Mexican Wedding Cookies!

With Halloween just around the corner, the majority of food bloggers are sharing their favorite Halloween treats, but here I am making these cookies that are typically eaten around Christmastime. Oops. But hey, it's my blog and I can bake what I want to, right?! I obtained the recipe for these fabulous little cookies several months ago when I went on a spree of going to bookstores and picking out recipes from various cookbooks. This actually turned out to be a pretty good method for finding new and interesting recipes, although this is only the second time I've used one of them (I assure you I have quite a few saved for later use). I have made these cookies before but it was a looooong time ago, back in the days of endless Toll House chocolate chip cookie baking that I mentioned in my last post. So, when I just happened to come across the recipe in one of the many cookbooks I thumbed through, I thought that it was a perfect opportunity to make them once again.

The best thing about these cookies is that they are ridiculously easy to make. They have only five ingredients and the longest part of the whole process is the baking itself, since they cook about twice as long as most cookies. Another great thing about these cookies is that they can be made with ingredients that I usually have already at home so I don't have to make a special trip to prepare for them.

The other day when I was slightly pressed for time but wanted to make something, I went for these. The recipe made about 20 cookies (even though it claims to actually make 48, I am notorious for making my cookies larger than your standard homemade cookie), which were gone the following evening. I had to make a second batch already because Tom and I have been eating these things nonstop. Luckily they're smaller than the cookies I usually make so we can feel less guilty about eating so many. Also, they're great with a cup of coffee in the morning. In fact, I totally skipped breakfast this morning and replaced it with a couple of these (super healthy, I know).

Anyway, here you have the Mexican wedding cookies! So delicious and so easy, I don't see why we only eat these at Christmastime. Also, since I was pressed for time and my camera had died, I took all of these photos on my phone. However, I don't think they turned out half bad and I might just use my phone from now on since it's way easier.

The second most time consuming part of the process is chopping up the pecans

Almost ready for the oven...

Mexican Wedding Cookies:

For the dough:

• 1 cup finely chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups flour

For the coating:

•  1 to 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Combine pecans and 1/4 cup powdered sugar and mix until both are evenly distributed. Cube butter and soften then add to nut and sugar mix along with the vanilla. Lastly, add the flour and mix until dough holds together well. Roll into small 1-2'' balls on baking sheet and bake for 20-22 minutes at 325. While cookies are baking, pour remaining 1+ cup of powdered sugar into a bowl (I just eyeballed it). Once cookies are out of the oven and cool enough to pick up but still hot, roll in powdered sugar and place on cooling rack. Once completely cooled, roll through powdered sugar a second time (I have trouble being patient enough for this last step). Enjoy!

Mmm, after their first coating of powdered sugar