A recipe for Mexican Wedding Cookies (also know as snowball cookies), a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth cookie rolled in powdered sugar.
I started my culinary journey as an at-home bakery, and one of my greatest joys while running that business was coming up with a menu. It changed every season, and I loved designating the right treat to the right time of year. Regardless of what the crazy Texas weather was doing, I wanted my treats to make you feel like you were smack-dab in the middle of the right month.
Years ago, when I was creating the menu for a new Christmas season, on a quest to offer a classic, yet exciting assortment of Christmas cookies, I came across the Mexican Wedding Cookie and stopped short. There they were looking especially festive covered in what seemed to be a blanket of snow, and they certainly looked the part.
In fact, the Mexican Wedding cookie is also known as a snowdrop cookie…and a tea cake cookie…and a butterball. Whatever you choose to call it, the most distinguishing characteristic of the cookie remains the same — total buttery, melt-in-your-mouth cookie perfection.
HOW TO MAKE MEXICAN WEDDING COOKIES
Mexican wedding cookies are quick, easy to make and require little effort. They typically begin with ground nuts (either walnut or pecans).
HOW TO MAKE GROUND NUTS AT HOME
You can grind the nuts at home using a food processor. To grind nuts, add to a food processor and pulse until fine pieces have formed, just smaller than a mince, but be careful not to over grind them, or you will go from ground nuts to a nut butter.
Once the nuts are ready, it’s time to mix together the dry ingredients (flour and salt) and separately mix together the wet ingredients (butter and sugar). There is no rising agents or binders, such as baking soda or eggs in these cookies, which is the reason behind their addictively delicious melt-in-your-mouth texture.
The dry ingredients, along with the ground nuts, are mixed into the wet ingredients, scooped and baked. Once the cookies come out of the oven and completely cooled, you roll them in powdered sugar, giving them that festive Christmas-y, snowball appearance.
Serve them up right away, or freeze them for future use.
HOW TO FREEZE MEXICAN WEDDING COOKIES
Mexican Wedding Cookies can be made ahead and even frozen if needed, making them perfect for gift-giving during a busy holiday season. However, I’ll warn you now, many find it particularly difficult to part with these sugar-dusted gems, so you might want to make yourself a double batch.
Most cookies freeze beautifully, and these are no exception. You can either freeze Mexican wedding cookies before or after you roll them in the powdered sugar. Just make sure they are cooled before going into the freezer.
Freeze the cookies either in an airtight, freezer-safe container or a freezer-safe zip top bag for up to three months.
To thaw Mexican wedding cookies, leave them out on the counter at room temperature for 20-30 minutes. You’ll notice that if you froze them after rolling them in sugar, the sugar may no longer be a vibrant white once thawed. If you care to, you can just roll them in powdered sugar once more, or sprinkle sugar over them using a fine mesh sieve.
Needless to say, they went on the menu and made an appearance come Christmastime, year after year. Now, there’s not a Christmas that goes by that these cookies don’t make an appearance on my very own holiday table. Please, enjoy!
5 MORE HOLIDAY COOKIES YOU’LL LOVE
- Chocolate-Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies feature a soft and chewy, homemade peanut butter cookie dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with chopped peanuts!
- Ginger Molasses Cookies are not only beautiful, they come fully loaded with warm and cozy spices like ginger, cinnamon, and cloves.
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are dusted with powdered sugar on the outside and fudgy on the inside, with chocolate chips running throughout. A chocolate lover’s dream!
- Easy Sugar Cookies with Icing feature a homemade sugar cookie with the best buttercream frosting ever! They’re as tasty as they are beautiful!
- Strawberry Butter Jam Cookies are a melt-in-your-mouth, buttery cookie filled with strawberry jam and a sprinkle sparkling sugar on top.
A recipe for Mexican Wedding Cookies (also know as snowball cookies), a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth cookie rolled in powdered sugar.
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature (do NOT use salted butter)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup ground pecans
- 1 1/2 cup confectioners (powdered) sugar
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Preheat the oven to 325° and have ready a baking sheet lined with either parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
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In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together flour and sea salt. Set aside until ready to use.
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Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. If you do not have a stand mixer, use a large mixing bowl and a handheld mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until well-combined. Add the vanilla and mix once more.
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Turn the mixer down to low, and slowly incorporate the flour mixture, followed by the ground pecans.
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Scoop dough a tablespoon at a time, form it into a round, and place dough balls on baking sheet about 1 1/2" apart. Bake for 15 minutes, and transfer to a wire rack to completely cool.
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Place the powdered sugar in a gallon-sized zip top bag. Add about a dozen cookies to the bag at a time, and gently toss to coat. Serve and enjoy.
Makes 36-40 cookies.
Do NOT substitute salted butter for this recipe!
Thank you for this awesome Christmas Cookie Recipe. Pinned – I’ve included it in a roundup of 20 Amazing Christmas Cookie Recipes at Family Fun Friday. I’d love it if you could PIN and share this awesome cookie round-up featuring your recipe. Together we can spread some Christmas Cheer! Happy Holidays! https://www.happyandblessedhome.com/20-amazing-must-try-christmas-cookie-recipes/
Sounds great!!! Thanks, Monica 🙂 Thank you!
Make sure you used UNSALTED butter or omit the added salt if you only have salted butter. I overlooked that detail and my cookies were much too salty!
Annika, this is an excellent point! I’ll make a special note of that on the blog post. The recipe was designed with unsalted butter and it is definitely a must!! Thanks so much for your comment 🙂
Toasted or un-toasted nuts
Un-toasted 🙂
Would replacing the ground almonds with pistachios make a big difference??
I imagine subbing in pistachios would potentially change the texture of the cookie…possibly make it a little chewy? However, I’m sure you could leave all the quantities the same, and give it a go! Best of luck!
I make these all the time and had no idea that they were Mexican Wedding cookies. We call them snowballs and you are right about how they melt in your mouth. One of my absolute favourite Christmas cookies. I need to give this recipe a try!
Alisa! Yes! I used to call them that when I was selling them, and then a Mexican friend of mine very kindly corrected me. She said, “You can call them whatever you want, they’re delicious. But these are Mexican Wedding Cookies where I come from.” Ha! Haven’t referred to them as anything other than that since 🙂
This one looks good and yummy. can’t wait to try this recipe this coming Saturday yay!. surely my friends will like this. Thank you for this idea and I love your recipes.
Thanks, Arjhon! Y’all enjoy 🙂
I have never heard of these wedding cookies before, but once the temperature drops I’d definitely want to try to make them!
Well I would eat these little beauties ANY day of the week. No need for a special occasion. They would be the perfect afternoon pick me up with a nice latte. They look so delicate too.
I’ve never heard or tried these before, but they look delicious!! Clearly, I have to get them on the menu asap! Nice touch with the pecans….one of my faves 🙂
Wow, I’ve never tried these, but these cookies look amazing! I love pecans!
Thank you, Shanika! I love pecans too!
This was my Mom’s favorite cookie. She made them every holiday season. They are now a staple in my holiday gift tins. We always include pecans! They look delicious.
Oh I love that! Thanks for sharing, Ellen 🙂
I LOVE these cookies, but have never made them myself for some crazy reason. SO excited to hear that they can be frozen… Though that might be a little bit dangerous for me 🙂
Ha! Indeed it is 😉 The good thing is, they won’t be in there for too long! HA!
What a wonderful idea to make these delightful little bites. They sound delicious with the pecans added. They would be a nice little treat for afternoon tea.
Thank you! Yes, so ideal for a little nibble with your tea (or coffee, if you’re me)! 🙂
I didn’t know that they were buttery. I would’ve tried them sooner. Now I got to make these!
I have literally never heard of these before nor been to Mexico so now I need to make them to see what they taste like, thanks for the inspiration!
Oh, they are SO gooooood!
I’m not great at making cookies but these sound so easy and delicious I really want to give them a try! I may even be able to serve homemade cookies at Christmas this year for the first time EVER!
I love these cookies during the holidays. I’ve never had them with pecans though, I’ll have to try that this holiday season.
These are some of my favorite cookies! My mom always makes them at Christmas time 🙂
These are my favorite cookies, other than chocolate and I’ve never thought how simple the ingredients are.
Thank you, Linda!
Aww yum! I grew up calling these Russian Cannonballs and my mom would ONLY make them during Christmastime, so these are a special treat for me 🙂
I’ve never heard that before, but I LOVE it! Childhood cookies are the BEST!
I love these cookies because they literally melt in your mouth. I didn’t know that you could freeze them though. Now, I’m excited to make a big batch for Christmas and feed them to all my friends!
Thank you, Daniela! They absolutely melt in your mouth!!! So yummy 🙂
I’ve never made Mexican wedding cookies before, but that might change after seeing these. Thanks for sharing!
Oh my… I just made Mexican wedding cookies last weekend so I can almost taste these. The best cookies ever. Very addictive I can never stop eating them. These look so good. Love the pretty white colors – they remind me of winter.
I’ve never had the opportunity to taste a cookie like this (I’m in the Uk!) I am going to bookmark this and surprise my guests this Christmas with something a little different. Thank you!
These are one of my favorite cookies. I made a similar kind with almonds but I love the pecans too. These are perfect with some tea..cannot wait to try with pecans next time!
Hands down my favorite cookie of all time! I literally cannot and most likely will not wait for the holidays to make these!
Do we need a occasion to eat these? I don’t think so! It looks so GOOD! Oh I can’t wait to get baking all those wonderful cookies for Holidays and Christmas.
A Mexican Wedding Cookie by any other name still tastes as good. They have so many names — I knew them as Russian Teacakes. They certainly are a favorite every Christmas and one of the first ones I make. It’s an excellent recipe.
Feel like grabbing a few right now, such a delectable and inviting these cookies are, surely taste much better with a cuppa!
Thank you, Jagruti!
I’ve seen these cookies many times before, but never knew the name! I’m not the hugest fan of walnuts or pecans…I may need to try these with almonds and see how they turn out. But let’s be honest…it’s a cookie, coated in powdered sugar…I’m going to eat them regardless!
I haven’t had Mexican wedding cookies since I was a child. I used to love them so much. Can not wait to give this homemade version a try!
We called these Danish wedding cookies when I was a little girl. LOVE this recipe!! These are one of my all time favorite cookie recipes ever!! So making these soon for my littles!