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Polvorones: Mexican Wedding Cookies

  • Author: Maura Wall Hernandez
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 13-15 minutes
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 3 dozen cookies 1x
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: Mexican

Description

Mexican wedding cookies, also known as polvorones in Spanish, are a tender shortbread cookie made with butter, powdered sugar, salt, vanilla, flour, chopped nuts and topped with powdered sugar. These cookies were made popular in Mexico by convent bakers after the Spanish settled in the new world.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted + 1/4 cup for topping
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
  • 3 ounces chopped pecans 

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Finely chop 3 ounces of pecans, place in a prep dish and set aside.
  3. In a stand mixer, cream 1 cup butter, 1 cup powdered sugar and salt with a paddle attachment. Start on low speed and increase to medium in order to keep the powdered sugar from flying out of the bowl. 
  4. Add vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract and continue to mix on medium speed until completely incorporated. 
  5. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add sifted flour, about 1/4 cup at a time until all flour is incorporated.
  6. Add chopped pecans and mix until incorporated.
  7. Shape rounded tablespoons of dough and roll them into balls.
  8. Bake on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 13-15 minutes. The cookies do not brown on top unless over-baked, so the dough should still look very light when they come out of the oven.
  9. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes, then sift remaining powdered sugar over the top of the cookies. 
  10. Store completely cooled cookies in an airtight container for freshness up to 10 days.

Notes

You will need a stand mixer such as a KitchenAid mixer and paddle attachment to make the dough.

Keywords: polvorones, Mexican wedding cookies, Russian tea cakes