About Mexican Wedding Cookies
You don't have to be in Mexico or even at a wedding to enjoy Mexican Wedding Cookies. Whether you are at a Christmas party or even at a wedding, the simple taste of the sweet treats will please most cookie lovers. The cookies, which are sweet shortbread cookies with nuts and powdered sugar, pair well with most meals as a dessert with a sweet drink or wine. Often served at large holiday gatherings or family events, the cookies can stand alone as a dessert or be offered with cakes and other sweets. Does this Spark an idea?
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Ingredients
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Most recipes for Mexican Wedding Cookies contain basic shortbread cookie ingredients such as butter, sugar, salt, vanilla extract, water and flour, in addition to almonds. They also call for confectioners' sugar for a topping or coating. Butter or spray oil also is needed for coating the baking sheet.
Extras/Alternatives
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As with many traditional food dishes in the modern world, plenty of alternative recipes or takes on the Mexican Wedding Cookie exist. Some recipes might substitute pecans or other nuts for almonds, and some might bake pecans and sugar that were combined in a food processor inside of the dough mixture. Other recipes include additions like oats, chocolate chip cookies or some added color using food coloring or appropriate candies, fruits and dipping sauces. A "healthier" cookie can include a substitute of whole wheat flour for white flour, using unsalted or reduced-fat butter and going light on the sugar and baking sheet coating.
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Accessories
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To make the cookies, bakers need a large bowl for mixing the dough, a spoon or large spatula for mixing and at least one baking sheet on which to bake the cookies. Optional items include an electric mixer to substitute a mixing spoon, an ice cream scoop for shaping the cookies, a food processor for chopping the nuts and a cooling rack to cool the cookies.
Shape
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Although most cookies tend to be flat, Mexican Wedding Cookies traditionally are one-inch round balls or oval shapes. The form gives it a crunchy outer shell and a smooth texture in the center if baked properly. Some bakers may prefer to flatten out the cookies, like most other cookies.
Time
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Preparing the cookies---including gathering and mixing the ingredients and shaping the cookies---will take about 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the number of cookies being made. Some bakers chill the shaped cookies for several hours or overnight before baking them, but this is not necessary. Baking the cookies will take an additional 15 minutes at a time; those who make a large batch of cookies that won't fit in one oven at one time should allow for more time to switch out baking pans. Cookies will take about five to 10 minutes to cool but can be served at any time after they are cooled.
Storage
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Mexican Wedding Cookies keep like most other cookies. At room temperature, they will stay fresh for a few days and up to a week if kept in a container or tight wrapper or bag. Storing the baked sweets in a freezer, especially an air-tight sealed bag, will allow them to keep for up to several months. Multiple layers of cookies should be stored with wax paper or paper towels. Frozen cookies will thaw out at room temperature for several hours or overnight. Batches of mixed cookie dough also can be frozen for several weeks to make cookies in the future as long as it is stored in a freezer bag or an air-tight wrapping to avoid freezer burn; depending on the size of the dough, it should thaw out after several hours or overnight in the refrigerator to be shaped into cookies for baking.
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