Indulge in the crumbly and buttery flavors of these traditional Spanish cookies, known as Polvorones. Made with simple ingredients like flour, sugar and butter, these cookies are perfect for anyone who loves the comforting taste of homemade baked goods. With a crumbly texture and a delicious buttery flavor, these cookies are perfect for satisfying your sweet tooth and enjoying a little comfort food. Try out this recipe today and discover the perfect blend of traditional Spanish flavors in every bite!
To Mexican's these cookies are named Polvorones instead of the American named Mexican Wedding Cookies and in their homeland they come in a variety of flavors and are eaten on a daily basis. These are extremely addictive and my father who visited while these were on the bench managed to eat six in quick succession while I consumed three before making myself walk away. Good luck trying to only eat one of these, you'll find yourself returning to them.
These have their origins in Spain and can also be found in the Philippines with 'polvo' portion of polvorones meaning powder or dust and are a type of shortbread, though are very different from the Scottish type of traditional shortbread you will likely have tried before with finely chopped nuts necessary to make these traditional, with walnuts or almonds being found in these.
Why you'll love these
Crumbly and buttery
These Polvorones are perfect for anyone who loves the crumbly and buttery taste of homemade cookies. With a deliciously crumbly texture and a buttery flavor, these cookies are perfect for satisfying your sweet tooth and enjoying a little comfort food.
Traditional Spanish recipe
Polvorones are a traditional Spanish cookie, and this recipe is a perfect way to indulge in the traditional flavors of Spain. The simple yet delicious blend of flour, sugar, and butter creates a unique flavor that's loved by many.
Easy to make
Despite its impressive flavor, this recipe is actually quite easy to make with simple ingredients and straightforward instructions. It's a perfect dessert for those who want to impress their guests with a stunning dish without spending hours in the kitchen. These cookies are perfect for enjoying with a cup of tea or coffee or sharing with friends and family.
Ingredients and substitutions for Polvorones
- Butter: Unsalted butter was used here to better control the salt in the cookies, though if you only have salted on hand that works too, though might want to add less salt to the dough.
- Sugar: Confectioner's or icing sugar is used here for it's fine texture that helps give our cookies their melt-in-your-mouth texture and cannot be substituted for the same results with any other sugar, particularly when coating with sugar. If you do not have enough confectioner's or icing sugar on hand you could substitute with superfine or caster sugar in the cookie dough.
- Flour: Plain or all purpose flour works best here for a nice light crumb.
- Walnuts: A nice light nuttiness comes from walnuts, though you could substitute with almonds which is a common ingredient in Polvorones. Another substitute in equal measure that would add a deeper flavor is pecans, though far less traditional.
- Salt & vanilla extract: The flavor powerhouses that give depth to our cookies.
See recipe card for quantities.
Equipment needed to make this
Mixing bowl: A medium mixing bowl is needed to create your cookie dough.
Greaseproof paper: To line your baking tray, greaseproof paper will make moving your baked cookies to a cooling tray a breeze.
Scoop: The size of the scoop used here is 4cm or 1.57 inches to create the perfect small scoop. If you don't have one this size a great substitute would be a tablespoon which would create a similar sized cookie.
Shallow bowl: To evenly coat your cookies with the confectioner's or icing sugar or a plate with an edge would also work well here.
FAQs for the best Polvorones
How big should my Polvorones be?
These are very buttery and melt in your mouth and are best if they are no larger than 2 inches in size to make them easier to coat but also to consume.
When are the Mexican wedding cookies best to coat?
The sugar will stick to the cookies and get coated better if you toss them whilst still warm, the cooler they get the more the sugar will fall away.
Why are they called polvorones?
The Spanish word ‘Polvo’ means ‘powder’ or ‘dust’ describes the texture of these melt-in-your-mouth shortbread that are eggless, buttery and include finely chopped nuts such as walnuts, pecans or hazelnuts.
More cookies you'll enjoy
Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies
Pistachio Shortbread with Black Tahini Filling
How to make Polvorones:
Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and preheat the oven to 200°C/400F.
Place the softened butter, sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl and beat on medium until light and fluffy, approximately 1 minute with a hand beater.
Sift in the flour, add the salt and walnuts to the mixture.
Mix until combined, no dry portions remain in the bowl and the dough is smooth.
Place in the refrigerator for 5 minutes to lightly chill.
Remove and take a tablespoon amount, placing into your hand and rolling into a smooth ball, approximately 1 ½ inches in size. If the mixture sticks, return to the refrigerator for a further 5 minutes.
Place the rolled cookie onto the prepared baking tray and place onto your baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Place in the oven and bake for approximately 10 minutes or slightly brown on the edges.
Remove and allow to cool on the tray for a few minutes before transferring to the cooling tray.
For the sugar coating, sift the confectioner’s sugar into a shallow dish and roll each cookie in the confectioner’s sugar carefully while still warm (the buttery sugar will stick to your fingers so it's easiest to place the cookie on the flat side down and rolling the top last, carefully picking up from the base).
Return the cookie to the cooling rack and repeat the confectioner’s sugar process twice more while allowing each to cool to room temperature.
Serve and enjoy.
Polvorones
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: Makes 25 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Cuisine: Mexican
Description
With a crumbly texture and a delicious buttery flavor, this Polvorones recipe is perfect for satisfying your sweet tooth and enjoying a little comfort food.
Ingredients
225 grams / 7.9 ounces butter, softened
50 grams / ½ cup confectioner’s/icing sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
267 grams / 1 ⅔ cups plain flour
½ teaspoon sea salt
50 grams / ½ cup walnuts, finely chopped
170 grams / 1 ½ cups confectioner’s/icing sugar
Instructions
- Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and preheat the oven to 200°C/400F.
- Place the softened butter, sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl and beat on medium until light and fluffy, approximately 1 minute with a hand beater.
- Sift in the flour, add the salt and walnuts to the mixture.
- Mix until combined, no dry portions remain in the bowl and the dough is smooth.
- Place in the refrigerator for 5 minutes to lightly chill.
- Remove and take a tablespoon amount, placing into your hand and rolling into a smooth ball, approximately 1 ½ inches in size. If the mixture sticks, return to the refrigerator for a further 5 minutes.
- Place the rolled cookie onto the prepared baking tray and place onto your baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Place in the oven and bake for approximately 10 minutes or slightly brown on the edges.
- Remove and allow to cool on the tray for a few minutes before transferring to the cooling tray.
- For the sugar coating, sift the confectioner’s sugar into a shallow dish and roll each cookie in the confectioner’s sugar carefully while still warm (the buttery sugar will stick to your fingers so it's easiest to place the cookie on the flat side down and rolling the top last, carefully picking up from the base).
- Return the cookie to the cooling rack and repeat the confectioner’s sugar process twice more while allowing each to cool to room temperature.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Adapted from A Second Helping, More from Ladies A Plate book
Nutrition
- Calories: 150 calories per cookie
Keywords: butter cookies, walnut baking, mexican baking, spanish baking
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