Coconut-Lime Mexican Wedding Cookies
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Lime and coconut give these Mexican wedding cookies a tropical flair.
Michael and I were married on May 5, 2001, coinciding with Cinco de Mayo. The picture below was taken right before our wedding when we were both in our twenties, when we had a lot less wrinkles and a lot more hair! I distinctly recall Michael being on his lunch break during this photo session, and he was not exactly thrilled to pose for these cheesy engagement photos (believe me, I spared you the really cheesy ones)!
In honor of the holiday, we served Mexican wedding cookies, known as polvorones or galletas de boda, at our wedding. These cookies are popular all over the world and known by different names, such as snowball cookies, butter balls, or Russian tea cakes, to name just a few. They are crisp, shortbread-like cookies made from ground nuts, flour, butter, and sugar. This version is flavored with lime, pecans, and ground coconut.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Coconut-Lime Mexican Wedding Cookies
Step-by-Step Instructions
To begin, combine the flour, salt, confectioners’ sugar, pecans and coconut in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade.
Process until the pecans and coconut are finely ground, and the mixture looks like sand.
Add the butter, lime zest, and vanilla extract.
Process until the mixture comes together into a cohesive dough.
Remove the dough from the bowl onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Wrap and chill until firm enough to roll, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Measure the dough into heaping teaspoon-size pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Place the balls about 1-1/2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
Bake until the edges of the cookies barely begin to brown, 12 to 14 minutes.
Let cool on the baking sheets, then roll in the confectioners’ sugar while still warm.
Let the cookies cool on a rack. Then roll again in confectioners’ sugar once they are cool.
Serve and enjoy!
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Coconut-Lime Mexican Wedding Cookies
Lime and coconut give these Mexican wedding cookies a tropical flair.
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup confectioners' sugar, plus about ¾ cup more for coating
- ⅓ cup pecans
- ¼ cup sweetened flaked coconut
- 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 packed teaspoon lime zest, from 1 lime
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade, combine the flour, salt, confectioners' sugar, pecans and coconut. Process until the pecans and coconut are finely ground, and the mixture looks like sand. Add the butter, lime zest, and vanilla extract; process until the mixture comes together into a cohesive dough. Remove the dough from the bowl and wrap in plastic. Chill until firm enough to roll, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Measure the dough into heaping teaspoon-size pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Place the balls about 1½ inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the edges of the cookies barely begin to brown, 12 to 14 minutes. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets, then roll in the confectioners' sugar while still warm. Let the cookies cool on a rack, then roll again in confectioners' sugar once they are cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. To serve, arrange the cookies on a platter and use a fine sieve to dust with more confectioners' sugar, if desired.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The Cookie Dough can be Frozen for up to 3 Months: Roll the dough into balls and then roll them in confectioners' sugar. Let set on a baking sheet in the freezer, then place in a sealable bag and press out as much air as possible. Bake as needed directly from the freezer. (Allow 1 to 2 minutes longer in the oven.) Once they are cool, roll them in confectioners' sugar again. To Freeze After Baking: Let the cookies cool completely and store in an airtight container separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Before serving, remove the cookies from the container and let them come to room temperature.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 65
- Fat: 4g
- Saturated fat: 2g
- Carbohydrates: 6g
- Sugar: 3g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 1g
- Sodium: 28mg
- Cholesterol: 9mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Comments
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Hi, can I make the dough and freeze ahead of time? Looking forward to trying these!
Sure Jeanette, that would work. I’d suggest rolling them into balls before freezing. Enjoy!
Hi Jenn, I love your recipes and blog. I have some fresh limes from the garden and wanted to try these. Can I make these with unsweetened coconut?
Thanks,
Darlene
Hi Darlene, so glad you hear you like the recipes! Yes, I think unsweetened coconut would work here. Enjoy!
These are excellent! Easy and very effective. My Latin friends loved them:)
Fantastic recipe !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
These were absolutly fantastic!! We always make the traditonal version at Christmastime. These are super light and very refreshing! Make a great summer cookie! They don’t last more than 2 days in our house!
Hi Jenn. Can I use lemon or orange zest instead of lime? Will there be a significant difference in the taste? I live in the Philippines and I don’t usually see limes in the grocery stores in our area.
Thank you!
Sure Gayle, that would be fine!
Hi Jenn, all of the recipes I have tried from your site are home runs. Thanks for sharing your gift!
Can I use salted butter in this recipe instead of unsalted butter? How will that affect the amount of salt?
So glad you’re enjoying the recipes Monica! I do think this is best with unsalted butter, but if you only have salted, most salted butter has approximately 1/4 tsp. salt per stick, so you can reduce the salt in the recipe as needed. Hope you enjoy!
These cookies are addictive, delicate, and so full of fresh flavor. They were super easy to mix up in the food processor! I toasted my nuts as I prefer them that way.
Thank you for another awesome spin on one of my favorite cookies. They will not last long in this house!
I have made several different tea cake recipes and none of them used flour. Does this make them heavy? Crunchy?
Hi Sara, that’s interesting because all of the tea cake/wedding cookie recipes I’ve tried have flour! These cookies definitely aren’t heavy- I’d describe them as tender but crisp- like a texture similar to shortbread.
The recipe is easy to follow and the cookies are awesome. The addition of lime and coconut makes the traditional Mexican Wedding Cookie even more delicious. Thank you for another great recipe.