Recipes Gradient

Polvorones

BY Alex López Negrete

Ingredients Polvorones are usually referred to as “Mexican Wedding Cookies,” which I never really understood, because I saw (ate) those everywhere BUT at weddings. Go figure. In any case, when I was growing up, it seemed like it was during Christmas when these delicious, bite-sized, messy little cookies made their magical appearance most. Trays of them. Everywhere. And, of course, as a kid, I was more than happy to help relieve my mom (and the rest of the family) of them. One at a time. On my way here, there, or anywhere. Gulp. Gone. They really are deliciously light and bite-sized. And, hey, they make a great gift. Buy a pretty platter, make a batch, wrap them in Saran Wrap, plop a bow on it – and bam! Be sure to keep a few for yourself, though. Your young ones will appreciate having Polvorones around. Trust me.
Alex López Negrete

P.S. You all know I can’t cook. I can bartend. Not cook. So, I need to give credit where credit is due. This recipe is courtesy of Marcela Valladolid.


(for a batch of about 4 dozen, depending on the size you make them)
1 ½ cups of walnuts
2 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup of granulated sugar
2 cups of all-purpose flour
½ cup of confectioners’ sugar, plus some extra for serving and decoration
Ground cinnamon, also for decoration and dusting (optional)
A pinch of fine salt
  1. Put ½ cup of the walnuts and the pinch o’ salt in the food processor and pulse until it’s finely ground.
  2. Separately, chop the remaining (1) cup of walnuts. Not TOO fine. You need the texture.
  3. Position two oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
  4. Beat the butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth, for about 2-3 minutes.
  5. Add the granulated sugar and beat until light and fluffy, for about another 2 minutes.
  6. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
  7. Beat in the flour, then the ground and chopped walnuts.
  8. Divide the dough in half, forming each half into a ball.
  9. Wrap the halves separately in plastic and chill until cold, 30 minutes.
  10. Put the confectioners’ sugar in a large bowl, separately.
  11. Working with half of the chilled dough at a time, and keeping the rest in the fridge, roll about 2 teaspoons’ worth of the dough between your palms, into little balls. Then, do the other half.
  12. Arrange the balls of dough on a large baking sheet, spacing them about ½ inch apart.
  13. Bake the cookies until golden brown on the bottom and pale golden on top, about 18 minutes.
  14. Toss the warm, baked cookies in the confectioners’ sugar bowl you have ready. Then, transfer the sugar-coated cookies onto a rack to cool off.
  15. The cookies can be prepared up to 2 days ahead. Once cooled, store them in an airtight container. You need to make sure they’re cooled off before storing them; otherwise, they’ll get soggy. Once you “platter” them, dust the additional powdered sugar and cinnamon (if you like cinnamon) over the cookies before serving, gifting, or eating. Or all three.