These Mexican wedding cookies my mom makes have been a staple throughout my life. They show up at holiday celebrations, baby showers, wedding showers, and weddings. They were even at my own wedding I'm pretty sure. They've always looked the same, and tasted the same, just like you want things from your past to be. But I can't leave well enough alone. I had to make them my own, but without fundamentally changing them.
I texted my mom and asked for the recipe, and she responded in a thoroughly modern style, by texting me photos of the hand written recipe.
Then I told her my plan. "It'll be awesome. I've made my own colored powdered sugar before." I sourced my colored sanding sugar and got the old reliable spice grinder out of the cabinet. A dull bzzzzt later, it gave out on me, and I had to order a new spice grinder, but like my idea for these cookies I made it a fun colored spice grinder. So the plan was put on hold for two days. It was worth the wait though.
Also, you'll note her recipe calls for margarine, but I went with butter, which Google says can be used on a 1:1 ratio, just keep an eye on these in the oven. Some of the cookies spread more than I wanted and I'm not 100% sure if that can be attributed to the butter or not.
Aren't these pastel Mexican wedding cookies just so pretty?!
I figure with the pastel color line up, these will be perfect for plenty of upcoming occasions: Easter! Bridal showers! Baby showers! (When it's COVID-safe of course, don't be stupid, now). Mother's Day! Actual weddings too!
Pastel Mexican Wedding Cookies
Equipment
- Spice grinder
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 cups cake flour
- 1 cup chopped nuts (pecan or walnut)
- variety of colored sanding sugar in desired colors
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.
- Cream the butter and powdered sugar in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment.
- Add the cake flour, vanilla, and chopped nuts. Mix until ingredients are just combined.
- Use your hands to roll the cookies into small balls, about the size of a bouncy ball.
- Space the cookies 2" apart on the lined cookie sheet. Use a fork to gently press the cookies flat, and leave tine marks in the cookies.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- Let cool to the touch. Meanwhile use a spice grinder to turn sanding sugar into powdered sugar, one color at a time.
- Wipe the grinder between colors and put each color in a separate bowl.
- Once cookies are cool, gently coat the cookies in whatever colored sanding sugar you want.
- These cookies keep in a tightly sealed plastic container for up to a week.
Making Pastel Powdered Sugar
It's pretty easy to make colored powdered sugar if you have the aforementioned spice grinder. Wipe it down well and let it air out if it's been closed up, so any old smells can dissipate. Then grind up one color at a time, wiping down between color changes.
That's pretty much it. Use these sugars immediately, especially if you're in a high humidity area, as there are no caking agents in this powdered sugar like there are in the bags from the grocery store.
Sanding sugar comes in a variety of colors. If you're making one color of cookies for say, a bridal shower, you'll want to get a larger bag like this 16 ounce bag of blue sanding sugar. If you're making a rainbow of them for Easter, get a variety pack of sanding sugar colors. They even make more unusual colors now, like emerald and hot pink.
Looking for other pink and blue baby shower ideas?