Thursday, October 11, 2007

Mexican Wedding Cakes

These were another request from my Bosnian friend. He was very concerned that I would try and sneak frosting on them, "You Americans put frosting on everything!" Yes, I am guilty! But I reassured him that even I could resist frosting Mexican Wedding Cakes.















When I started baking these I realized I didn't have half the ingredients that the original recipe called for, so I ended up mixing pecans with almond meal. They actually turned out great anyways - very nutty!

(More of the view out my kitchen window. The other day I glanced up and saw that the air outside looked yellow - it was super weird. This was the view to the east. This picture doesn't do it justice, but it was the best I could do. The sky was black, the air was yellow, and there was that stripe of royal blue peeking out from under the clouds.)
















Mexican Wedding Cakes

- 1 cup chopped toasted pecans
- 3/4 cups almond meal (toasted in 325 degree oven for about 5 minutes)
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 2 sticks of salted butter, softened but still cool
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- powdered sugar for dusting cookies

Oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a small bowl mix pecans, almond meal, salt, and flour together. In the bowl of a mixer, beat butter and sugar together until fluffy, then add vanilla and almond extracts. Add flour mixture and beat until just combined. Using 1 Tbsp of dough, roll into balls and place on cookie sheets. Bake for 16-20 minutes, until cookies are beginning to brown on the bottom and turn golden on the tops. Cool to room temperature before rolling in powdered sugar.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those cakes look delicious!

Belinda said...

Your little cakes look perfect...I love these, and I've never made them myself. I'm copying the recipe! Now to track down some almond meal. :-) And I love the photo of the sky, with the contrast of the vibrant blue and the gloomy grey...very striking.

Emily said...

Oh, I love these. My grandma makes these at Christmas. You gotta love licking the powdered sugar off of your fingers.

The sky does look weird. Does it always rain there? I love rain. Might have to move.

Patricia Scarpin said...

Mallow, the little cakes are so adorable! I have read different recipes for these but haven't tried them myself.

Cynthia said...

I like the fact that these wedding cakes already come as individual servings.

Helene said...

They look fantastic! I can't stop eating them when I make them....evil little things!
Great view out your window!

Gigi said...

Yes! I have a bag of almond meal in the freezer and was wondering what to make with it. These cookies look like the perfect answer.

Brittany said...

These things are addicting. Yum yum yum. So, judging by the the pictures, I'm guessing to you live on Capital Hill? I just say that because the buildings look sort of "madison/first hill-ish".....or I could be way off- where DO you live, girl?

Peabody said...

My all time favorite Christmas cookie! They are the best. I limit myself to just Christmas or else I would eat them all the time.