Melt-In-Your-Mouth Mexican Wedding Cookies Recipe
What better way to bring people together than baked goods? No, you don't need to get married to enjoy these Mexican wedding cookies, though there's no denying that they would be great served at a post-wedding dessert bar. According to Institute of Culinary Education, these cookies originated in the 16th century from either European nuns or Spanish conquistadors living in the Americas. Eventually, the recipe traveled to Mexico, and that's how the cookies got their name. People serve these at weddings or other special occasions, and we all know there's always an excuse to enjoy cookies. These wonderful treats boast a delicious buttery and nutty batter and rolling them in powdered sugar adds a little extra sweetness to each bite.
Recipe developer Catherine Brookes came up with this simple recipe that is great for a casual get-together or planned event. "I love the soft texture and nutty taste of these delicious sweet treats. They're the perfect bite-sized snack and super fun and easy to make too," Brookes raves. "These cookies have a unique shape and texture, and that powdered sugar coating adds that extra bit of sweetness too!"
Gather the ingredients for these melt-in-your-mouth Mexican wedding cookies
Believe it or not, you only need a few ingredients to make these melt-in-your-mouth Mexican wedding cookies. Pick up pecan halves, white sugar, butter, vanilla extract, almond extract, all-purpose flour, salt, and powdered sugar.
Once you have those items, you can whip up these melt-in-your-mouth Mexican Wedding cookies.
Toast the pecans
For this recipe, you will need to start by grabbing a frying pan and placing it on your stove. Turn the heat to medium and toss in the pecans. Once added, toast the pecans for about 5 minutes, until fragrant. "Toasting the pecans gives them more crunch and brings out their flavor," Brookes notes.
Next, add the pecans to the bowl of a food processor and blitz until they break down into small chunks. This helps them mix more easily with the batter.
Start mixing the batter
Take out the bowl of an electric stand mixer and add the butter and sugar. Remember to let the butter sit at room temperature to soften as this helps the dough mix more easily. Turn the speed to medium and beat the two together for about 2 minutes until smooth and creamy.
Then, add the vanilla and almond extracts and beat again to combine with the rest of the batter.
Mix in the flour and pecans
Turn the speed down to low and add the flour to the batter. Continue beating until everything is well combined. Once thoroughly mixed, the batter should form a thick cookie dough.
This means you can add the blitzed pecans and mix until distributed through the cookie dough. "The flavor is sweet and nutty with some vanilla coming through too," Brookes says of the flavor.
Roll into balls and chill
Now that the cookie dough is ready, take out a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper. Take small handfuls of the dough (the equivalent of 1 heaping tablespoon) and roll into balls. This recipe yields 28 cookies. "You could certainly make the dough ahead of time and roll the balls later," Brookes notes.
Place the formed balls on the baking sheet and pop the sheet into the fridge to chill for 45 minutes. "Make sure to chill the dough for the full 45 minutes, otherwise the cookies may spread too much in the oven," Brookes says.
Bake the cookies and roll them in powdered sugar
Once the cookies are almost chilled, preheat the oven to 350 F. Remove the tray of cookie dough balls from the fridge and make sure they are spaced at least 1 inch apart.
Pop the cookie dough balls into the preheated oven and bake for 15-18 minutes. They should turn a nice golden brown towards the end of the baking time. Due to the number of cookies, you will need to use multiple baking sheets to bake the cookies in batches.
Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes, and then add the powdered sugar to a shallow bowl. Roll the cookies in the powdered sugar, and then you can dig in!
Serve and enjoy
These cookies are wonderful on their own, but Brookes also provides a few of her favorite serving suggestions. "They're great dunked in a cup of tea, coffee or milk," she says.
And, these will keep stay good for a while. "They keep well up to 5 days in an airtight container at room temperature," Brookes adds.
- 1 cup pecan halves
- ⅔ cup white sugar
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- Place a frying pan on the stovetop over medium heat. Add the pecans and toast for about 5 minutes until fragrant.
- Add the pecans to the bowl of a food processor and blitz until broken down into small chunks.
- Add the butter and sugar to the bowl on an electric stand mixer and beat on a medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the vanilla and almond extract and beat again to combine.
- Add the flour and salt and mix on a low speed until a thick dough forms.
- Add the pecan chunks and mix until well distributed through the cookie dough.
- Roll the cookie dough into balls, using about 1 tablespoon of dough for each cookie. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and chill in the fridge for 45 minutes.
- Once the cookies have almost finished chilling, preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Place the cookie balls 1-inch apart on a baking sheet, then place the sheet in the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes. You may need to work in batches/use multiple baking sheets.
- Allow the cookie to cool for about 10 minutes, then roll each one in powdered sugar and serve.
Nutrition
| Calories per Serving | 147 |
| Total Fat | 9.2 g |
| Saturated Fat | 4.4 g |
| Trans Fat | 0.3 g |
| Cholesterol | 17.4 mg |
| Total Carbohydrates | 15.3 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 0.6 g |
| Total Sugars | 8.1 g |
| Sodium | 42.7 mg |
| Protein | 1.3 g |
