Polvorones Recipe (or Mexican Wedding Cookies) - Budget Bytes (2024)

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$2.21 recipe / $0.09 each

by Beth - Budget Bytes

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4.88 from 8 votes

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To balance all of the spicy Mexican food I made this week (Fire Roasted Salsa & Chicken and Lime Soup), I needed something sweet. I did a quick google search for “Mexican desserts” and found this little gem of a cookie.

I actually remember having these cookies when I was a child but was always under the impression that they were an Italian cookie… probably because we decided the name was fun to say in an over exaggerated Italian accent while running around the house with our mouths stuffed full of cookies. I think we did that for a straight. My poor mother.

I digress.

These yummy little crumbly cakes are somewhat similar to pie crust but a little cakier and a little crumblier. They are pretty much balls of butter, flour and sugar flavored with a little bit of cinnamon and vanilla. They crumble when you bite into them then melt on your tongue. What more could you want?

I worked off of this recipe that I found on Allrecipes.com. I needed to add quite a bit more flour to achieve a dough that could be shaped into balls. So, I would suggest starting with 1.5 cups and add 1/4 cup more at a time until the dough is dry enough for you to handle without them melting butter all over you and greasing up your hands.

Polvorones

Polvorones Recipe (or Mexican Wedding Cookies) - Budget Bytes (2)

Polvorones

4.88 from 8 votes

Polvorones are rich, short bread-like cinnamon cookies, also known as Mexican Wedding Cookies.

Polvorones Recipe (or Mexican Wedding Cookies) - Budget Bytes (3)

Polvorones Recipe (or Mexican Wedding Cookies) - Budget Bytes (4) Servings 24 cookies

Prep 15 minutes mins

Cook 15 minutes mins

Total 30 minutes mins

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Ingredients

  • 1 cup 2 sticks butter ($1.41)
  • 1 cup powdered sugar, divided ($0.18)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract ($0.30)
  • 2 cups flour ($0.17)
  • 2 tsp cinnamon, divided ($0.10)
  • 1/4 tsp salt ($0.05)

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Let the butter come to room temperature. Combine 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar with the butter. Whip the butter and sugar together until they are well incorporated and have a “creamed” texture (see photos below). You can use a mixer or a good ‘ol fork and some elbow grease. Then stir in the vanilla extract.

  • In a separate bowl, combine the 1.5 cups of flour with 1 tsp of cinnamon and 1/4 tsp of salt. Mix them until the are evenly combined.

  • Stir the flour mixture into the creamed butter and sugar mixture. If the mix is still too sticky to form into balls with your hands, add more flour, 1/4 cup at a time. I added somewhere between 1/2 to 3/4 cup more after the initial 1.5 cups.

  • Shape the dough into 24 evenly sized balls (think ping pong balls). Combine the remaining 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and 1 tsp of cinnamon in a bowl and roll each ball in the sugar mixture to coat.

  • Place the sugar coated dough balls on a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees or until they are a light golden brown in color. Let the cookies cool before eating for optimum crumbly texture!

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Nutrition

Serving: 1ServingCalories: 126.33kcalCarbohydrates: 13.15gProtein: 1.16gFat: 7.77gSodium: 85.76mgFiber: 0.4g

Read our full nutrition disclaimer here.

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Step By Step Photos

Polvorones Recipe (or Mexican Wedding Cookies) - Budget Bytes (7)
Combine the room temperature butter and 1/2 cup of powdered sugar in a bowl.

Polvorones Recipe (or Mexican Wedding Cookies) - Budget Bytes (8)
Whip them up as best you can with a fork or use a mixer. This is super hard to do with cold butter so let it warm up.

Polvorones Recipe (or Mexican Wedding Cookies) - Budget Bytes (9)
In a separate bowl, combine 1.5 cups of flour, 1/4 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of cinnamon. Stir until they are well combined.

Polvorones Recipe (or Mexican Wedding Cookies) - Budget Bytes (10)
Mix the flour mixture into the butter mixture. The result should be a stiff dough. If it is still really soft and too sticky to pick up and make a ball out of, add more flour 1/4 cup at a time until you are able to work with it using your hands. If the butter was really warm to begin with, you can put the bowl in the refrigerator to stiffen it up a bit.

Polvorones Recipe (or Mexican Wedding Cookies) - Budget Bytes (11)
Roll the dough into 24 ping pong sized balls. Mix together 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 tsp of cinnamon and roll the balls in it to coat.

Polvorones Recipe (or Mexican Wedding Cookies) - Budget Bytes (12)
Place the sugar coated balls *cough* on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until they are golden brown.

Polvorones Recipe (or Mexican Wedding Cookies) - Budget Bytes (13)
When they are finished they will be a light golden brown color and the sugar coating will look a little crackled like this. Let them cool before eating!

Polvorones Recipe (or Mexican Wedding Cookies) - Budget Bytes (14)

Polvorones Recipe (or Mexican Wedding Cookies) - Budget Bytes (2024)

FAQs

What is Polvorones made of? ›

A polvorón (From polvo, the Spanish word for powder, or dust) is a type of heavy, soft, and very crumbly Spanish shortbread made of flour, sugar, milk, and nuts (especially almonds).

Are Mexican wedding cookies from Mexico? ›

Mexican Wedding Cookies Origin

Also referred to as Mexican wedding cakes, these buttery cookies originated outside of Mexico. Their creation has been traced back to medieval Arab baking that predominantly featured ingredients like butter, sugar, spices and nuts.

What are polvorones called in English? ›

Puerto Rican polvorones are slightly sweet shortbread cookies. Back home, some people call them mantecaditos, but growing up we called them polvorones, which loosely translates to “dust” in Spanish.

What are other names for polvorones? ›

They are also known as Pecan Balls, Russian Tea Cakes, Snowdrops, Italian Butterballs, Southern Pecan Butterballs, Pecan Sandies, Swedish Tea Cakes, and Viennese Sugar Balls, to name a few. They are also not unlike their antecedents, Spanish polvorones, which are a flat shortbread cookie made with ground almonds.

Why do they call them Mexican wedding cookies? ›

History of Mexican Wedding Cookies

As Spanish colonizers brought these recipes to Mexico, they seamlessly integrated into the local culinary landscape. The cookie's association with weddings stems from its sweet symbolism of happiness, unity, and the joyful occasions surrounding matrimony.

What is the difference between Italian and Mexican wedding cookies? ›

Italian wedding cookies typically contain almonds or hazelnuts and are flavored with almond extract, vanilla extracts and spices like cinnamon or anise. Mexican wedding cookies, on the other hand, use a combination of ground nuts such as pecans and walnuts, as well as butter, sugar and sometimes chocolate chips.

Why are my Mexican wedding cookies dry? ›

Over-cooking is the most common reason for dry cookies. They can also be dry if you used too much flour. Be sure to measure your flour correctly.

What is the difference between Spanish Polvorones and Filipino polvorones? ›

Unlike the Spanish polvorones, the polvoron in the Philippines is not baked. We simply toast the flour, add the sifted powdered milk, sugar and melted butter. All the ingredients are mixed in a bowl.

Is Polvoron good for diet? ›

Studies have shown that polvoron, a sweet delicacy made from tiesa fruit, has health benefits. Tiesa polvoron is low in fat and a good source of calcium, phosphorus, vitamin C, fiber, niacin, and vitamin A.

What does Polvoron taste like? ›

Polvoron comes from the word polvo which is Spanish for 'powder'. Polvoron, the powdered candy is a classic Filipino favorite dessert or snack which tastes like a sweet, crumbled version of shortbread cookies. It consists of powdered milk, flour, sugar and melted butter.

Is Polvoron a shortbread? ›

Polvoron are Filipino-style shortbread cookies that are soft and crumbly. Individually wrapped with colorful cellophane, they are perfect for party favors or sharing with friends.

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