Cuernitos Mexican Wedding Cookies Food

TRADITIONAL MEXICAN WEDDING COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream together butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy; stir in vanilla.
• Whisk together flour and salt; add gradually to butter mixture; stir in chopped nuts.
• Chill dough if it seems too soft.
• Form dough into 1 1/4" balls and place onto parchment-lined or ungreased baking sheets.
• Bake at 400° for 10-12 minutes or just until the cookies start to turn light golden-brown; remove from oven and allow to cool slightly; while cookies are still warm (but NOT hot) remove them from baking sheets and roll, a few at a time, in powdered sugar until evenly coated; cool cookies completely on wire racks.
• Cookies may (optionally) be rolled in powdered sugar a second time once cooled to room temperature.
• NOTE: Forming dough into 1" balls will increase yield to 48 cookies.

CUERNITOS (MEXICAN WEDDING COOKIES)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325
• In large bowl, beat 1/2 cup powdered sugar, butter, and extracts until light and fluffy. Stir in flour, salt, and almonds or pecans (if desired). Mix until dough forms. Shape into 1 inch balls, or crescents. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake at 325 for 15-20 minutes. Watch closely until set but not brown. Remove from cookie sheet, cool slightly and roll in powdered sugar. Let cool completely and roll again.

MEXICAN WEDDING COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter and granulated sugar until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and orange zest until fully combined.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Add the flour mixture gradually to the mixer until just incorporated. Fold in the chopped pecans by hand.
• Using a tablespoon-sized cookie scoop, portion the dough onto a baking sheet. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.
• Divide the chilled dough between 2 baking sheets, leaving about 1/2 inch between each cookie. Bake until just golden, about 12 minutes. Allow to cool completely.
• Once the cookies have cooled, place the powdered sugar into a shallow dish. Roll each cookie in the powdered sugar until completely coated. Enjoy!

SPICY MEXICAN WEDDING COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Place the butter and 1/2 cup of the confectioners' sugar in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place the walnuts in the carafe of a food processor. Pulse until almost finely ground, checking after every 5 seconds, about 30 seconds total.
• Whisk together the ground walnuts, flour, cornstarch, cayenne and salt in a large bowl. Pour half of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture and beat on low speed until combined. Repeat with the remaining dry ingredients until a thick dough comes together.
• Scoop the dough by heaping tablespoons and roll into a smooth ball in between your palms. Place onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch of space between each cookie.
• Bake until golden brown, 16 to 18 minutes. Allow to cool on the baking sheets for 3 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Place the remaining 1 cup confectioners' sugar in a large bowl. Working in batches, add the cooled cookies to the sugar and toss until evenly coated in sugar. Sprinkle the tops of the cookies lightly with paprika if desired before serving.

MEXICAN WEDDING COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325˚ F. Beat the butter and granulated and confectioners' sugars in a standing mixer until fluffy. Add the egg yolks, almond extract and orange zest and beat to combine. Whisk together the all-purpose and almond flours, the baking powder and salt in a separate bowl; add to the butter mixture and stir to thoroughly combine. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Scoop and shape the dough into teaspoon-sized balls and transfer to parchment paper-lined baking sheets, leaving room in between. Bake, rotating halfway through, for 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool, then toss with confectioners' sugar to coat. Store at room temperature in a covered container.

MEXICAN WEDDING COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter and powdered sugar in mixer until light and fluffy, about 10-15 minutes. Add vanilla, salt and pecans. Remove from mixer and stir in pastry flour by hand being careful not to over mix. Form into football shapes about the size of small walnuts and place on a buttered cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until just beginning to get the slightest bit colored on the bottom. Remove upon the first sign of color and set on a rack to cool. When cool enough to touch place in a bowl with powdered sugar on top and bottom and toss gently. Occasionally toss with sugar while cooling, trying to get as much sugar as possible to stick. When cold, place cookies in airtight container and cover until ready to serve.

POLVORONES (MEXICAN WEDDING COOKIES)

Steps:

• Put 1/2 cup of the walnuts and the salt in a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Roughly chop the remaining 1 cup walnuts.
• Position two oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F.
• Beat the butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the granulated sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the flour, then the ground and chopped walnuts. Divide the dough in half, forming each half into a ball. Wrap separately in plastic and chill until cold, about 30 minutes.
• Put the confectioners' sugar in a large bowl.
• Working with half of the chilled dough at a time and keeping the rest in the fridge, roll the dough by 2 teaspoonfuls between your palms into balls. Arrange the balls on a large baking sheet, spacing them 1/2 inch apart.
• Bake the cookies until golden brown on the bottom and just pale golden on top, about 18 minutes. Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. Toss the warm cookies in the powdered sugar. Transfer the sugar-coated cookies to a rack to cool completely. The cookies can be prepared up to 2 days ahead. Once cooled, store them in an airtight container. You need to make sure they are cooled before storing them, otherwise they will get soggy. Sift additional powdered sugar and cinnamon over the cookies if desired before serving.

MEXICAN WEDDING COOKIES RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Beat butter, 1/2 cup sugar and vanilla in large bowl with mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add flour, beating on low speed after each addition until well blended. Add nuts; mix well.
• Shape dough into 48 (1-inch) balls. Place, 1-1/2 inches apart, on baking sheets.
• Bake 14 to 15 min. or until bottoms are lightly browned. Cool 5 min. on baking sheets. Roll warm cookies, 1 at a time, in remaining sugar in small bowl until evenly coated; place on wire racks. Cool completely.