These Mexican wedding cookies are tender, delicate, and full of rich, buttery pecan flavor. Dusted in powdered sugar, they're a perfect holiday treat.
Mexican wedding cookies are one of my favorite holiday treats. They have a rich, nutty flavor and a texture so delicate that they practically melt in your mouth. This recipe makes a decent batch – about 40 cookies – but I still wouldn’t expect it to last long. The last time I made these Mexican wedding cookies, they all vanished in two days flat!
Mexican Wedding Cookies Recipe Ingredients
Mexican wedding cookies go by many different names: snowballs, Russian tea cakes, Mexican wedding cakes, polvorones, and more. I did some digging on their history while I was working on this recipe, and it turns out, we don’t really know where they originated.
Because of their high nut to flour ratio, some historians believe they were first made in the Middle East or Eastern Europe. Either way, they likely came to Mexico through Spanish migrants in the 16th century. Today, cookies like these are still made in countries across the world!
At their most basic, Mexican wedding cookies consist of flour, butter, finely chopped nuts, confectioner’s sugar, and vanilla extract. I add a few extra ingredients to my recipe for an even cozier, Christmasy taste. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- Toasted pecans: Nuts are a key ingredient in any Mexican wedding cookies recipe, and pecans are always my top pick. They add rich, nutty flavor to the simple dough.
- Butter: For moisture and additional richness.
- All-purpose flour: It brings the dough together.
- Powdered sugar: You’ll add some to the dough and dust the rest on top of the cookies. You can use store-bought, or make your own.
- Vanilla and cinnamon: They add warm depth of flavor to the rich, buttery cookies.
- Almond extract: It’s not a traditional ingredient in Mexican wedding cookies, but I love how it brings out the pecans’ nutty flavor.
- And sea salt: To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Mexican Wedding Cookies
Heads up: you’ll need soft, room temperature butter to make this recipe! If you store your butter in the fridge or the freezer, make sure to let it soften on your countertop for an hour or two before you get to work.
For me, remembering to allow the butter to soften is the toughest part of making this Mexican wedding cookies recipe. After that, it’s easy:
First, prep the pecans. Toast them in a dry skillet over low heat for 5 minutes, or until they’re nice and fragrant. Then, place them in a food processor…
…and pulse until they form a coarse meal.
Next, make the dough. You’ll cream together the butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, and the salt until light and fluffy. Then, mix in the vanilla and almond extracts and gradually add the flour and cinnamon. Finally, mix in the pecans.
Then, form the cookies. Use a 1-tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop the dough, and use your hands to roll it into balls. Arrange the balls on two parchment-lined baking sheets.
Tip: If the dough is too sticky to work with, pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up before you roll the cookies.
Finally, bake! Bake the cookies for 13-16 minutes, or until they’re just golden. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 15 minutes before rolling them in powdered sugar. That’s it!
Add the cookies to a holiday cookie plate, or enjoy them with a cup of hot chocolate. Happy baking!
More Favorite Holiday Treats
If you love these Mexican wedding cookies, try one of these holiday treats next:
- Easy Sugar Cookies
- Chewy Molasses Cookies
- Thumbprint Cookies
- Lemon Shortbread Cookies
- Best Peanut Butter Cookies
- Or any of these 21 Best Christmas Cookie Recipes!
Mexican Wedding Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 heaping cup pecans
- 1¼ cups powdered sugar, divided
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium skillet over low heat, toast the pecans for about 5 minutes, until fragrant. Transfer the nuts to a food processor and pulse to form a coarse meal.
- Measure ¾ cup of the powdered sugar into a medium bowl and set aside for rolling.
- In another medium bowl, mix together the flour and the cinnamon.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter, the remaining ½ cup powdered sugar, and the salt until light and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts. Gradually add the flour mixture and then the pecans and mix until combined.
- Use a 1-tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop the dough. Then, use your hands to roll it into balls and place them on the baking sheets. If the dough is too sticky to handle, chill it in the fridge for 30 minutes before rolling.
- Bake for 13 to 16 minutes, until just golden. Let cool on the baking sheets for 15 minutes, then roll the warm cookies in the reserved powdered sugar.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
I had an old Pecan Ball recipe which we used for years. Forgot to take the recipe with me to visit family for the holidays…. Found this recipe online…. The addition of Cinnamon & Almond extract was fantastic. And using the powdered sugar instead of white granulated sugar made a huge difference in the consistency. As a previous person mentioned, they MELT in your mouth. These are truly Spanish Polvorones! Thank you Jeanine and Jack!
I’m so glad you loved the cookies, Melani!
We made these for the Dec cooking club and they are a major favorite! I can’t explain how melt in the mouth they are 🤍
Can I make these without nuts? Do I need to alter any of the other ingredients? Thank you.
Hi J and J,
I have made versions of these before, but I have a question about storage: Can I either A) bake them and save them for 2 days later, or B) prep the dough in balls and refrigerate to bake in two days? Can’t wait to gobble these up!
Thanks!
Hi Tasha, they should be fine 2 days later. I don’t think we’ve tried refrigerating this dough, but that might work. I would keep the dough covered in a bowl and shape them when you’re ready to bake.
I noticed while making the recipe that there was way more than 1/2 c. of pwd sugar left in the bowl to mix with the eggs so I measured out 1/2 c. I was also worried about the Almond extract overpowering the taste so I cut that back to a scant 1/2 tsp.. omitted the cinnamon,. and double rolled in pwd sugar once while warm and again when completely cooled. I also felt the Pecans were alot but added as directed as I love Pecans. These were delicious. I made them Christmas Day and the are only 7 cookies left it’s 7am the morning after Christmas.
LOL THEY ARE A HIT!!! I will be making them again.
I’m so glad they were a hit!
What eggs???
Just finished these cookies. As with others comments, they flattened out some. They are still domed but not round, more like half round. Next time I will use 2C of flour, that should fix it. I also think the almond extract is a little overpowering, hides the taste of the nuts.
Otherwise a very tasty cookie, but not traditional.
I followed this recipe verbatim and my cookies flattened out and when I took them off the pan they just crumbled before I could even roll them in powered sugar.
Makes about 2 dozen – I got about 35 with a #70 scoop.
Think about making this recipe 2x as these are really popular.
Make 1x at a time, 2x recipe won’t do well in the stand mixer
(a.k.a. Snowball cookies a.k.a Russian Tea Cakes – note the publish date, during the Cold War, this recipe name was changed)
Cream together:
1 C butter
½ C powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Add & mix well: – use a dough hook
2 C cake flour*
¼ tsp salt
1 C chopped pecans
Chill 1 ½ hours – I’ve yet to do this step and they turn out great
Form into small balls (#70 scoop) PACK the scoop
Bake 10 minutes or until edges begin to brown slightly.
Cool slightly on baking sheets until just cool enough to handle
Roll warm cookies in powdered sugar; cool on wire rack.
Roll in powdered sugar again before storing in air tight container.
*Cake Flour –
Put 2 T cornstarch in a cup measurer
Add flour to make a cup
Sift 5 – 6 times to evenly distribute cornstarch
From Marilyn Barrett’s Home Economics, class cir. 1951
SO GOOD! Will definitely make these again. I had walnuts on hand, so I used those instead of pecans. Also, didn’t have any almond flavoring. But they turned out great.
I’m so glad you loved them!
Taste pretty good but lost their shape .
Delicious! Texture is great as well. However, we overcooked a couple and they exploded when we tried to roll them in powdered sugar. Otherwise they were great.
You have to let them cool down before adding the powdered sugar. I hope this helps (:! I am going to try this recipe now.
You actual roll once while warm than again when completely cooled. At least that what l did. Worked out perfect
I love the texture n flavor of this cookie. I definitely will make them again.
However my cookie kinda of spread. It didn’t stay round.
Very tender, melt-in-your-mouth cookie. I’ve made a version of this cookie every holiday for as long as I can remember. This version includes cinnamon and almond extract. My first reaction was not positive (probably because I was seeking the familiar taste of a more traditional recipe). That said, my husband and I together polished off the entire batch in no time. So, give it a try– it might become a new favorite in your house.
I don’t see how to edit my review; but I would change my rating to 5 stars. The texture of these cookies exceeded my traditional recipe and this will be my new go-to for holiday baking.