Description
These bite-sized Easy Mexican Wedding Cookies are festive pops of a sweet and nutty dessert that isn’t over-the-top rich.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 cups pecans or walnuts
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 16 tablespoons (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or with baking mats.
- In a food processor, process 1 cup of pecans/walnuts until the texture is similar to a coarse cornmeal, about 15 seconds of processing. Place the finely chopped nuts in a medium bowl.
- Add the second cup of pecans/walnuts to the empty food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped, about 5 seconds. Add these pecans/walnuts to the finely chopped pecans/walnuts in the medium bowl.
- Add the flour and salt to the pecans in the bowl, and stir to combine.
- In a medium bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer), beat together the butter and the granulated sugar on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add the vanilla, and stir to combine.
- Slowly add the flour-nut mixture, and stir until it is combined and forms a soft dough, about 30 seconds. Make sure no dry pockets remain in the dough.
- Roll 1 tablespoon of dough into a round ball, and place them 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Bake until the tops are pale golden and the bottoms are just starting to brown, about 18 minutes.
- Let the cookies rest on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes, and then place them on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Place the powdered sugar in a shallow dish, and roll each cookie in it to coat the outside evenly. Gently shake off any excess sugar and serve.
- Store extra cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 6 weeks.
Notes
- If you aren’t serving your cookies right away, you’ll want to re-roll them in powered sugar just before serving to ensure they are evenly covered. (Sometimes, the sugar absorbs or shakes off the cookies.)
- I prefer pecans for this recipe, but then again, I almost always prefer pecans over walnuts. Use what you love or have on hand.
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 18 min
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American