1cupunsalted butter, room temperature (2stick, 226grams)
1/2cuppowdered sugar (62 grams)
2cupsall-purpose flour (285 grams)
1 1/2teaspoonVanilla Extract
¼tsptable salt
½tspcardamom or cinnamon (optional)
1cuppecans halves, toasted (110grams)
Sugar Topping
1cuppowdered sugar (125grams)
2tablespoonvanilla sugar, pulverized to fine powder, I used a coffee grinder for spicespulverized to a fine powder, I use a coffee grinder for spices
Instructions
MEXICAN WEDDING COOKIES
Preheat oven to 350F.
Vanilla Powdered Sugar Coating
Add powdered sugar 1 cup (125 grams) into a medium-sized bowl. If your vanilla sugar is granulated, pulverize vanilla sugar (2 tablespoons) until fine and pour the fine vanilla powder into the bowl with powdered sugar, stir to combine with a fork or spoon. Set aside.
Toast Nuts
In a medium skillet, toast pecan halves (1 cup, 110 grams) over medium heat, frequently stirring, until they smell fragrant and the pecans should darken slightly. Remove from the heat and let cool to lukewarm.
Once toasted nuts are lukewarm, crush them into small pieces. Either use a small food chopper and process them just till chopped into small pieces. Don’t process them till fine. You want the cookies with a little bit of a bite to them. Or, if you don’t have a food chopper put toasted pecans into a Ziploc bag, Close the bag, and place the bag onto a kitchen towel. Use a rolling pin or a smooth side of meat thinner to crush nuts in the bag. Or use a knife to chop them finely.
Cookie Dough
Into a bowl, sift flour (2cups, 280grams), salt (1/2 teaspoon) and cardamom or cinnamon (1/2 teaspoon). Set aside.
You can use a stand or hand-held mixer to make the dough. Use a paddle attachment with a stand mixer and wire beaters with a handheld mixer.
In a mixing bowl, on medium speed, cream butter (1 cup, 2 sticks, 226 grams) for 30 seconds. Add powdered sugar (1/2 cup, 62 grams) and cream until pale in color and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in Vanilla Extract (1 ½ tsp), and scrape down the bowl.
On low speed, in 2 additions, beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Once the flour is moist throughout and the dense dough is formed, on low speed, add chopped pecans and mix just until incorporated.
Shape Cookie Balls
With a 1-inch cookie scoop, measure cookie dough and drop equal amounts of cookie dough onto a plate. Once you are done with all the cookie dough, shape each piece of cookie dough into a ball and place it onto a plate. Cover and chill for 30-60 minutes.
Bake Cookies
Transfer cookies onto a baking sheet lined with parchment, leaving about 1.5 inches between the cookie balls. Bake for 15 -16 minutes, until they get slightly golden on the bottom. Let cookies cool for 2 minutes before coating them in powdered sugar.
Coat Cookies in Sugar
Generously coat warm cookies with Vanilla Powdered Sugar. Place cookies on a tray lined with wax paper and let cool completely—coat cookies one more time after they cool.Tip: Dust the cookies with powdered sugar before serving and packaging. Cookies keep at cool room temperature for up to 10-14 days. Or freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
Why are my cookies dry and falling apart? Your cookie dough needs a little more moisture. Perhaps too much flour was added. It can also indicate that cookies were baked for too long.
My cookies baked flat; what happened? Most likely, the butter was too soft when creamed with sugar. Use room-temperature butter. Chill the cookies before baking. Mix the cookie dough until combined; if you add too much air to it, cookies will likely collapse - flatten during baking.