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.
Olivia Lerner says
Didn’t change a thing and they turned out perfectly. Thanks for another reliable recipe, Elana!
Elana says
Olivia, thanks for letting me know these turned out perfectly :-)
Carrie says
Best paleo cookies I’ve had. Hands down. Can’t even tell they are paleo. Thanks, Elana!
Elana says
Carrie, thanks for letting us know these were the best paleo cookies you’ve had, hands down!
Carol McCollum says
Please, when recommending or mentioning XYLITOL… please tell people that it is extremely TOXIC to dogs & cats. Just a tiny bit can be fatal. thank you
Elana says
Thanks Carol!
Helen Bull says
How many cookies does this recipe make? I would like to make these for my friend’s daughter’s wedding (she is also my god-daughter). We need something that is both dairy-free and gluten-free.
There will be 120 people at the wedding so I’d appreciate knowing how many pieces this recipe will make?
Elana says
Hi Helen, this recipe will make around 16 cookies if you use a 1 tablespoon ice cream scoop to form them –be sure not to over-stuff the scoop, as this will result in a lower yield. I’m so happy to be part of your god-daughter’s celebration :-)
Abby says
Has anyone tried to make these ahead and freeze them? That would help me a TON with Christmas baking!
Elana says
Hi Abby, I haven’t tried that so not sure. If you do please let us know how it goes :-)
Susie W says
I miss spritz cookies made with my cookie press. Would love a dub for those.
Elana says
Thanks Susie!
Megan says
Elana — I would love it if you could transform Rainbow Cookies (three layer cookies with jam covered with chocolate) into a gluten and dairy-free recipe. They are my favorite cookies and would love to actually eat the this year!
Elana says
Megan, that is such a great idea! I will add it to my list :-)
Rebecca says
I was wondering if these freeze well before or after baking? I like to pre-make my holiday cookies starting in November and storing them. This is especially important since I need to cook all my own baked goods.
Elana says
Rebecca, I haven’t tried that so not sure. If you do I hope you’ll let us know how it goes :-)
Shannon says
Any recipes for gluten free croissants?
Elana says
Shannon, that is such a great idea! I will add it to my list :-)
R D says
I used a mix of coconut and almond flour, half org grass fed butter and half cold coconut oil, mixed erythritol with coconut sugar and they turned out fantastic!
Elana says
Thanks RD!