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Pretty and delicious, these Pumpkin and Pecan Polvorones have all the flavors of the season. Similar to Mexican Wedding Cookies, these dainty little cookies are made with pumpkin puree and pecans.
Polvorones are also known as Mexican Wedding Cookies and they’re a treat my family and I usually make every Christmas. Polvorones are crumbly and buttery and they melt in your mouth. They’re easy to make but are so pretty and delicate, they look as if you spent hours in the kitchen. I decided to take this favorite recipe of mine and incorporate pureed pumpkin and chopped pecans into the batter. The pumpkin gives the cookies a pretty orange color with little bits of brown pecans peeking through when you take a bite. To enhance the flavor of the pumpkin, I added a blend of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice which also adds a sweet spiciness.
I shape the dough into 1-inch balls and place them on a baking pan to bake in the oven for about 15 minutes. After I remove the cookies from the oven, I toss them in a bag of powdered sugar and mix them around a bit. Since the cookies are still warm, the powdered sugar sticks to the surface.
These cookies are delicate, delicious and perfect for fall baking.
Pumpkin and Pecan Polvorones
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter room temperature
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup Imperial Sugar Granulated Sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup raw pecan pieces
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or use silpat.
- In a large mixing bowl, blend together the butter, pumpkin puree and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add in the vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and salt and mix well.
- Slowly mix in the flour and until just incorporated.
- Fold in the pecan pieces.
- Using your hands, shape the dough into 1-inch balls. Place the cookies on the baking sheet, spaced about 1 1/2-inches apart.
- Bake for 15 minutes, until bottoms of cookies are lightly browned. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes.
- Pour the powdered sugar in a large Ziplock bag. Add the cookies in batches to the bag, seal the bag and shake the bag up and down so that the powdered sugar generously covers all of the cookies.
- Place the cookies on a wire rack to cool completely.
Wow! Some wonderful recipes! Thank you.
Thank you Marsha 🙂 !
Joanie – you have the BEST recipes of any blogger I follow! I just printed this off and pinned/stumbled as well. I’m going to make these sweeties the next time E comes in from Uni. Pumpkin ANYTHING is her favorite! Thanks for the recipe and have a wonderful time at the conference – I’m jealous! I just went to my first ever blogging conference, the organizers sent me two free tickets. I was crying by Saturday I was so overwhelmed! After three years I STILL don’t fully understand the blogging thing!
Ronda, thank you so much! You totally made my day 🙂 . I haven’t gone to many conferences, actually just two and both were in my hometown. But this year has been the year for me to treat this blog like a business and learn from people who are doing great things. I’m thrilled to be going to Mixed and hopefully we can meet up at a conference soon.
Oh wow, those sound amazing! I’ve never made those cookies, but I may just have to try this version.
Thank you, Helen. They really are delicious.
These are so cute! I hope you have a great time at the conference.
Thank you Skye!!
I love Mexican wedding cookies and these look like a delicious variation. I can’t wait to try them!