Super easy Mexican Wedding Cookies are soft and buttery with almonds in every bite! These powdered sugar covered cookies are crumbly and delicious.
These traditional Mexican Wedding Cookies are almost like Snowball Cookies, and have a similar taste to Almond Cookies. They’re a new favorite Mexican dessert in this house!
Homemade Mexican Cookies
You may also know this Mexican cookie recipe as Snowballs, Polvorones, Butterballs, Pecan Sandies, Russian Tea Cakes, Sandies and many more names.
No matter what you call these cookies, they’re 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, to go with your Mexican Dinner, or just a treat for a friend.
How to Make Mexican Wedding Cookies
CREAM. Start by creaming the butter and powdered sugar together in a medium bowl or in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Then mix in the vanilla and almond extract.
COMBINE. 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. Shape the dough into balls (TIP: use a cookie scoop to scoop equal amounts of dough, and then roll between your hands to form perfectly shaped balls). Roll the balls in the confectioners sugar and place them on an un-greased sheet pan.
BAKE. 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!
Variations:
There are as many variations as there are names to these Mexican wedding 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 a different nut, like 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
Recipe Tips + Storage Info
- 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 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!
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.
For more Mexican treats, try:
Mexican Wedding Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 2 tsp water
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup chopped almonds
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar to roll cookies in
Instructions
- Cream the butter and powdered sugar together in a medium bowl. Then, mix in the vanilla and almond extract. Add the flour and almonds. Mix until just combined. Cover the bowl and chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours.
- After the dough has chilled preheat the oven to 325°F
- Shape the dough into balls. Roll the balls in powdered sugar and place on a cookie sheet. (Do not spray the cookie sheet) Bake 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 cool roll them in powdered sugar. Enjoy!
- Store in and airtight container at room temperature.
Love the hint of almond in these! They are the perfect cookie to pop in your mouth!
It looks like you forgot to write when to add the water in the recipe, but other than that I LOVE these cookies 😊
These look like thr perfect wedding Cookies, pretty and delicous!!
How fun! I’ve never heard of these, and they seem like a delicious treat. THanks for sharing!
One of my favorite RESTAURANTS back at home in houston had this and i can’t seem to find it ever since i moved. so glad to know that i can easily recreate these at home!
Soft,buttery melt in your mouth cookies. So good!
Simple yet so pretty! Im excited to add this to my little stack of Mexican dEsserts.
these are a must for the holidays. Everyone loves them and they are easy to make with basic ingredients.
I Love your recipes. ty so much 🙂
These are my favorite! My aunt used to make these every time I would visit her! She just passed away in August…. she was 102! Miss her and her cookies!
Dear Lil’ Luna,
What to do with the 2 tsp. water?
Char
You mix it in with the vanilla and almond extract. Thanks so much for catching that! I just updated the recipe instructions.
Are there any sugar – free (Mexican/Latin) cookie recipes?
We have a bunch of Mexican desserts on our site, but none that are specifically sugar-free. You could probably use a sugar substitute for some of these recipes though. https://lilluna.com/mexican-desserts/
These cookies are the best. My family loves these. They are the perfect consistency. They don’t last very long at home. Thanks for sharing this simple yet yummy treat. 😋
We’ve been making these for years. This is a great recipe! Melt in your mouth good.
These cookies are so easy and so delicious! Fun to have the kids help with rolling them in the powdered sugar too!
Yes! It’s a great one to make with kiddos. So glad you enjoyed the cookies!
I love the combo of powdered sugar and almonds in this recipe! These are some of the best Mexican Wedding cookies I’ve tasted.
These weren’t my favorite as a kid, but they are one of the best!! Soft, yet crunchy, we make them for our holiday goodie plates every year!
Love these cookies! They take me back to my childhood when my mom made these cookies every Christmas. They are so pretty and yummy!