Mexican goodies nonetheless.

With just a few ingredients and minimal instructions, it’s tough to mess up these balls of goodness. Baking can be finicky sometimes… I think we’ve all dealt with the frustrations of a cake that dipped in the middle or cookies that spread too much. But you’ll have none of those troubles with these easy cookies, and all of the satisfaction of a yummy bite-sized dessert. I dream about these buttery nuggets with their pecan crunch and powdered sugar topping.

These bite-sized Easy Mexican Wedding Cookies are festive pops of a sweet and nutty dessert that isn't over-the-top rich.

Why are they called Mexican wedding cookies?

A lot of people think Mexican wedding cookies are a rehash of Russian tea cakes. At bakeries in Mexico, they’re very popular and are often called polvorones, which comes from polvo, a word for powder or dust. They’re a heavy, yet soft and very crumbly Spanish shortbread. They gained a lot of popularity and started popping up in many cookbooks in the U.S. in the ’50s.

Can Mexican Wedding Cake Cookies be frozen?

Yes, they can! Store Mexican wedding cookies in an airtight container at room temp or in the fridge for up to 2 days, or in the freezer for up to 6 weeks. Just toss them in powdered sugar again after they come out of the freezer and thaw so they look their best.

Can you make Mexican wedding cookies without nuts?

Yes, even though nuts are a main component of Mexican wedding cookies (you can use pecans, walnuts, almonds, or any other favorites you have on hand if you do want to use nuts), you can make them without. Just leave the nuts out, and the other components will create a somewhat softer and less grainy cookie.

Easy Mexican Wedding Cookies

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Author: Melissa Griffiths - Bless this Mess
Total Time: 2 hours
Yield: 4 dozen cookies 1x

Print Recipe

Description

These bite-sized Easy Mexican Wedding Cookies are festive pops of a sweet and nutty dessert that isn’t over-the-top rich.

Ingredients

Scale

2 cups pecans or walnuts
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or with baking mats.
In a food processor, process 1 cup of pecans/walnuts until the texture is similar to a coarse cornmeal, about 15 seconds of processing. Place the finely chopped nuts in a medium bowl.
Add the second cup of pecans/walnuts to the empty food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped, about 5 seconds. Add these pecans/walnuts to the finely chopped pecans/walnuts in the medium bowl.
Add the flour and salt to the pecans in the bowl, and stir to combine.
In a medium bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer), beat together the butter and the granulated sugar on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add the vanilla, and stir to combine.
Slowly add the flour-nut mixture, and stir until it is combined and forms a soft dough, about 30 seconds. Make sure no dry pockets remain in the dough.
Roll 1 tablespoon of dough into a round ball, and place them 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.
Bake until the tops are pale golden and the bottoms are just starting to brown, about 18 minutes.
Let the cookies rest on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes, and then place them on a wire rack to cool completely.
Place the powdered sugar in a shallow dish, and roll each cookie in it to coat the outside evenly. Gently shake off any excess sugar and serve.
Store extra cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 6 weeks.

Notes

If you aren’t serving your cookies right away, you’ll want to re-roll them in powered sugar just before serving to ensure they are evenly covered. (Sometimes, the sugar absorbs or shakes off the cookies.)
I prefer pecans for this recipe, but then again, I almost always prefer pecans over walnuts. Use what you love or have on hand.

Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 18 min
Category: Cookies
Method: Oven
Cuisine: American

Looking for some easy cookie recipes? You’ll love these:

These bite-sized Easy Mexican Wedding Cookies are festive pops of a sweet and nutty dessert that isn’t over-the-top rich, one of my favorite cookie recipes to make for a party. Everyone loves them!