Name: Mexican Wedding Cookies Recipe
Prep time: 65 min
Cook time: 16 min
Total time: 81 min
Ingredients: 1 c butter; 1/2 c powdered sugar; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1 tsp almond extract; 2 tsp water; 2 c all purpose flour; 1 c chopped almonds; 1/2 c powdered sugar (to roll cookies in)

Super easy Mexican Wedding Cookies are soft and buttery with almonds in every bite! These powdered sugar covered cookies are your new favorite.

These traditional Mexican Wedding Cookies are almost like Snowball cookies, and have a similar taste to Almond Cookies. They’re a favorite dessert in this house!

Homemade Mexican Cookies

You may also know these cookie treats as Snowballs, Polvorones, Butterballs, Pecan Sandies, Russuan Tea Cakes, Sandies and many more names. No matter what they’re called, they’re all simply delicious.

We love to make homemade Mexican wedding cake cookies for lots of occasions. They are perfect for baking around the holidays but can also be made and eaten any time of the year. Bake up a batch for a cookie exchange, dinner party, or just a treat for a friend.

How many cookies to serve at a reception or fiesta? We’d plan to serve 2-3 cookies per guest. That’s fine when you’re only making a few dozen, but if you’re planning to have 100 guests, then that’s anywhere from 200-300 cookies. Quite a difference!

Some things to consider: Will dinner be served? Are other desserts being served? How long is the event? If other foods are being served and the event is shorter, you can plan on the lower end of baking.

How to Make Mexican Wedding Cookies

CREAM. Start by creaming the butter and powdered sugar together in a medium bowl. Then mix in the vanilla and almond extract.

BLEND. Begin to add in the flour and almonds and mix until everything is just combined.

CHILL. Cover the bowl and put into the fridge to chill for 1-2 hours. After the dough has chilled preheat the oven to 325°F,

ROLL + BAKE. Shape the dough into balls. Roll the balls in the powdered sugar and place them on an un-greased cookie sheet. Bake the cookies for 16-18 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool for a minute or two before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Once the cookies are cooled, roll them in powdered sugar. Enjoy!

More Recipe Tips

Use softened butter. Cut the stick of butter into cubes and let it sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes. Or, some microwaves have a soften setting you can use to do it quickly.
Don’t bake on greased cookie sheets. If you’re worried they’ll stick, you can use Silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
Roll in powdered sugar while cookies are warm so it sticks. Sift the sugar to eliminate clumps.

How to Store + Change Up

Storage: These cookies, like most cookies, store quite well and you can store them as baked cookies or as dough balls to be baked later.

Dough: Roll into balls (do not roll in powdered sugar) place on a baking sheet and place in the freezer. Once frozen, transfer them to an airtight freezer safe container. To bake: roll the dough balls in powdered sugar and place on a baking sheet. Allow them to thaw for 10-15 minutes. Bake. Roll in powdered sugar again.
Baked: Once cool store the cookies in an airtight container on the counter for 3-4 days. To freeze baked cookies: Forgo rolling them a second time in powdered sugar. Allow the cookies to cool and store in a freezer safe container. Be sure to separate the layers with wax paper. Freeze for up to 3 months. Roll again in powdered sugar and allow to thaw.

Variations: There are as many variations as there are names to these cookies. In fact, we have a Pecan Snowball and a Peanut Butter Snowball version that are both quite good. Some variations you can easily try include:

Replacing the almonds with an equal amount of pecans or walnuts
Toss in mini chocolate chips
chopped andes mints and replace the almond extract with a ¼ tsp mint extract
Mix in rainbow jimmies
Add ½-1 tsp cinnamon or pumpkin spice

For more Mexican treats, try: