Mexican Wedding Cookies (12 Cookies of Christmas S3.E10)
Today we’re making Mexican Wedding Cookies — also known as Snowball Cookies, Russian Tea Cakes, or Pecan Butterballs! This classic holiday cookie is tender, buttery, nutty, and coated in a sweet layer of powdered sugar that melts in your mouth.
This recipe comes from Terri Crawford, and it’s beautifully simple. If you’ve never toasted your pecans before making these cookies… prepare to have your mind blown. It makes ALL the difference.
In this video, I’ll walk you through toasting the pecans, mixing the dough, shaping the cookies, and the secret behind that perfect powdered sugar coating.
Mexican Wedding Cookies
Ingredients:
- 1 heaping cup pecans
- 1¼ cups powdered sugar, divided
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium skillet over low heat, toast the pecans for about 5 minutes, until fragrant. Transfer the nuts to a food processor and pulse to form a coarse meal.
- Measure ¾ cup of the powdered sugar into a medium bowl and set aside for rolling.
- In another medium bowl, mix together the flour and the cinnamon.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter, the remaining ½ cup powdered sugar, and the salt until light and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts. Gradually add the flour mixture and then the pecans and mix until combined.
- Use a 1-tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop the dough. Then, use your hands to roll it into balls and place them on the baking sheets. If the dough is too sticky to handle, chill it in the fridge for 30 minutes before rolling.
- Bake for 13 to 16 minutes, until just golden. Let cool on the baking sheets for 15 minutes, then roll the warm cookies in the reserved powdered sugar.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
