Mexican walnut cookies (Polvorones). Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is polvorones made of? ›

A polvorón (From polvo, the Spanish word for powder, or dust) is a type of heavy, soft, and very crumbly Spanish shortbread made of flour, sugar, milk, and nuts (especially almonds).

Spanish polvorones originated in the 16th century in Andalucía, where an abundance of oak acorns from the region's forests made possible the proliferation of pig farms, and brought fame for the quality of their pork products; that in turn, promoted the use of lard in their local cuisine, and specifically, in baked ...

However, one of the biggest mistakes or complaints about homemade Mexican wedding cookies is that they ended up being dry. While one of the most common mishaps that accounts for this is baking the cookies too long, Went Here 8 This also suggests that using too much flour could cause dry cookies.

History of Mexican Wedding Cookies

As Spanish colonizers brought these recipes to Mexico, they seamlessly integrated into the local culinary landscape. The cookie's association with weddings stems from its sweet symbolism of happiness, unity, and the joyful occasions surrounding matrimony.

Classic Polvoron is a Filipino-style shortbread cookies made with toasted flour, powdered milk, sugar and butter flavor. The sweet, buttery and milky mixture is shaped into individual portions and then wrapped to maintain freshness.

Studies have shown that polvoron, a sweet delicacy made from tiesa fruit, has health benefits. Tiesa polvoron is low in fat and a good source of calcium, phosphorus, vitamin C, fiber, niacin, and vitamin A.

Puerto Rican polvorones are slightly sweet shortbread cookies. Back home, some people call them mantecaditos, but growing up we called them polvorones, which loosely translates to “dust” in Spanish.

Mantecados are a variation of polvorón. The main difference is that they do not contain almonds or other nuts. They also tend to be round in shape, whereas polvorones are typically more elongated to oval in shape.

They are also known as Pecan Balls, Russian Tea Cakes, Snowdrops, Italian Butterballs, Southern Pecan Butterballs, Pecan Sandies, Swedish Tea Cakes, and Viennese Sugar Balls, to name a few. They are also not unlike their antecedents, Spanish polvorones, which are a flat shortbread cookie made with ground almonds.

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.

What are the other names for Mexican wedding cookies? ›

Mexican wedding cookies go by many different names: snowballs, Russian tea cakes, Mexican wedding cakes, polvorones, and more. I did some digging on their history while I was working on this recipe, and it turns out, we don't really know where they originated.

Cookies made with butter are usually crispier than chewy cookies made with shortening, but the flavor is richer with butter. So a one-to-one butter swap will work great if you need a shortening substitute for cookies. In cakes and breads, the substitution is rarely noticeable when using shortening vs. butter.

Food historians have noted that during the Cold War, Russian tea cakes started disappearing from American cookbooks, and wedding cookies began to appear. It could be a coincidence, but no one knows for sure," Parra explains. Most assume the cookie's name is due to its occasional appearance at some Mexican weddings.

In traditional Mexican culture, the groom sometimes presents an ornate box with 13 gold coins to the bride, coins representing Jesus and his disciples as well as his commitment to provide for his family. They're sometimes given to the groom by the padrinos, and they're blessed by the priest during the ceremony.

Polvoron made from tiesa fruit was found to be a low-fat, sweet delicacy that is a good source of calcium, phosphorus, vitamin C, fiber, niacin, and vitamin A.

Polvoron are Filipino-style shortbread cookies that are soft and crumbly. Individually wrapped with colorful cellophane, they are perfect for party favors or sharing with friends.