Mexican Wedding Cookies

This year, we decided to make candy gifts for our friends and family. My husband got a recipe for Mexican wedding cookies from a co-worker, so we put them into care packages of other homemade treats. The cookies are great on their own, but they're even better covered in chocolate. Because, face it, what isn't better covered in chocolate?

Mexican Wedding Cookies-mine made 20

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 egg

¾ cup confectioners' sugar

½ cup pecans, finely chopped or ground

½ cup vegetable shortening

½ cup cold unsalted butter, chunked

1/8 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Cut the butter into chunks and set aside.

First, chop the pecans. Personally, I find putting cut pecans in a bowl and pressing them with the bottom of a glass salt shaker to be a good way to blow off stress. Otherwise, just use a blender. Add the powdered sugar to the crushed nuts and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt. Drop in the chunks of butter and shortening teaspoon by teaspoon. Knead with your hands until the shortening and butter are distributed throughout the flour and until you have a coarse dough. Then, add the pecan mixture and egg and mix with your hands until everything comes together, about one or two minutes.

Now, butter or spray down a cookie sheet and make small (about 1”-1 ½”) balls of dough with your hands. Set them on the sheet about an inch apart from each other and bake them until they are golden brown, about 18-20 minutes. Adjust baking times if necessary. When they're done, dust them with more powdered sugar and serve.

Like I said, these are great by themselves or covered in chocolate. We wrapped them up in squares of tissue paper and put them in our gift bags, but feel free to keep them all for yourselves if you want to. Enjoy!

Unfortunately, these are not for people who are allergic to nuts.