Here Comes the Cookie

Love seems to be in the air in 2011. A few of my friends and family members have either just got engaged or just got married. My eldest cousin got engaged in February, one of my close high school friends got married last month, and one of my old co-workers also got married last month. Several old friends, classmates, and acquaintances on Facebook have also announced they were planning weddings this year.When my second cousin got engaged this past weekend, I decided to look for a recipe that would be wedding themed. Apparently, the recipe has been staring me in the face for several months. I love making my own frosting so I go through A LOT of powdered sugar. On the back of the 2lb C&H powdered sugar bag is a recipe for Mexican Wedding cookies.

According  to http://www.ehow.com/: "The ingredients of a wedding cookie traditionally are the richest butters, sugars and oils to signify blessings for a rich and full married life. The powdered sugars are said to have at one time represented purity." These cookies are also known as Italian Wedding cookies or Russian teacakes.

I didn't follow the recipe on the back of the powdered sugar bag because it said it makes 5 dozen cookies. Yikes, I didn't think I need that many cookies, especially since it was my first time making them. I looked all over the Internet and the majority of recipes have the same ingredients and preparation...all very easy. Since this cookie has everything that isn't good for me, I made a variation of several recipes using ingredients that would cut back on the fat but not the flavor.

Mexican (or Italian) Wedding Cookies

3/4 cup butter or 3/4 margarine, unsalted, room temperature (I used Smart Balance 50/50 butter blend)

1/2 cup powdered sugar + 1/2 cup for dusting

(to make your own: 3/4 cup Splenda granular, 2 tbsp cornstarch. Grind in blender to fine texture. Makes 1 cup of powdered sugar) 

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup almonds, ground (this is traditional but you can also use pecans)

1 tbsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, sifted

Preheat oven to 325F.

Cream butter in bowl. Slowly blend in powdered sugar and salt. Mix in almonds and vanilla.

Slowly add sifted flour and mix well until dough forms. Place in fridge for 5 minutes.

Scoop 1 tsp balls onto a greased cookie sheet. (Can also be formed into crescents)

Bake for 18-20 minutes. Do not brown.

Allow cookies to cool before rolling in powdered sugar (if rolled before cooling, the powdered sugar will become moist and make the outside doughy). Makes about 40 cookies.

I was a little worried that my choice in butter would affect the taste because this is pretty much a butter cookie and usually the real thing tastes the best. The Smart Balance butter blend was surprisingly good. According to the box, it has 28% less saturated fat, a good source of vitamin E and Omega-3, and no trans fats (I might be using this for more recipes in the future). I took a bite of the cookie and my reaction was, "wow, that was damn good." It's buttery and sweet but it's also light. The Mister kind

of gave me an odd look when I had that reaction...then I gave him one. He said the same exact words I did. At first I thought he was playing with me and imitating me (one of his favorite past times) but he said he wasn't kidding. It's good to know I can still surprise him with my baking even after almost 4 years of marriage :)

As wedding season continues, I want to congratulate a few people.

Newlyweds Tara and Andrew

Newlyweds Amy and Tyler

Recently engaged Kristeen and Aramis

Recently engaged Katherine and Joey

.....And to anyone else that is entering into a long life of married bliss!

Blog dedicated to my groom and best friend, Scott Babb <3