The Mexican cuisine is famous for a lot of baked goods, such as conchas, empanadas, and of course, Mexican Wedding Cookies
In this article, I’ll walk you through the traditional recipe of the Mexican Wedding Cookie, aka polvorones. I’ll also suggest some quick tips to make your Mexican Wedding Cookies tastier and more appealing. Let’s go!
What Are Mexican Wedding Cookies?
Mexican Wedding Cookies are the Mexican version of shortbread cookies. They’re prepared with flour, sugar, and butter (or pork lard). Some people like to add almonds and other nuts to enrich the flavor.
As previously mentioned, Mexican Wedding Cookies are also referred to as polvorones.
In Spanish, the word “polvo” translates to fine powder, which describes the delicate, crumbly texture of the Mexican Wedding Cookies, especially as they melt tenderly in your mouth.
How Did Polvorones Reach Mexico?
Most people believe that the original polvorones were conceptualized by the Arab Moors who used to live in Southern Spain.
During the Spanish Inquisition, the Castilian kings released an official decree that required all polvorones to be made of pork lard, mainly because Muslims and Jews don’t eat pork.
In the following years, polvorones were mainly baked during Christmas, but they were also popular on special occasions like weddings.
When the Spanish settlers arrived in Mexico, the pork decree was no longer in effect, so the Mexicans started devouring polvorones with both butter and pork recipes.
You can find polvorones in all countries that have a Spanish heritage, especially the Philippines and Puerto Rico. However, each country may have altered the recipe to match its own culture throughout the years.
How to Make Mexican Wedding Cookies
Alright, now that we’ve covered the Mexican Wedding Cookie’s origins, let’s get to the actual recipe.
Start by gathering the following ingredients:
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup raw peeled almonds
- 5 ounces butter, or 230 gm pork lard
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- A pinch of salt
- 2 cups icing sugar
1. Toast the Flour
Preheat your oven at 250°F. Then, pour the flour into a large baking tray, and make sure to spread it as evenly as you can.
Now toast the flour in the oven for about 1 hour to get rid of any lurking moisture.
This step is what grants the final crumbly texture of the Mexican Wedding Cookies.
While the flour is toasting, remember to stir it every 15 minutes, or else it’ll burn. Let it cool down for about 10 minutes before you move on to the next step.
2. Sift the Dry Ingredients
Sift the toasted flour, powdered sugar, and cinnamon to remove any large bits. You can use a regular mesh strainer, but a crank sifter would do the job much faster.
Some people like to add a pinch of salt to that mixture to balance the sweetness, but it doesn’t really make a noticeable difference.
3. Add the Butter
Add the butter to the dry ingredients and start kneading in a large bowl. If you’ll knead by hand, add the butter in small bits to increase the surface area. A hand mixer will obviously save a lot of time, though.
Although most Mexicans use butter, some families like to add pork lard or peanut oil. If you’re passionate about Mexican Wedding Cookies, you should definitely try the three ingredients since they significantly alter the taste.
4. Toast, Grind and Add the Almonds (Optional)
Even though plain Mexican Wedding Cookies will taste great on their own, I like to add almonds to give a crunchy texture.
Spread your raw almonds on a baking tray, and toast them in the oven for about 10 minutes at 250°F. Then place them in your food processor and pulsate until you get a flour-like texture.
Now add the almonds to the butter mixture and continue kneading.
5. Knead the Mixture Into a Solid Ball
Now that we’ve added all the ingredients into the bowl, you should knead them well until you get a consistent dough that’s firm enough to be shaped into a ball.
If you feel that the dough is too powdery, feel free to add more butter until you achieve the desired consistency.
6. Add Food Coloring (Optional)
The traditional Mexican Wedding Cookies are served in the plain dough color. However, as this recipe got more popular, some Mexicans wanted to spice things up by adding food colorings.
Although this doesn’t yield a different taste, the colored Mexican Wedding Cookies will seem more appealing to young kids.
7. Let the Dough Rest
Wrap the dough in a plastic sheet and let it rest in the fridge for at least an hour. This will make it a lot easier to shape the dough into small rolls.
While you’re waiting, preheat the oven at 350ºF so you can bake the Mexican Wedding Cookies right after you roll them.
8. Roll the Dough Into Small Balls
Line your baking tray with parchment paper. Then, scoop tiny pieces of the dough, roll them between your hands, and line them over the tray.
Although Mexican Wedding Cookies are traditionally served as small balls, you can experiment with any other shape you like.
Some of my friends like to roll the dough into a log and then cut it into small toast-like slices.
Others like to flatten the dough into small circles and then use a glass bottle to stamp a small indent at the center, which gives pretty flower-shaped polvorones.
9. Bake at 350ºF for 20–25 Minutes
To avoid burning the Mexican Wedding Cookies, I like to put an empty tray at the bottom of the oven and bake them on the middle rack.
Check your Mexican Wedding Cookies after about 20 minutes. You’ll know they’re ready once the bottom surface turns golden brown. If they still look plain, leave them to bake for five more minutes.
However, you shouldn’t leave them any longer since they might start cracking, which will definitely ruin the final texture.
10. Coat the Baked Mexican Wedding Cookies With Icing Sugar
Once you finish baking them, let them cool down for an hour.
Then, pour icing sugar into a large bowl, and start dredging the Mexican Wedding Cookies one by one into that bowl.
If you want your them to be less sweet, sieve the sugar directly over the baking tray.
You can also throw in some ground cinnamon if you want to add a citrusy note.
And that’s it! You’re now ready to serve your luscious Mexican Wedding Cookies!
Final Polvorones Thoughts
If you’re planning to gift your polvorones to a Mexican friend, make sure to wrap them in paper before putting them in a box so that they don’t crumble as they bump into the walls.
In Spain, some families like to add cocoa powder to the polvorones dough to simulate the chocolate chip cookies. You may also try adding grated coconut and lemon zest if you want to enhance the citric notes.
If you would like to learn more about Mexican sweets, check out 20 Mexican Must-Try Traditional Desserts.
Polvorones Recipe
Polvorones are also known as Mexican Wedding Cookies. They are the Mexican version of shortbread cookies. This recipe is so easy to make, and the dough is extremely versatile.
Ingredients
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup raw peeled almonds
- 5 ounces butter, or 230 gm pork lard
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- A pinch of salt
- 2 cups icing sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven at 250°F.
- Pour the flour into a large baking tray and make sure to spread it as evenly as you can. Toast the flour in the oven for about 1 hour to get rid of any lurking moisture. Stir it every 15 minutes, or else it’ll burn. Let it cool down for about 10 minutes before you move on to the next step.
- Sift the toasted flour, powdered sugar, and cinnamon to remove any large bits.
- Add the butter to the dry ingredients and start kneading in a large bowl. If you’ll knead by hand, add the butter in small bits to increase the surface area. A hand mixer will save a lot of time.
- Spread your raw almonds on a baking tray, and toast them in the oven for about 10 minutes at 250°F. Then place them in your food processor and pulsate until you get a flour-like texture.
- Add the almonds to the butter mixture and continue kneading.
- Knead well until you get a consistent dough that’s firm enough to be shaped into a ball. If you feel that the dough is too powdery, feel free to add more butter until you achieve the desired consistency.
- Wrap the dough in a plastic sheet and let it rest in the fridge for at least an hour.
- Preheat the oven at 350ºF
- Line your baking tray with parchment paper. Then, scoop tiny pieces of the dough, roll them between your hands, and line them over the tray.
- Bake at 350ºF for 20–25 Minutes. Check them after 20 minutes. You’ll know they’re ready once the bottom surface turns golden brown.
- Let them cool down for an hour. Then, pour icing sugar into a large bowl, and start dredging the Mexican Wedding Cookies one by one into that bowl. If you want your them to be less sweet, sieve the sugar directly over the cookies.
Notes
Some Mexicans add food colorings to make them more appealing to young kids.
In place of almonds they can also be made with walnuts, pecans, or even peanuts, pine nuts or even with orange zest.
More Mexican Foods
See all →
Jorge Garcia is the founder of AmigoFoods, where he has spent over 20 years helping readers discover authentic Latin American and Spanish cuisine. Raised in a Cuban-American household, Jorge learned to cook at the hands of his mother and grandmother, carrying forward generations of family recipes. That heritage, backed by his family’s four-generation history in the Latin food industry, inspired him to launch AmigoFoods in 2003. With more than 1,000 published articles on recipes, ingredients, and food culture, Jorge’s mission is simple: make authentic Latin cooking approachable for home cooks everywhere while honoring the traditions behind every dish.