My gluten-free Mexican Wedding Cookies are a classic Christmas cookie that you can enjoy during the holidays even if you have a variety of food allergies. We like them so much we make them all year long.
Easy Paleo Christmas Cookie Recipe
I decided to create this easy paleo cookie recipe after one of my fans reached out on Twitter and asked me to create a Mexican Wedding Cookies recipe. Well here you go! These Mexican Wedding Cookies are gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, egg-free, and refined sugar-free. With only 8 healthy ingredients they’re also quick and easy to make. Paleo Mexican Wedding Cookies? Yes please!
What are Mexican Wedding Cookies?
According to Wikipedia, Mexican Wedding Cookies have quite a few other names and are also commonly referred to as Russian Tea Cakes and Snowball Cookies:
Russian tea cake is a kind of pastry, commonly eaten around Christmas in the United States. It is a form of jumble, a pastry common in England during the Middle Ages. Also known as Mexican wedding cakes and butterballs, they are perhaps most commonly called snowball cookies for their powdery white spherical appearance and for appearing around the winter holidays.
Easy Homemade Christmas Gifts
These paleo Mexican Wedding cookies are a wonderful homemade Christmas gift. If you like making holiday gifts, rather than buying them, you’ll want to check out my post on How to Make Homemade Christmas Gifts which is full of healthy paleo cookie and candy recipes for Christmas as well as recipes for organic all-natural beauty care items such as homemade lip balm, and so much more!
Mexican Wedding Cookies
Ingredients
- 1½ cups blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
- ⅛ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons palm shortening
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup pecans, toasted and chopped
- ½ cup powdered coconut sugar
Instructions
- In a food processor combine almond flour, salt, and baking soda
- Pulse in shortening, honey, and vanilla
- Mix in pecans by hand
- Using a 1 tablespoon ice cream scoop, scoop dough out in scant tablespoons
- Use your hands to form cookies into balls, pressing very firmly
- Bake at 350°F for 7-10 minutes
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes
- Dip cookies into powdered coconut sugar
- Serve
Mexican Wedding Cookie Recipe Tips
When you make these paleo Christmas cookies, press the dough into balls very firmly so they don’t fall apart after they are baked, this is an important step so do not skip it! Also be sure to form scant tablespoon sized balls so that the cookies are bite sized and so that you get the correct yield.
To stick to the classic version of this recipe, roll the cookies in powdered sugar instead of coconut sugar. To make the powdered coconut sugar called for in this recipe simply whiz your regular coconut sugar up in a vitamix or coffee grinder. I make a cup or so at a time and store my powdered coconut sugar in a glass mason jar. I find that homemade powdered coconut sugar keeps for at least a few weeks when stored this way.
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Low-Carb Mexican Wedding Cookie Recipe
If you can tolerate xylitol, although most people with gut and digestive issues cannot, you can make powdered xylitol sugar using the method outlined above for the powdered coconut sugar and dip your gluten-free Mexican Wedding Cookies in powdered xylitol sugar. If you’re on a low-carb diet you’ll definitely want to check out my Low-Carb Recipes page!
More Paleo Christmas Cookie Recipes
Below are some of my favorite gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, egg-free, and refined sugar-free holiday cookie recipes!
This post is an oldie but goodie from the archives. I first published this recipe in 2013.
Jamie says
Hi Alana, Do you have a replacement recipe for the Neiman Marcus cookies? They have been our favorite to bake at Christmas, and this is our first year eating Paleo. That is the one cookie I will definitely miss eating! Thank you!
Elana says
Hi Jamie, I haven’t ever heard of that, I’ll need to look it up :-)
Brenda says
They are a chocolate chip type cookie.
Elana says
Thanks so much Brenda! I think this recipe of mine would be very close if around 1/2 cup chopped nuts was added:
https://elanaspantry.com/paleo-chocolate-chip-cookies/
Enjoy!
Elana
julie says
Hi Elana, I would love to see the traditional Italian Christmas cookie recipe transformed. I am referring to the bite-sized, ball-shaped cookie with the sprinkles on top. At first I thought this recipe for the Mexican Wedding Cookies was it, but it isn’t. Good luck and Happy Holidays! I have been an avid follower and fan of yours for years ~ have all of your cookbooks and refer others to your site regularly! Thanks so much for doing what you do! :)
Elana says
Thanks Julie!
Lauren says
Can I use butter since I can’t have vegetable shortenings?
Maria Fausto says
I never had a problem with this sub.
Deb Anderson says
Can you use a different flour? i cannot eat almonds.
Elana says
Deb, here’s a link to my Nut-Free Recipes page for you!
https://elanaspantry.com/diets/nut-free/
Enjoy!
Elana
Laura Jo says
This is a delightful, easy to make cookie. My guests of 10 ladies tonight just loved them (I hosted a Paleo Mexican Fiesta) . This recipe is a keeper. Thank you!! :)
Elana says
Laura, so glad to hear this recipe is a keeper!
Michelle says
These are soooo yummy, I can live without chocolate. They are sooo satisfying. I do not have a food processor, so I used my bullet to pulse things together and it worked great. It was time consuming, but oh so worth it. I also cut the coconut sugar with xylitol. Thank you.
Elana says
Thanks for letting us know these were sooooo yummy Michelle!
QueenJellyBean says
Best cookie I have ever had in my life. Hands down. Didn’t even put powdered sugar on top – and I used coconut oil instead of shortening. Didn’t bother to toast my raw pecans.
Elana says
QueenJellyBean, thanks for letting us know this was the best cookie you’ve ever had in your life!!!
Laura King says
Thank you so much for this recipe! I have made them twice now and both times everyone raved about them. I did make one substitution, I used butter instead of shortening.
These are awesome :)
Elana says
Laura, so glad to hear everyone raved about these!
julie says
Please make a grain free struffoli recipe! I miss them so much!
Elana says
Julie, that sounds great! I will add it to my list :-)
Jan says
These are our #1 Christmas cookie (#2 is Macedonian Kefle) and now I am overjoyed to have them again! Thank you Elana for all you do. You are so very appreciated.
Elana says
You’re welcome Jan!