Mexican wedding cookies are the perfect addition to your Christmas cookie spread!
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Mexican wedding cookies, AKA snowball cookies, are perfect holiday cookies because they’re easy to make and add some festive snow to the table!
They’re also very kid-friendly to make – just messy enough to be fun, and no eggs means it doesn’t matter dough makes it into little mouths!
(Let’s be honest, I ALWAYS eat some of the dough, even with eggs. But I’m more careful when kids are involved.)
The dough here is surprisingly delicate. Between the high ratio of butter to flour and the use of powdered sugar instead of granulated, it’s easy to overhandle. So be sure to cut the pecans small and
I like using pecans because they remind me of the holidays – something about the flavor feels so festive! You can substitute walnuts if you’d rather, they give a similar texture to the final product.
Toast your nuts beforehand for an extra level of flavor: toss them on a baking sheet into the oven at 300°F for a few minutes, until they’re just starting to tinge with color. You can usually tell they’re ready because you can just begin to smell them. But let them cool completely before chopping and incorporating into the dough.
Once they bake, you want to get them rolled in the sugar as fast as possible – basically whenever they’re cooled enough to burn your fingers off, toss them into the powdered sugar. This allows some of the sugar to melt onto the cookie, allowing a second layer of powdered sugar to stick to that and give them the snowball look.
Tools you’ll need: mixer, baking tray, bowl.
Mexican Wedding Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb unsalted butter softened
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup pecans
Instructions
- Optional: toast the pecans! Heat the oven to 300°F and spread pecans on a baking sheet. Toast for 5 minutes, until they just begin to color and you can smell them baking. Let them cool completely before chopping and adding to the dough.
- Beat the butter for two minutes, until light and fluffy. Add 3/4 cups powdered sugar and beat another minute until creamed.
- Add the vanilla and combine.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add half the mixture to the butter and stir on low until just combined. Then add the other half and the chopped pecans and stir again until just combined.
- Wrap the dough in wax paper and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Roll the dough into balls, being gentle with the dough – try to not overhandle it.
- Bake on an ungreased baking tray for 9-11 minutes. They won't spread, so it's okay to put them closer together. While they bake, put the remaining powdered sugar in a bowl and set aside.
- Transfer to a cooling rack. As soon as they're cool enough to touch (but still warm), toss the cookies in the bowl of powdered sugar and coat.
Mexican wedding cookies (or snowball cookies) are one of my favorite holiday cookies lately! Have you tried them?
You can find all my cookie recipes on my desserts page for more Christmas cookie inspiration!
