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    Home » Dessert » Cookies

    Mexican Wedding Cookies

    Published: Dec 16, 2019 · by Elizabeth Waterson · This post may contain affiliate links, which may pay me a small commission for my referral at no extra cost to you! Thank you for supporting Confessions of a Baking Queen!

    Jump to Recipe

    Buttery soft, melt in your mouth, these easy Mexican wedding cookies are the perfect treat with a cup of tea. Step-by-step photos help you make these scrumptious cookies. Dunked in powdered sugar twice and full of pecans these cookies have the best flavor and texture! 

    mexican wedding cookies on a wire rack

    Also known as Russian tea cakes or snowballs these Mexican wedding cookies are an easy cookie recipe everyone loves. They're soft, buttery, and shortbread-like. Melts in your mouth. As if I didn't already have an addicting shortbread recipe (my brown butter shortbread).

    The cookies are simple to make and the recipe makes a generous amount due to the small size of the cookies. I kept the recipe smaller, but you can easily double the recipe for more cookies.

    One of the reasons we keep these cookies small is to ensure there is a good powdered sugar to cookie ratio.

    This is a perfect cookie recipe for Christmas time. I love to make a box of cookies for friends and include all different textures and flavors. Some of my favorites are Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies, Chewy Lemon Cookies, and Peanut Butter M&M cookies.

    Let's get to the recipe.

    mexican wedding cookies on a white plate with one half eaten on a plate

    What are the Ingredients for Mexican Wedding Cookies?

    Just seven pantry staples are needed to create these cookies.

    • Pecans. Some recipes call for finely chopped pecans, I prefer to chop the pecans into two different sizes. This helps create a great texture throughout the whole cookie and a nice crunch. I prefer to do this in the food processor for ease, just dump the first part of pecans blend into a fine crumb, dump those out and add the last pecans and pulse until thicker chopped pecan size.
    • Flour. All-Purpose/ Plain Flour. This is a shortbread-like cookie so you need flour for that iconic texture.
    • Salt. Just a pinch helps balance out the flavors. I never omit salt in my baked goods.
    • Unsalted Butter. The butter needs to be slightly softened not as soft as I would use in most other cookie recipes like my Chewy White Chocolate Chunk Cookies.
    • Sugar. Some recipes call for granulated sugar but I prefer to use powdered/ confectioners sugar to create that extra soft, light texture. Confectioners sugar is actually mixed with a bit of cornstarch/ cornflour that helps create the beautiful cookie crumb. In my chocolate chip cookies, I actually add cornstarch directly because of the great role it plays in cookies.
    • Vanilla Extract. It's important to use the real stuff, I truly do believe there is a big difference between imitation and real vanilla extract. It's worth the money.
    • Almond Extract. Just a smidge helps create great flavor. If almond is not your jam just omit it from the recipe.

    How do you make Mexican Wedding Cookies?

    Preheat the oven to 325F/ 163C and line a baking sheets with a Silpat liner or parchment paper.

    pecans in a food processor (

    In a food processor blend half of the pecans into a fine crumb, pour into a clean bowl, then add remaining pecans and blend for just a few seconds to break the pieces into medium-small chopped pecans.

    Add to the fine crumb pecans.

    Pecans blended in a food processor

    Add the flour and salt to the crushed pecans and whisk to combine.

    hand holding a whisk mixing dry ingredients in a glass bowl

    In a large bowl with a handheld mixer or bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment beat the butter and powdered sugar together until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.

    metal mixing bowl with powdered sugar and butter and powdered sugar in a metal mixing bowl

    Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the vanilla and almond extract, mixing to combine.

    butter and sugar mixture mixed with almond and vanilla extract

    Gently mix in the dry ingredients, stop mixing when it starts to clump up.

    dry ingredients added to wet ingredients in a metal bowl

    Use your hands or a spatula to gently press the mixture together.

    mexican wedding cookie dough in a metal mixing bowl

    Using a tablespoon scoop the dough then roll into balls. Place two inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.

    mexican wedding cookie dough scooped into a ball on a silpat lined baking sheet

    Bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire cooling rack.

    mexican wedding cookies on a wire rack next to a bowl of powdered sugar and cup of pecans

    Let cookies cool for an additional 20 minutes then roll in a deep dish filled with remaining powdered sugar.

    mexican wedding cookie in a small bowl of powdered sugar

    Let the cookies cool completely then roll in confectioners sugar again. You can see below the second layer of powdered sugar really helps create that classic snowball, Russian tea cake, Mexican wedding cookie look.

    mexican wedding cookies baked and dipped in powdered sugar on a silpat liner

    Can you freeze the cookies?

    Most all cookies are great candidates for freezing. These cookies are no different. The only thing I would potentially expect to do is roll them in sugar again once you have thawed them.

    To freeze the cookies make sure they have cooled completely, then transfer to a freezer-safe bag.

    To thaw the cookies let them sit at room temperature for a few hours.

    mexican wedding cookies on a white plate

    Check out this post on my Cookie Baking Tips

    For more delicious pecan recipes try my Pecan Pie Cheesecake or Pecan Laceys, both absolutely delicious desserts perfect for a party! Hayley has the most perfect looking Pecan Pralines!

    If you're looking for a savory pecan recipe try my friend Cheryl's Smoky Cheese Ball rolled in pecans, another perfect party treat!

    ★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!

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    mexican wedding cookies on a white plate with one half eaten on a plate

    Mexican Wedding Cookies

    ★★★★★

    5 from 3 reviews

    Print Recipe
    Pin Recipe

    Buttery soft, melt in your mouth, these easy Mexican wedding cookies are the perfect treat with a cup of tea. Step-by-step photos help you make these scrumptious cookies. Dunked in powdered sugar twice and full of pecans these cookies have the best flavor and texture! 

    • Total Time: 25
    • Yield: 21 Cookies 1x

    Ingredients

    Units Scale
    • 115 grams (1 Cup) Pecans, divided
    • 125 grams (1 Cup) All-Purpose/ Plain Flour
    • ½ Teaspoon Salt
    • 4oz (½ Cup) Unsalted Butter, softened
    • 60 grams (½ Cup) Powdered/ Confectioners Sugar
    • 1 ½ Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
    • ½ Teaspoon Almond Extract
    • 90 grams (¾ Cup) Powdered/ Confectioners Sugar

    Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 325F/ 163C and line a baking sheet with a Silpat liner or parchment paper.
    2. In a food processor blend half of the pecans into a fine crumb pour into a clean bowl then add remaining pecans and blend for just a few seconds to break the pieces into medium-small size. Add to the fine crumb pecans.
    3. Add the flour and salt to the crushed pecans and whisk to combine.
    4. In a large bowl with a handheld mixer or bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment beat the butter and powdered sugar together until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the vanilla and almond extract, mixing to combine.
    5. Gently mix in the dry ingredients, stop mixing when it starts to clump up. Use your hands or a spatula to gently press the mixture together.
    6. Using a tablespoon scoop the dough then roll into balls. Place two inches apart on prepared baking sheet.
    7. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool on tray for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack. Let cookies cool for an additional 20 minutes then roll in a deep dish filled with remainig powdered sugar. Let cookies cool completely then roll in confectioners sugar again.Store cookies in an air-tight container.

    Equipment

    food processor

    Food Processor

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    kitchen aid cordless hand mixer

    Cordless Hand Mixer

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    kitchen aid stand mixer

    KitchenAid Stand Mixer 6 Quart

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    half sheet pans

    Half Sheet Pan

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    silpat liner

    Silpat

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    oxo food scale

    OXO Kitchen Scale

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    • Author: Elizabeth Waterson I Confessions of a Baking Queen
    • Prep Time: 10
    • Cook Time: 15
    • Category: Dessert
    • Method: Bake
    • Cuisine: Mexican

    Keywords: mexican wedding cookies, russian tea cakes, snowballs cookie recipe

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @confessionsofabakingqueen on Instagram and hashtag it #cbqbakes

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    1. Oscar says

      April 07, 2020 at 1:26 pm

      Wow. These are a great party dessert!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    2. Jennifer says

      December 22, 2020 at 10:06 pm

      I made these for my Christmas cookie plates! They turned out great. I like the idea of having half of the nuts more coarsely chopped for a different texture. Thanks!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Elizabeth Waterson says

        December 24, 2020 at 8:49 am

        Thank you so much for coming back to review the recipe Jennifer, I truly appreciate it!! So glad you enjoyed the cookies, such a tasty irresistible cookie!! I hope you have a lovely Christmas. XX Liz

        Reply
    3. Doctor Richard says

      February 19, 2021 at 2:39 pm

      These are so perfect, I shared these at my practice and my colleagues were so impressed with me, they think I'm only good at cutting people open... These proved them wrong.

      ★★★★★

      Reply

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    Waterson, Elizabeth Cropped Size Photo CAke copy 2

    Hiya! I am Elizabeth Waterson, welcome to my treat-filled site. After spending 15 years in the restaurant industry and growing up baking, I wanted to share my love of baking with you all. My step-by-step tutorials will help you learn how to bake at home. Confessions of a Baking Queen (CBQ) has been featured in CBS LA, HuffPost Taste, BuzzFeed, Taste of Home, and more! Here you will find loads of sweet recipes with a few savory ones for good measure. Feel free to message me with any questions! Happy Baking! 

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