Mexican Wedding Cookies
- Total Time
- 35 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:2 dozen
- ½cup pecan halves
- 2½cups confectioners' sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1cup unsalted butter
- ½teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1¾cups all-purpose flour
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (24 servings)
164 calories; 9 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 20 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 12 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 8 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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- Step 1
Put pecans, 1 cup of the sugar and salt in food processor and blend until nuts are ground fine. Cut the butter into tablespoon-size pieces and add it to nut mixture with processor running. Process until smooth. Add vanilla extract. Add flour and continue blending, using pulse mechanism of processor.
- Step 2
Scrape dough into a bowl. Cover tightly and refrigerate one hour. 3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Step 3
Scoop dough with tablespoon and form 1-inch balls by rolling dough between palms (lightly flour hands, if necessary). Place balls 1½ inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
- Step 4
Bake 15 minutes or until the cookies barely begin to brown. Cool for 2 minutes. Use small spatula to lift cookies from sheets. Roll the cookies in the remaining sugar.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Deborah
The best way to keep these from turning out like pancakes is to chill the dough before rolling them into balls. The colder they are, the less they will spread during cooking.
Polly T.
Room temperature butter--not melted soft. Check the cookies at 10 minutes and 12 minutes. They won't brown on the top, but check bottom carefully because they burn quickly. Test for doneness by breaking one in half. They should be dry. put confectioners sugar in a bowl and roll the cookies while still warm. sugar all the cookies once and then a second time (the first time the sugar will be absorbed by the warm cookie).
India
A similar cookie was made by the long-gone Wolferman's Kansas City. They called them "Four O'Clocks"
Preheat to 350°
1/2 lb sweet butter
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 cup pecans, finely ground
2 cups white flour
1/4 tsp salt
extra confectioners sugar
Mix butter, sugar and ground nuts. Add flour. Mix thoroughly. Chill.
Roll thinly between waxed paper. Cut out into small rounds the size of a 50¢ piece
Bake 3-5 minutes.
Drop in extra sugar while hot, shake off excess.
KellyDC
Question: how soft should the butter be? Softened at room temp (like usual for cookies) or still cold (like for pastry)?
FRITZ
I make similar w/o food processor. Butter firmness crucial; must be room temp yet firm and not too soft or cookies will not hold shape. By hand or mixer, cream 1/2 c butter w 1/3 c powdered sugar. Add 1 tsp vanilla, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 c all purpose flour and combine. Stir in 1 c finely chopped pecans. No need to chill dough. Roll into 1-inch balls. Bake 12-15 min at 350, ungreased sheet. Roll warm balls in powdered sugar, cool then roll in fresh powd sugar. Been making for over 30 yrs. Yield 18-20.
Regarding the pecans...
I toast them in a skillet for a few minutes to release the true pecan flavor. Makes a huge difference.
Robert
I don't use this recipe but grew up making these. Emeril Lagasse's recipe for Russian Tea Cakes comes closest to the ones my mom made all my life. They've always been rolled in powdered sugar about ten minutes after coming out of the oven, then allowed to sit overnight and re-rolled one by one the next day. The first rolling is almost like a glazed donut by the next morning and the final rolling gives them the freshly dusted powdered sugar look (and stays that way).
Myra
If you have a rolling pin you can crush the pecans in a bag, on parchment paper, etc. It would be nice if they would give non-gadget alternatives in these recipes.
Randall
The discussion as to what this cookie is truly called has gone on for decades. Our family recipe dates back to the 1920's when our great-aunt Johanna made them. She got the recipe from her mother who was from Stockholm and deceased before the 1920's. The ingredients are so basic that I imagine you could call them Mongolian snowballs and be somewhat correct.
LeithAnne
I freeze my dough and roll it from a semi-frozen state. Seems to keep the ball shape better. I also use a mixer. Food processors weren’t around 50 years ago when I got the recipe from my aunt, and if it ain’t broke...
Deborah
I just made these tonight. The food processor used is less than stellar. Perseverance ground most of the butter into the walnuts (didn't have pecans), sugar, and salt, but there was one lump, discovered when putting the cookies onto the tray to be baked. The cookies with the identifiable lumps of butter collapsed. The cookies with no identifiable lumps of butter retained their shape. I think the key is to make a paste of the pecans, sugar, salt, and butter.
BTW Awesome cookies.
Stephany Madsen
My mother made "snowballs" for Christmas and I make "Russian Tea Cakes." All similar and utterly delicious. Will try this one as it's a bit different. And if you hide them from your family, they keep beautifully in a tin for about two weeks! Sometimes, I roll them in the XXXX sugar twice.
Sharon Walthew
Mexican Wedding Cookies have anise; Russian Tea Cakes do not. In the picture above, the cookies are overcooked; there should be no brown.
Liz BRYANT
I used to make these in the 1960's, but shaped them as crescents. They were called Mexican Wedding Cakes. Melt in your mouth goodness.
alison
less than an hour around my place! ^_^
mavis mallon
First toast the sugar and pecans in oven before grinding in cuisinant…
lorraine
I’d like to know if anyone has frozen these cookies successfully. My daughter wants them at her wedding and I don’t think powdered sugar freezes well.
John
I rolled them into balls prior to chilling. Then popped into the oven. Perfect amount of “spread”.
KB
Made these with matcha. I created a paste with the matcha and vanilla. Added a tablespoon of tahini. Needed 12 minutes due to dough being refrigerated over night. Rolled in sugar within ten minutes and second time after they cooled.
sma
Culled for several hours. Still flattened out. I have been told that this happens due to too warm dough or over beating butter. Taste is okay use a sifter to apply powdered sugar but it was messy. Have a recipe for similar cookies but no food processor and see if the they hold the ball shape
Hannah
A few tips: 1) make sure your butter is soft, or even melt it a bit. The food processor will gum up if you add the butter cold. 2) make the dough balls immediately after the dough is mixed and freeze for 3 hours. This will prevent spreading. 3) no need to roll the delicate cookies in the powdered sure. Simple dust them using a sieve. 4) like another commenter said, dust once with powdered sugar immediately when warm, then again after they've cooled. Makes for a nice texture, almost like a glaze.
Jwl
So after reading the notes, I decided to try this recipe. I followed prep instructions, exactly, set timer for 10 min and started checking. At 15 minutes I took them out, let sit in pan 2 minutes, they need at least 5 min in pan, cannot roll in powdered sugar while warm, they fall apart. I’m baking next batch for 16-17 minutes, will let almost cool, then will cover with sugar. My cookie bottoms did not burn, tops and bottoms were gently browned, but there’s no there there. No toothsomeness.
rad
A bit dry. Very sweet. Make small balls. Don’t double in the food processor because it won’t blend correctly.
Jess
My cookies completely melted in the oven. Followed the direction precisely. Looks like other recipes use 1/4 cup more flour, less confectionaries sugar in dough, and double the nuts. Thinking that may be the issue!
Heather
Because the spread so wide double rolling in powdered sugar really makes them too sweet imo. They also lack a nutty flavor & slight crunch that is one of the main appeals of this kind of Cookie.
Heather
I didn’t have a springform pan and so I used a square cake pan lined with parchment. Seem to work pretty well!
Jen
Followed the directions, chilled the dough for an hour and they are still flat like cookies instead of spheres:-(
SF Home Chef
Learned the hard way my butter was too cold - I had a giant lump of butter in the food processor that took quite some time and many bouts of bowl scraping to resolve. The next batch was easier, the 2 sticks of butter having been out of the fridge for a little longer. I added 1/2 tsp cardamom. I love these cookies and so does everyone else. Melt-in-your mouth deliciousness.
cat
Wow. People love these cookies! They’re the first to disappear from a table of assorted holiday cookies. This recipe couldn’t be more straightforward and easy to make. The results were a tender pecan cookie that tasted exactly the “sandies” my mom used to make - just better and not so round.
Deb T
Highly recommend these as they are similar to my Mom's cookies made years ago. I used the Vitamix for the pecans which ground them too fine for my taste. Will make the change next time.....350 degrees for 12 minutes baked them perfectly. Delicious!
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