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Mexican Wedding Cookies are little bites of pecan heaven.
They aren’t hard to make either. Only a handful of ingredients and under 30 minutes. YES!
In Mexico, though, these cookies have different names: Galletas de Nuez (Pecan Cookies) or Galletas Rusas (Russian Cookies).
How they became “wedding cookies” is beyond me. lol!
Whatever you decide to call them, make a big batch. They are always a hit.
More Mexican Desserts:
Hojarascas
Churros
Apple Empanadas
Fresas con Crema
How to Make Them
- Cream the butter and add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt.
- Add the flour in slowly.
- Scrape down the sides as needed.
Pro Tip:
Use room temperature butter. If it is fresh out of the fridge, zap it in the microwave for 10-second intervals until it is soft.Also, be sure to add the flour in little by little, or flour will fly everywhere.
- Add the toasted pecans. Stir to combine.
- Form a small ball in your hands. About 1 tablespoon.
- Place on a lined cookie sheet.
Not a fan of pecans? Try this recipe with chopped walnuts instead.
How to Toast Pecans:
At my local store, you can buy toasted pecans.
If that’s not the case at your store, get a non-stick skillet and on low-medium heat place the chopped pecans. Stir constantly for 1-2 minutes, or until fragrant.
Let cool before adding to the batter.
- Bake at 375 degrees F for 10-12 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool on a cooling rack.
The bottoms of the cookies should be golden brown.
For smaller cookies:
Use only ½ tablespoon of the batter to form the balls.
Bake for 8 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Roll in powdered sugar.
- Set aside.
- Repeat with the remaining cookies.
Let the cookies cool for about 10 minutes before covering in the sugar.
If they are warm, the powdered sugar will soak into the cookie.
If that happens, simply wait a little longer until they are cool and roll in the powdered sugar again.
Serve With
Cafe de Olla
Atole de Chocolate
Champurrado
Ponche Navideño
You can’t go wrong with these Mexican Wedding Cookies. They are super yummy and melt-in-your mouth delicious. Great for Christmas cookie exchanges and gift giving.
Make a big batch! They’ll be gone in no time.
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Table of Contents
Mexican Wedding Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter (softened)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cup flour
- 1 cup toasted pecans
- Powdered sugar (for rolling) About 1 cup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
- Mix butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt in a bowl.
- Beat until creamy. (About 2-3 minutes)
- Slowly add the flour. Mix on low while doing this.
- Occasionally scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the nuts. Using a spatula work the nuts into the dough.
- Take about 1 tablespoon of the dough.
- Using your hands, roll into a small ball. Place on a lined cookie sheet.
- Space the cookies about 1” apart. Repeat until there is no more dough.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes.
- The bottoms of the cookies will be golden brown.
- Let cool on a cooling rack. About 10 minutes.
- Then roll each cookie on powdered sugar.
- Repeat with all the cookies.
- Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Bake for 8 minutes, or until golden brown.
Nutrition
Maggie Unzueta is the writer/blogger, photographer, recipe developer, videographer, and creator of In Mama Maggie's Kitchen. She has been developing easy and authentic Mexican food, Mexican-inspired recipes, and traveling tips since 2010. From family recipes to her extensive travels throughout Mexico, she brings traditional Mexican flavors from South of the Border and into your kitchen. Maggie has been featured in notable culinary websites and other media outlets. For more details, check out her About page.
Have u made Magdalena’s? If u have could u please show us how they r made? Thank u for ur recipes. Great cookies.
Thanks for suggesting Magdalenas and I’m glad to hear you liked the Mexican Wedding Cookies recipe.
Definitely making these again. I opted for the 1/2 tbsp size cookies.
Yay! Glad you enjoyed this recipe.
Do you use all purpose or self rising flour.
All purpose flour. I don’t recommend using self rising flour to make Mexican Wedding Cookies because it has a rising agent. The cookies will come out salty.
I’ve made Mexican wedding cakes but the very first version/recipe I had was made with almonds and almond extract. I now make the pecan version (w/vanilla extract) and with almonds and almond extract. I also roll them in powdered sugar after taking out of the oven–let set for 1 or 2 minutes on cookie sheets (yes will still be very warm) then roll and place on cooling rack. After they are completely cool, roll again. These also freeze well. I freeze these in a zip bag (or plastic container w/lid) with powdered sugar ( use the stuff you have left over from rolling). Add a bit more to spread amongst the cookies. The sugar will help “cushion” them in the freezer while still keeping the coating.
Great advice and suggestions. Thanks for making this Mexican wedding cookies recipe! It’s a hit at my house too.
I was wondering if after you freeze them then thaw them out, so you add more confection sugar to make them look and taste ?fresh
The problem with freezing is freezer burn. But, you called it! That’s exactly what I would do… freeze them then thaw, then coat the Mexican wedding cookies in confection sugar to try to make them taste fresher.
Such a delicious and classic cookie. Thanks for sharing!
So glad you enjoyed this!
Wonderful recipe! So delicious!
So glad you enjoyed this!
Our favourite cookies – these are so good!
This recipe it’s amazing. So glad you enjoyed this!
Oh, yum! These are perfect!
Thanks! So glad you enjoyed this!
I love the buttery flavour of Pecans, these look so delicious!
So glad you enjoyed this!
These cookies are so tasty!
They are! glad you liked them
My mom used to make these way back in the 80’s but she used to add a just a little bit of anise.
Sounds yummy! Hope you give this a try
Love these!
So glad you enjoyed this!
I never had any of these cookies until a couple years ago. I always imagined they would be a dry cookie. I was doing in home care for an elderly couple and she made all kinds of cookies for Christmas. I had a couple of these and they were amazing. So, so good. She actually made a batch for me to take home. I’m making them this year for the first time. It says 16 servings. Does that mean just one cookie per serving or two? Because I could eat 16 of these with no problem.😆
Lol! You and me both. Unfortunately it means one cookie per serving. 🙂 Hope you have a Happy Holidays!
Love these, the addition of pecans made them AMAZING!
So glad you enjoyed this!