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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These are a delicious variation of traditional Mexican wedding cookies. Thank you 🙂
Just made these tonight to have with coffee. The lime in this cookie is different and delicious. I ground the coconut with the pecans and the consistency was perfect. Devoured 4 of them before the coffee was even done. Fabulous recipe…again!
These are amazing! So easy to whip up. Saving this recipe!
Hi Jen,
Unfortunately I don’t have a food processor. Might you have another method for making them?
I love your recipes!
Thank you!
Hi Jennifer, I think you could do this by hand; just be sure to chop the coconut and pecans very finely.
Thank you Jennifer, made this cookie today loved & shared with my friends …will be making some more tomorrow Yummmmmmy!
Keeps me busy while being home 🏡 and helps me put a smile & cheer with my family & girlfriends …
These were great but not as “limey” as I had hoped. Granted…my lime was pretty small so next time I will zest two. Nevertheless still a great recipe. Thanks again Jenn!
Delicious as usual from Jenn! Was looking for a treat to bring to Mexican themed gathering; glad I checked your site. Made as directed! Fresh twist on pecan balls. Xo
This was a miss… from the beginning the dough never seemed a good consistency as it was too soft and fell apart. I chilled per instructions and then baked later. The cookies tasted good but 5 of them crumbled apart when I dipped them in confectioners sugar. Any ideas why? I measured everything (including spoon and level method). Would over processing cause this?
Hi JoAnn, So sorry you had trouble with these. I actually that under-processing might cause this, as the nuts need to be quite pasty to stick together.
These are addictive! I actually prefer them cold though, so I store them in the refrigerator or freezer. So different from your run of the mill cookie!
Sorry, didn’t mean to post my comment as a reply.
did I miss something? what are the amounts of the ingredients that are shown?
thanks,
Beth
Hi Beth, It sounds like you are just looking at the portion of the page that has the pictures with some instructions underneath. If you scroll down a bit to under the pictures, you’ll find the full recipe. Alternatively, at the very top of the page, to the right of the recipe name, you’ll see an icon that looks like a notepad – if you click on that, it will take you directly to the recipe. Hope that clarifies!
Hi Jenn, my husband is allergic to all nuts but almonds and cashews. Do you think I could substitute either of these nuts for the pecans?
Hi Pennie, either will work here (any nut will really work in place of the pecans). Hope you enjoy!
These cookies are absolutely addictive. I took them to a Derby party and folks couldn’t stop eating them. They are easy to make and the second time I made them I doubled the recipe and froze half. They freeze beautifully -no crumbling when they defrost. We don’t like food that is super sweet so I just rolled the cookies once in powdered sugar. I think that enhanced the flavors of the line and coconut.