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Tender, crumbly, and buttery, these Mexican Wedding cookies are loaded up with bits of pecans and dipped in powdered sugar for a fun snowball appearance!
Looking for more cookie recipes? You will love our Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies, Thick Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.
why we love these Mexican Wedding Cookies:
- Texture: these buttery, crumbly cookies have a fine texture to them that melts in your mouth.
- Flavor: thanks to the limited number of ingredients in these cookies, they taste of butter and toasted pecans.
- Simplicity: this recipe for Mexican Wedding Cookies uses simple, pantry ingredients that you will most likely have on hand and come together with ease.
- Beautiful: thanks to a roll in powdered sugar after baking, these cookies look like precious snowballs making them perfect for the winter season.
Ingredients Needed:
- Flour: All purpose flour is used in this recipe. I would not recommend substituting with self rising flour if that is what you have on hand, this recipe does not call for any baking powder. We don’t want this cookie dough to fluff and rise. The texture of the cookie would be altered.
- Butter: If you are using salted butter, then adjust the amount of salt called for in this recipe. This recipe also calls for room temperature butter, which makes it easy to mix and cream.
- Powdered Sugar: the amount called for is used in the cookie dough, be sure to sift to avoid clumps. The cookies are also dipped and rolled in the confectioners sugar once baked to give a coating. Which really makes them look like snowballs!
- Pecans: We want the nuts to be chopped up nice and small. This helps them to blend into the dough and contribute to the crumbliness of the cookies.
How to make Mexican Wedding Cookies
Note: This recipe starts with room temperature butter, so be sure to let the butter sit out for approximately 1 hour before starting.
Make the Cookie Dough: Cream the butter and powdered sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in the flour, salt, and vanilla extract.
Prepare the Pecans: If you use a food processor be careful not to pulse too much to make nut butter. If using a knife, be sure you are chopping the nuts into a nice fine texture. Once they are a fine texture add them into the cookie dough.
Since this cookie recipe has no eggs, which act as a binder, they are designed to have a soft crumble to them. The texture is so fine that they almost melt in your mouth as you enjoy them. The finer the pecans are chopped the better!
Chill the Dough: Stir to combine the dough. At this point the cookie dough will seem crumbly, just keep mixing until it comes together. Press the dough out on a piece of wax or parchment paper and chill for at least 30 minutes. This step helps to prevent the cookies from spreading.
Divide and Shape: Once the dough has been chilled, cut it into equal sections. (image shows a general guideline, to help divide dough. Recipe makes about 30 cookies) Roll each section into 1-inch balls. Bake 15-17 mins on large baking sheets lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Bake until cookies are slightly golden on outside and along the bottom.
Cool and Coat: Remove the cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Once cooled, coat by rolling in powdered sugar. Set on wire racks to allow the sugar to set, then dip the cookies a second time if needed for a nice thick coating.
Variations:
- Walnuts: Swap the pecans for walnuts, or another type of nut, just be sure to chop them up finely.
- No Nuts: Need an allergy friendly Mexican Snowball Cookie? You can omit the nuts completely and make these cookies without them.
Storage & Make Ahead:
- Freezer: The Mexican Wedding Cookie recipe can be made and the dough can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months before removing to bake. Divide and roll the dough, placing the ball shaped cookie dough into a freezer safe container to store.
- Storage: These cookies can be stored in a sealed container at room temperature for 3-4 days.
More Cookies Recipes:
Mexican Wedding Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 cup powdered sugar divided
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup pecans finely chopped
Instructions
- Cream butter and 1/2 cup powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl.
- Add in the vanilla extract, flour, and salt. Mix until dough comes together. Will start off crumbly, but keep mixing.
- Stir in the chopped pecans.
- Press the dough together on a piece of wax paper or plastic wrap. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Divide the dough, and roll each portion of the dough into 1 inch balls.
- Place on baking sheet lined with silicone baking mat. If using one baking sheet, place remaining dough in the refrigerator until ready to be baked.
- Bake for 15-17 minutes until the cookies start to turn golden along the bottom edge.
- Remove from oven and allow too cool.
- In a small bowl add the remaining 1 cup of powdered sugar. Dip the baked cookies into the powdered sugar, placing on a wire rack once done. For best results dip the cookies twice.
Video
Notes
- Freezing Baked Cookies: Allow the cookies to cool to room temperature after baking. Dip in powdered sugar. Place the cookies in layers separated by wax or parchment paper in a freezer safe container. Can be frozen for up to 3 months. Will most likely need to roll the cookies in a fresh layer of powdered sugar once defrosted.
- Freezing Cookie Dough: Roll the dough into the 1 inch balls, layer the cookie dough balls separated by wax or parchment paper in a freezer safe container. Freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw, move the dough to the refrigerator overnight. Then bake according to directions.
- Storage: Store the baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe first published December 12, 2019. Updated November 2022 and November 2023.
Photography by the talented @KJandCompany.co
thank you for these, cookies that are new to me, great texture, especially with the pecans as a nice contrast, much appreciated