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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I was wondering if you could substitute lime zest purchased at a spice store for the fresh lime zest in the recipe?
I think that should be fine – enjoy!
Hi Jenn. Would it be ok to use lime juice instead of the zest or would that throw off the consistency?
Thank you!
Hi Mia, I think it would be best to stick with the zest here; it has a much depper lime flavor than just the juice.
The only liquid in this recipe is the vanilla extract, and I think the lime juice would add too much liquid and mess up the consistency. The zest is stronger in lime flavor, so think that it is necessary for the cookies to turn out so well.
Hi Jenn,
Can these be frozen?
Yes Eileen, I think they’ll freeze nicely. Enjoy!
Thank you! These are divine!
Incredibly refreshing, delicate, buttery & packed with flavor all in 1 little cookie. Stirred mine by hand (no food processor available yet). Love lime & worried the lime zest wouldn’t add enough flavor but was wrong. In the last powdered sugar rolling step, I added 1 tsp of True Lime (powder) to the Powdered Sugar, shook it up & rolled ’em for an extra punch of lime. Didn’t add as much lime flavor as I thought it would on the outside, the real lime flavor shined through from the lime zest. Simply delicious! Everything I’ve tried from your site turns out fabulous. Thank you again for your generosity in sharing recipes & wisdom with everyone. I’m most appreciative.
Excellent taste, will make more!
These are one of my favorite cookies. And I have never made them myself but always devour them at parties! I was looking for a recipe to use some ingredients I had left over from other meals. Coconut and walnuts! So I made a substitution (something I’m used to living overseas). I had to stop my 7 y.o. from eating them up. Packed some away for the neighbors just in time! Thanks for a great recipe!
Absolutely delicious! Just made them tonight and had to taste them while they were still warm.
Also congratulations on your anniversary.
These cookies are really delicious. There are a number of cookies that look very similar to this, but everyone is surprised with this coconut lime pecan version. Very fresh and not overly sweet considering they are rolled in powdered sugar. Fantastic cookie. You should probably just make a double batch…they are that GOOD!
Could i substitute gluten free flour
for regular flour?
Hi Norma, I haven’t tried them with gluten-free flour so I can’t say for sure, but I think it would work. This is a good gluten-free baking mix. I’d love to hear how they turn out!
This is a great recipe for my favorite cookie. You can omit the lime and add a bit of cinnamon or almond extract for a different flavor profile.
These were great. I got 30 (1&1/2 teaspoon) cookies. I followed recipe to the letter, but added a tablespoon of zest instead of a teaspoon.