Best Polvorones Mexican Wedding Cookies Recipes

POLVORONES (MEXICAN WEDDING COOKIES)

Steps:

• Put 1/2 cup of the walnuts and the salt in a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Roughly chop the remaining 1 cup walnuts.
• Position two oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F.
• Beat the butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the granulated sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the flour, then the ground and chopped walnuts. Divide the dough in half, forming each half into a ball. Wrap separately in plastic and chill until cold, about 30 minutes.
• Put the confectioners' sugar in a large bowl.
• Working with half of the chilled dough at a time and keeping the rest in the fridge, roll the dough by 2 teaspoonfuls between your palms into balls. Arrange the balls on a large baking sheet, spacing them 1/2 inch apart.
• Bake the cookies until golden brown on the bottom and just pale golden on top, about 18 minutes. Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. Toss the warm cookies in the powdered sugar. Transfer the sugar-coated cookies to a rack to cool completely. The cookies can be prepared up to 2 days ahead. Once cooled, store them in an airtight container. You need to make sure they are cooled before storing them, otherwise they will get soggy. Sift additional powdered sugar and cinnamon over the cookies if desired before serving.

MEXICAN WEDDING COOKIES (POLVORONES DE CANELA)

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and 1 cup confectioners' sugar on medium speed until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low and gradually mix in flour mixture until incorporated. Shape dough into a square and wrap in plastic; refrigerate 1 hour.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough 1/2 inch thick. Using a 2 1/2-inch round cutter, cut out cookies. (Scraps can be rerolled once.) Divide evenly between two parchment-lined baking sheets. Using a 3/4-inch round cutter, cut out a hole in the center of each cookie. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake, rotating halfway through, until edges begin to brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool on sheets 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
• In a small bowl, stir together remaining 2 teaspoons cinnamon and 1 cup confectioners' sugar. Working with one cookie at a time, toss in cinnamon sugar until thoroughly coated. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

PUMPKIN PECAN POLVORONES (MEXICAN WEDDING COOKIES)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Lightly toast the pecans in a skillet over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, under they are nice and fragrant. Remove from heat. You can either use a food processor to finely chop the pecans (about 10 pulses should do it, don't blend so well that you end up with pecan butter) or finely chop the pecans with a chef's knife on a cutting board (you might want to let the pecans cool a little before chopping). In a large bowl, beat the coconut oil or butter, pumpkin purée, cane sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and salt with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Since I used melted coconut oil, it didn't get light and fluffy but it did blend well (I wonder if it would get light and fluffy with solidified coconut oil at room temperature?). Gradually add the chopped pecans and flour, beating on low speed after each addition until well blended. Using your hands, shape the dough into 1-inch balls. Place the cookies on the baking sheet, leaving about 1 1/2-inch space around each cookie (the cookies will not expand in size). Bake for 14 to 15 minutes, until the bottoms of cookies are lightly browned. Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. Pour the powdered sugar into a small bowl and roll the warm cookies liberally to coat in powdered sugar. Taste, and if the cookies aren't quite sweet enough to delight, give them another roll in powdered sugar. Let the cookies cool on a wire rack.

MEXICAN WEDDING COOKIES (POLVORONES)

Steps:

• HEAT oven to 350°F.
• COMBINE shortening, 1 cup powdered sugar and vanilla in bowl of electric mixer; beat on medium speed until well blended.
• COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Add to creamed mixture; mix well. Stir in walnuts; mix well. Roll dough into walnut-size balls; place on ungreased baking sheets about 1 1 ⁄ 2 inches apart.
• BAKE 15 minutes or until edges begin to brown slightly. Cool on baking sheets until cool enough to handle, but still warm. While still warm, roll in remaining 1 cup powdered sugar; place on cooling racks to cool completely.

POLVORONES (MEXICAN WEDDING COOKIES)

Steps:

• Process pecans until ground but not "pasty."
• Beat butter and 1/2 C. powdered sugar on medium until fluffy, scraping down once.
• Gradually add 1 C. flour, vanilla and salt. Beat on low until well blended, scraping down once.
• Fold in remaining flour and ground nuts with spoon until just blended. Careful not to over-stir.
• Form dough into a ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Roll tablespoons of dough into 1 inch balls. Place 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet.
• Bake 12-15 minutes or until pale golden brown. Let cookies stand on sheet 2 minutes.
• Place 1 C. powdered sugar in serving dish. Transfer hot cookies to dish (easiest to do one at a time) and roll to coat evenly. Let cookies cool in sugar.
• Sift more sugar over platter of cookies just before serving.

POLVORONES/MEXICAN WEDDING COOKIES

Steps:

• 1. To clarify the butter, cut the butter into pieces and melt in a saucepan over low heat. Skim off any foam and discard. Turn off the heat and let sit for 5 minutes or so, until the remaining milk solids sink to the bottom. Gently strain the butter, making sure not to include the solids. Measure 1 cup. 2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. 3. In a bowl, combine the warm butter with the sugar and refrigerate until it solidifies, about 30 minutes. Remove from the refrigerator and whip until thickened (it'll look a bit like whipped cream). Stir in the all-purpose flour gradually, using a spoon or spatula, then add the almond flour and vanilla and combine. Knead, still in the bowl, with the palm of your hand until it starts to come together. 4. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to about 1 inch thick, making sure the crumbly dough stays together. With a cookie cutter or glass, cut out 2-inch circles. They might crumble when you cut them as they are very fragile, so be gentle and patient, pressing the dough together as needed. Place on a baking sheet lined with a non-stick mat or parchment paper and bake until the edges are just starting to turn color (the tops should still be pale), 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes. Dust them with confectioner's sugar and carefully transfer them from the baking sheet with an offset spatula; avoid touching them at all unless you are going to eat them. Note: ...if you don't want to use nuts, you can substitute 1 cup flour.