Mexican Wedding Cookies - Nut-Free, Gluten Free, Vegan even Chocolate Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Why are my Mexican wedding cookies crumbling? ›

If the butter is too cold, it won't be soft enough to bind the sugar, flour and nuts, making it crumbly and difficult to work with. Too warm and the dough might be greasy and difficult to roll into balls. Soften the butter to just cooler than room temperature and the dough should be perfect.

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.

Regardless of the name you're familiar with, these cookies have a fascinating history deeply rooted in cultural traditions. Originating from medieval Arab culinary influences that made their way to Spain, these delicate treats eventually found their place in Mexican celebrations, particularly weddings.

Why did my snowball cookies turn out flat? The recipe you used probably had too much butter, not enough dry ingredients to hold them together, or the cookie dough was too soft when you baked them.

The ingredients you use and how you shape your cookies both play an important role in whether your cookies turn out crispy or chewy. The type of flour and sugar you use, if your cookie dough contains eggs, and whether you use melted or softened butter all factor into the crispy-chewy equation, too.

Common Reason for Dry Cookie Dough #1: Too Much Flour

If you've found a cookie dough recipe you love but can't achieve perfect cookies, the issue may be how you're measuring your flour. A cup of flour measured with a measuring cup can actually contain varying amounts of flour, leading to a cookie that's too dry.

Most traditional Spanish wedding cakes don't take the traditional tiered English wedding cake; instead they are more like a flan tart cake one that is usually filled with fruits, nuts and sometimes even custard…yummy!

The word biscotto, used in modern Italian to refer to a biscuit (or cookie) of any kind, originates from the Medieval Latin word biscoctus, meaning 'twice-cooked'.

Mexican Wedding Cookies Origin

As trade routes began to broaden, these sweet confections made their way from the Middle East to all parts of Europe. Historians believe that the recipe migrated to Mexico by way of European nuns or Spanish conquistadors in the Americas in the 16th century.

What is a carnival cookie? ›

🎡The Carnival Cookie🎡 A massive, buttery-soft sugar cookie topped with. smooth vanilla buttercream icing and garnished. generously with rainbow sprinkles.

Whether you call them Mexican wedding cookies, snowball cookies, Russian tea cakes, or polvorones, one thing is certain: they are a total classic! And for good reason! Their crumbly, shortbread-like texture and their buttery, toasty, nutty flavor are completely irresistible.

Snowball Cookie Tips

If your cookies go flat, check the oven temperature. An oven temperature that's too low can result in your cookies spreading out more. Butter that's too soft or melted can also lead to flat cookies.

Oven temperatures are a crucial factor in baking. If your cookies consistently come out flat, you may have selected the wrong baking temperature. If you bake cookies using too much heat, the fats in the dough begin to melt before the other ingredients can cook together and form your cookie's rise.

Try using baking powder instead of baking soda. Baking soda encourages spreading while baking powder puffs the cookies up. If your recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of baking soda, you would use 3 to 4 teaspoons of baking powder.

Too much flour = crumbly cookies

If you don't want to measure by weight, try sifting your flour first and scooping flour into your measuring cup with a spoon, and don't pack it down into the cup. If all else fails, try reducing the amount of flour in the recipe by 10%.

To avoid this, try using as little flour as possible while preparing to roll your dough. Dry – “Dry” or “Crumbly” dough is a product of over-mixing or using too much of any ingredient during the mixing process. This can be reversed by adding one to two tablespoons of liquid (water, milk or softened butter) to your mix.

Adding too many eggs can result in gummy, cake-like cookies. Adding too few eggs can result in dry, crumbly cookies.

If your cookies consistently come out flat, you may have selected the wrong baking temperature. If you bake cookies using too much heat, the fats in the dough begin to melt before the other ingredients can cook together and form your cookie's rise.