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Mexican Wedding Cookies are rich, buttery, and crumbly cookies made from a mixture of nuts, flour, butter, and powdered sugar that melt in your mouth. This traditional Mexican recipe makes for an easy dessert perfect for weddings, Christmas, New Year’s, or any day of the year!
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Say hello to Mexican wedding cookies – one of my favorite cookies! I know that’s quite the statement, but one little bite and you’ll understand exactly why I’m head over heels in love.
What are Mexican Wedding Cookies?
Made with only a handful of simple ingredients like flour, powdered sugar, butter, and nuts, these little shortbread-like cookies are easy to make and have that luscious melt-in-your-mouth quality that will keep you coming back for more.
They’re traditionally served at weddings, during the holidays, and other special occasions.
Other names for Mexican Wedding Cookies
They’re known by many different names including:
- polvorones (in Spanish)
- snowball cookies
- Russian tea cakes
- butterballs
How to make Mexican wedding cookies
Step 1: Start by lightly toasting some pecans in the oven or on the stove until fragrant. Let them cool completely before blending them in a food processor with some all purpose flour until they’re finely ground.
Step 2: Make the cookie dough by beating together butter, 1/4 cup powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until fluffy. Then mix in the flour and salt until fully combined.
Step 3: Mix in the ground nut mixture and form the dough into a flattened disc shape. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and chill it in the refrigerator for 1 hour or in the freezer for 40 minutes.
Step 4: Form the chilled dough into 1-inch balls. I was able to make 26 cookies. Arrange them on 2 baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake them for 12-15 minutes at 350ยฐF.
Let them cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes.
Step 5: Once cooled, roll each cookie in remaining 1 cup of powdered sugar to coat all sides.
Serve and enjoy!
Helpful Tips
- Don’t skip the step of chilling the dough. This will help the cookies stay in a little ball shape when baked in the oven instead of spreading and flattening out.
- Don’t rush the cooling process. The warmer the cookies are, the more the powdered sugar turns into a paste when you roll them around in it. Wait at least 30 minutes before you coat them in the confectioners’ sugar.
Make ahead
The cookie dough can be made ahead of time and kept in the freezer for up to 3 months until you’re ready to bake them.
Simply follow all of the instructions except don’t bake them. Place the balls in a freezer-safe bag or container and freeze. When you’re ready to bake, place them on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper and bake for 15 to 18 minutes at 350ยฐF from frozen.
Variations and Substitutions
- Nuts: All out of pecans? Try using a different nut like walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, or pistachios!
- Spices: Add a little bit of spice (no more than 1/2 teaspoon) to the powdered sugar to give an warmer flavor. Spices like cinnamon or nutmeg would work well.
- Chocolate: Want to make a chocolate version? Replace 1/3 cup of the flour with 1/3 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder, then follow the rest of the instructions as written.
- Vegan: You can make this recipe vegan by using your favorite non-dairy butter or margarine.
More Dessert Recipes
Mexican Wedding Cookies
Ingredients
- โ cup pecan halves
- 2 cups all-purpose ๏ฌour, divided
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 ยผ cup powdered sugar, divided
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ยผ teaspoon fine salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ยฐF. Place the pecans on a baking sheet and bake for about 6-8 minutes, until fragrant and lightly toasted. (Alternatively, you could toast the pecans in a medium skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.) Let them cool completely before using, about 15 minutes on the counter.
- Place the toasted pecans and 2 tablespoons of the ๏ฌour into your food processor or blender and process until they are ๏ฌnely ground. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, ยผ cup powdered sugar, and vanilla extract on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- With the mixer on low, gradually beat in the remaining all-purpose flour and salt until fully combined.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the ground nuts, and beat on low speed until combined.
- Transfer the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and flatten it into a medium disc. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour until chilled. (Alternatively, you could put the dough in the freezer for 40 minutes to speed up the process.)
- Preheat the oven to 350ยฐF and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and form it into 1-inch balls. I was able to make about 26 cookies.
- Place them in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheets and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies start to brown. Remove them from the oven and place them on a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes.
- Roll each cookie in the remaining 1 cup of powdered sugar to coat all sides. (The warmer the cookies, the more the powdered sugar turns into a paste, so don't rush the cooling process.)
- Serve immediately or store in an airtight container for up to a week.
Notes
- Don’t have pecans? Try using a different nut like walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, or pistachios!
- To make this vegan, use your favorite non-dairy butter or margarine.
- To make these ahead of time, follow all of the instructions and place the formed cookie dough balls in a freezer-safe bag or container and freeze. When you’re ready to bake them, place them on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper and bake in a 350F oven for 15 to 18 minutes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These cookies are to die for but why are the amounts of each ingredient in decimal form?? Why can’t they be in the normal form of teaspoons and cups?? It saves us from doing the math! Thank you!
I made these without reading the comments and only added 1/4 cup of powdered sugar to my dough. I also followed your direction of letting them cool before rolling in powered sugar. They werenโt sweet enough. Didnโt absorb enough sugar after rolling and were blah! A complete waste of my time and money!
Hi Mary, we apologize for the confusion and are sorry you didn’t enjoy them. This recipe has since been updated with clearer instructions and we hope you try them again in the future.
Nosotros pensamos que nosotros hacemos algo mal. Nuestros galletas estaban secas. ยกGracias por la idea!
Do you use regular or unsalted butter? In the dough, do you use 1/4 cup powdered sugar? Or 1 1/4 cup?
Hi Palmira! We use unsalted butter for this recipe. For the powdered sugar, you use 1/4 cup for the dough, and the remaining 1 cup is used in step 8 when you roll the cookie. I hope this helps!
I was just wondering why there was a cup and a quarter of powdered sugar and then another cup of powdered sugar at the end of the recipe. It seems like you just use a quarter cup in the recipe and one cup for rolling. What is the other cup for?
Hi Gina! We apologize for the confusion. In the recipe you use 1 1/4 cup into the cookie mixture, but you incorporate it 1/4 cup at a time. I hope this helps!
You need to specify 1/4 cup sugar at a time in the written section. I followed your written directions literally and only added a 1/4 cup and not 1 1/4 cup. I caught it at the end when I went back and looked at the list of ingredients. Totally not a big deal, but during busy holiday baking, having clear written instructions is good to have. Thank you for the recipe! Yum!
Hi Jessica! Good catch, thank you for bringing it to our attention!
I’m so confused by the powdered sugar measurements. The answers in some of the comments go back and forth. One says 1 1/4 cup goes into the dough but another says 1/4 in the dough and the cup is for rolling. What is actually correct?
Hi Tanya! I understand for the confusion and do apologize, we’ve fixed the recipe since then. The total recipe uses 1 1/4 cup of powdered sugar, 1/4 cup in the cookie dough, and the remaining 1 cup to roll the cookies in as the topping. I hope this helps.