Actual conversation I had with my then-13-year-old son last spring:
Jake:  “Oh Ma, I forgot…I need to bring a baked good to school for Spanish class.  Can you make something?”
Me:  “You mean can we make something?”
Jake:  “Do I really have to help?”

And this is my life.

In the end, he did help (he had no choice).  I did the “mixing with your hands” part, but Jake helped with everything else, beginning with deciding what to make.  Jake googled recipes and settled on Mexican wedding cookies aka Polvorones (and because they look like snowballs, they are now a holiday cookie in my house!).  We needed a cookie that would be easy to make and travel well (because I just knew he would put them in his bookbag).  These fit the bill.  And the best part?  His Spanish teacher thought we bought them!  There is no greater compliment than someone thinking your homemade baked good came from a bakery.  It warms my heart.

I was pleasantly surprised with how our Mexican wedding cookies turned out.  I did not think I would like them as much as I did, since I don’t really love nuts.  I expected a dry cookie and I worried the confectioners sugar would get soggy after 24 hours.  Totally not the case.  They are crumbly when you take a bite, but not dry.  I don’t know how that works exactly—maybe it’s magic.  And the confectioners sugar?  Not soggy after 24 hours.  Not soggy after 72 hours!  No joke—these cookies were still good after sitting on my kitchen table for a week.  Magic again?  Perhaps.

I don’t know the history of Polvorones or why they are called Mexican wedding cookies.  I could look it up, but at the risk of getting it all wrong and somehow offending someone, I’m not going to.  I do recall noticing there are a million different Polvorones recipes, so it seems “Polvorones” are a different cookie to different people.  I think my Italian grandma makes a similar cookie, but I don’t think I ever tried it.  Now I’m regretting that, because if I liked the ones I made, I probably would love grandma’s version!  Oh well…next time I see them on a cookie platter at a family gathering, I’ll take a taste.

The minute I took a bite of our Mexican wedding cookies, I added them to my mental “Christmas cookies” list.  They look like perfect little snowballs!  Unlike anything else I make at the holidays.  Hopefully my family and friends will enjoy this addition as much as I do, and not ignore these cookies like I always did, opting for the more glitzy holiday treats.  Lesson learned!

P.S.  Check back soon for updated photos!  I’ll be making Mexican Wedding Cookies in the coming weeks for the holidays.

Mexican Wedding Cookies... Polvorones

Print

Yield: Around 30 cookies

Serving Size: 1 cookie

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup pecans, ground or finely chopped
• 3/4 cups confectioners sugar, plus more for dusting
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Using a food processor, finely chop the pecans. This can also be done by hand by placing the pecans in a large ziploc bag and crushing them with a rolling pin.
3. Add the confectioners sugar to the pecans in the food processor, and grind or chop until combined (or combine with the pecans in the ziploc bag).
4. Combine the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl.
5. Add the chunks of butter to the flour and salt, and drop in the shortening by teaspoonful. Begin to mix with your hands until the butter and shortening are mixed in with the flour and salt. The mixture will turn into a coarse dough with chunks of butter and shortening throughout.
6. Add the pecan/confectioners sugar mixture to the bowl, and mix with your hands to combine.
7. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix with your hands to combine. In less than 1 minute, the dough should be soft and malleable enough to form a ball. Do not mix beyond this point or your dough may become too greasy. If your dough becomes too greasy, cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator for 15 minutes before continuing.
8. Butter a large cookie sheet.
9. Using your hands, form small balls of dough (1 to 1½ inches in size—you can use a cookie scoop to measure the dough before rolling it into balls with your hands) and place 1 inch apart on the buttered cookie sheet.
10. Bake for 14-16 minutes, just until the bottoms are golden brown.
11. Remove from oven and generously dust confectioners sugar over the tops of the cookies. I used a sifter for the dusting, but you could also probably use a small mesh strainer or put the confectioners sugar in a clean empty spice container and shake it over the cookies.
12. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.
13. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.

Notes

Adapted from Pati's Mexican Table

2.6

http://www.sweetsbeforeeats.com/mexican-wedding-cookies-polvorones/