Delicious Mexican Wedding Cookies: Perfect for Any Celebration
What are Mexican Wedding Cookies?
For my Gringo friends, especially men, when I tell them I'm selling Mexican Wedding Cookies, the first thing they might say (if unfamiliar with the cookies) is "why are you marketing them just for weddings?...or just for Mexicans?" Little do they know these cookies are a WHOLE VIBE! No worries though, Romeros is here to welcome you to our culture and introduce you to the finest Mexican Wedding Cookies you'll ever taste! "NO", they're not just for weddings and "YES", non-Mexican can eat them even as an everyday-cookie. Let's chow...
First, Mexican Wedding Cookies aren't just for Mexicans and aren't just for weddings . In fact, the history of these cookies, like any things for the country of Mexico, is believed to have originated in the Middle East and were brought to Europe through trade routes, introduced to Mexico by Spanish conquistadors or other travelers.
We name our cookies Valentina, Luna and Stella. Valentinas might also be known as 'polvorones'- a name we'll get to in another blog. Ours are heart-shaped (although can come in any shape), made of almost the same 6 natural ingredients - all purpose flour, sugar, table salt, finely chopped pecans, shortening and dusted with freshly grounded cinnamon we grind in a food processor and granulated sugar. You'll be surprised as to how light, crispy, and not overly sweet they taste.
Our Lunas are shortbread, amore brittle cookie, bite-sized and perfect to eat in one bite. It's a crumbly dough that, when cooled completely, turns to be a crispy cookie. With toasted pecans, vanilla extract, and powered sugar, our Lunas are authentic. Eat these in one bite, otherwise you might have powered sugar evidence showing all over your shirt!
Our Stellas are my dad's special recipe and our nut-free option. We wait for the cookies cool to sugar these babies - leaving them able to pick up just the right amount of sugar and cinnamon. He made them after our customers asked for a nut-free cookie. Gotta admin, the cookie dough is almost just as yummy and the crumbs are perfect ice-cream toppings.
They were hand dropped by my dad up until I purchased our cookie depositor. They're a favorite for backyard BBQs, anywhere were kids are, and for people with low-key nut allergies.
All our cookies are made in a commercial kitchen, so they do have allergens.
Why do you call all your cookies, Mexican Wedding Cookies?
For the sake of marketing and making it easy, while we bake three different types of cookies, it was easier to group them as Mexican Wedding Cookies; however, the most traditional is the LUNA and it's most widely accepted as the Mexican Wedding Cookie. The cookie dough between the three so are very similar so it's wild how different they taste. For sure, the chopped nuts make a slight different in taste. We'll get into the names of the other cookies later, but our Stella is wholly made up and you won't find anything like it anywhere else!
Also, we know there are debates on what there cookies are called but most cookies from most cultures associate them with wedding cookies. More about that later too!
BUT I'm looking for Mexican Wedding Cake Cookies!
While you might be searching for Mexican Wedding Cake Cookies- nothing like that exists in our culture, so I think you're actually looking for Mexican Wedding Cookies - but I could be wrong. If there's a wedding cake cookie out there- let me know!
The most traditional Mexican Wedding Cookies
Our Luna cookies is the traditional and is a type of small, sweet cookie that is traditionally served at weddings and other celebrations - but also at gatherings, potlucks, and everyday moments. I have people ask if the cookies are appropriate to bring to a multi-cultural gathering and YES! they are! Again, these cookies aren't just for weddings and aren't just for Mexicans! We love sharing our culture here at Romeros.
Are these Russian tea cakes? Are these snowball cookies?
Our sister cultures- Russians, Italians, Pittsburgians (shout-out to cookie tables!), and Greeks have other names for these cookies and we all claim ours are the best. You may also recognize Russian tea cakes or Italian Wedding cookies- all have their rightful place at our traditional gatherings tables. Most of these types of cookies are characterized by their crumbly texture, nutty flavor, and more powdered sugar coating - YUM, right!?!?
While our cookies have pecans in them, other cultures bake them with walnuts or almonds and use almond extract while we use vanilla extract.
The History and Significance of Mexican Wedding Cookies
Our cookies have a rich history and cultural significance and are associated with PARTY, celebrations, family, and special moments. The cookies are special tokens of celebration at weddings, quinceañeras, anniversaries, baptisms and other special occasions as a symbol of good luck and prosperity. You should and can bring them to any gathering, event or occasion.
Our Mexican Wedding Cookie Recipe
My grandfather started with our family recipe and my dad perfected it. He sold for 40+ years at our family-owned bakery store-front in South Texas. He made them by hand - rolled the dough, cut them, dropped them, and sugared them all with love and care. While the Valentina and Luna are traditional recipes, this Stella is an offshoot of the other two- offering a nut-free option.
Our family recipe doesn't stray from any from the 1000s of recipes on the internet, in facts, it's almost identical to 99% of recipes - we use flour, shortening, powered sugar, granulated sugar, pecan pieces, table salt, vanilla extract and whole egg.
The dough is mixed and then added to our cookie depositor to make 1000s of cookies in 20 minutes! Perhaps it's that we mix with love, perhaps it's that the 40+ years of cookie-celebrations has rubbed off on our cookies - but we think there's just this added touch of YUM to our Mexican wedding cookies! It's such happy baking for us!
Serving and Enjoying Mexican Wedding Cookies
We love this topic! At Romero's, we love decorating and serving our cookies in a creative, unique way to WOW your guests. You'll be seeing photo shots of our cookies as wedding favors, on a quince table, and as everyday servings for everyday moments. There are so many ways you can serve them and we're just getting started.
Here are a few to start with! Serve them up as take-away favors for any celebration. Here we used small bamboo ice cream wrappers, put them on a cake stand and created a sign using Etsy.
Who doesn't want a pick-me-up after a late night dancing?! Serve our Stella cookies alongside a shot of espresso to give your guests the non-alcoholic upper they need!
Mexican wedding cookies are perfect for serving at weddings, parties, and other special occasions. They're bite-sized, not overly sweet, and a perfect compliment to cake!
Our cookies are great to decorate with because of their size. They fit on small plates, are great party favors, and are small and affordable tokens of appreciation to your guest.
They're also unique and great-tasting. Your guests will delight in the ways you style your event with our cookies.
So many simple ways to give cookies as gifts! These are paper coffee carriers, easily found on Amazon. Decorate with flowers and greenery and watch these simple cookies be elevated as unique, authentic and flavorful gifts for your guests. Create custom stickers on Etsy and you have a personalized, elevated party favor for all your favorite people!
Cookie Tins
If you're not into styling them, we made our tins gold so they bring elegance to your dessert table. Simply place the tin on the table and watch them disappear!
If not all cookies get consumed, you can store them in airtight container at room temperature for up to 90 days! We doubt there's be many left over, but if you must store them, you still have 90 days to share and eat them.
How many Mexican wedding cookies do I need for a 50 person event?
Serving cookies to a crowd can be a little tricky. These cookies are traditionally bite-sized, small, and cute and perfect for incremental satisfaction! We generally recommend serving 2-3 cookies per person if they are the only dessert, or 1-2 cookies if you're serving another dessert to accompany these cute cookies.
Our favorite daily cookie-treat is a Luna with a cup of coffee or tea. Amazing desserts for the pre-or-post celebration chisme! Get enough to bring your sisters, tias, and mamas together to sit and talk about the night's events! The best start to a morning, is with one Luna or Stella, a cup of dark coffee, and your favorite person by your side.
Freezing and Storing Mexican Wedding Cookies
Our cookies have a 90-day shelf life and stay fresh in our beautiful tins. We thoughtfully packaged our cookies in beautiful boxes and customized, eco-friendly cookie tins to make them easy to transfer to whatever party or event you're taking them to. They're packaged tight so to prevent breakage during shipping or in the back of your car or in our luggage. We ask that you leave the shipping to us so they arrive to their destination whole.
Our tins can also be upcycled! Customers say they store their knitting supplies, art supplies, and garage tools in them! Great job upcycling our tin!
If you're ordering to eat more than 90 days from now, we don't advice freezing our cookies. Instead, use our "Schedule ahead" delivery option that allows you to place an order 180 days before you need them. Super convenient right!? Have them delivered a couple of days before your event and keep the tin shut - that is, if you can fight the temptation to eat them. Actually...you might want to order a backup just in case someone's hand gets in the cookie jar!
If you make these kinds of cookies on your own, storing them is a good option. If you're using them for a celebration, then you'll have ready-dough in time for your event.
Making Memories
Whether you're Mexican, Russian, Greek or Gringo - someone you know has a memory tied to these cookies. So many of our taste-testers take a bite...their eyes close and they let out a soft sigh - remembering loved ones alongside the sweet taste of the cookie- that crumbly texture, nutty flavor, and powdered sugar coating - all great remembrances. Our customers are taken back to grandma's kitchen or a favorite celebratory moment where these types of cookies were served. Memories surface of sweet aromas, special places, and special people in their lives. Mexican Wedding Cookies are so much more than just a cookie- they're memories.
Romero is about creating more of these memories for the next generation. We know people want things a bit more convenient these days - this is why we make our cookies presentation-ready and gifting- ready without losing out on the flavor and traditional ingredients that join generations. There is no skimping on the authenticity of our cookies. We don't add fillers or preservatives - we have stuck to the same 6-7 ingredients that my father used 40+ years ago.
SALUD!
Have we convinced you to include Mexican Wedding Cookies at your next celebration??! We're happy to share our cookies with any culture, at any celebration and for moments big and small. They're perfect treat to bring to gatherings, meetings, celebrations and parties. People will certainly reminisce back to a relative or friend as they bite into these cookies.
For events with more children, our Stella cookies are a popular addition. Our Valentina cookies are popular wherever love flows- anniversaries, weddings, and honeymoon treats. Our Lunas are the most recognizable and bring a different flavor given our pecan pieces and confectioners sugar!
Whether you’re serving them at a wedding, party, or just as a sweet treat, Mexican wedding cookies are a classic, tasteful, cultural choice that is sure to bring up lively discussion and glee.