Mexican Praline Cookies

These cookies are closer to a Mexican wedding cookie than a traditional praline, and they’re dangerously easy to eat.

Two cups of butter creamed with brown sugar creates an incredibly rich, sandy dough. Only one egg yolk goes in, which keeps the texture crumbly and shortbread-like rather than cakey. Cinnamon adds a warm spice note that nods to the Mexican polvoron tradition.

Toasted pecans get chopped and folded in at the end. Toasting them first is a must. It intensifies their flavor and adds a crunch that holds up against all that butter.

Roll the dough into generous two-tablespoon balls and bake until the edges just begin to brown. They need about 22 minutes, which is longer than most cookies, because the high butter content means they’re slow to set. A final dusting of powdered sugar through a fine sieve gives them that classic snow-capped look.

Pro Tips

• Cream the butter and sugar until truly smooth. Any lumps of butter create uneven texture in the finished cookie.
• Don’t overbake. Pull them when the edges barely start to color. The centers will look underdone but they firm up as they cool.
• Dust with powdered sugar after cooling completely. Warm cookies absorb the sugar and it disappears. Cold cookies let it sit pretty on the surface.

Variations

• Add a pinch of cayenne pepper to the dough for a Mexican hot chocolate vibe.
• Roll cooled cookies in powdered sugar instead of just dusting for a thicker coating.
• Use walnuts or almonds instead of pecans for a different nut flavor.