Pumpkin Polvorones (Mexican Wedding Cookies)
Polvorones are also known as Mexican wedding cookies. This pumpkin-flavored twist on the classic recipe is the perfect fall treat.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on November 24, 2025
These pumpkin spice cookies are good. Really good. Theyโre powdered sugar-dusted nuggets with tender, golden, nutty insides. I adapted the recipe from a basic polvorones recipe, which Iโve always known as Mexican wedding cookies. Theyโre a simple, not-too-sweet, shortbread-like cookie full of toasted chopped nuts.
This pumpkin-flavored twist on the classic recipe is the perfect treat for fall. Itโs easy to make, too, with no chilling time required. Little hands might like to help roll the dough into balls, and then roll them into powdered sugar after baking.
These cookies might be even better on day two, after the flavors have had time to rest. Make them for Halloween, Thanksgiving, or a fun fall weekend baking project. The recipe happens to be vegan and dairy-free, for those following special diets.
Ingredient Notes
Youโll find the full recipe below, but hereโs what youโll need and why.
- Coconut oil or butter: Polvorones usually call for a good amount of butter, but I cut the amount of butter in half to incorporate pumpkin purรฉe. Then, I swapped in coconut oil for the remaining butter, and I prefer the cookies that way. Surprisingly, coconut oil lets the pumpkin and spice flavors carry through better, whereas butter was distracting. The cookies are a little less crumbly than their all-butter counterparts, but I loved them nonetheless. Theyโre vegan if you use coconut oil instead of butter, but if you are a butter lover or if that is all you have on hand, go with the butter.
- Pumpkin purรฉe: Storebought yields more consistent results than homemade. I like Whole Foods 365 brand or Libbyโs.
- Sugar and powdered sugar: Youโll need regular granulated sugar for the dough and powdered sugar for rolling (did you know that you can make your own powdered sugar?). I like to use natural sweeteners like maple syrup and honey when I can, but they will make these cookies too wet.
- Vanilla extract: Standard in Mexican wedding cookies, vanilla also plays well with pumpkin.
- Pumpkin spice and salt: Pumpkin spice contributes much of the pumpkin flavor. The recipe calls for individual spices (cinnamon, ginger and allspice) instead of a pumpkin spice blend to ensure that your cookies taste just like mine.
- Pecans: The recipe includes instructions for toasting the pecans to bring out their best flavor! I love how pecans taste with the pumpkin, but you could also use walnuts, almonds or pepitas.
- Flour: Traditional wedding cookies use all-purpose flour. I love to use whole grain flours when I can, and this recipe turns out well with whole wheat pastry flour or regular whole wheat flour. Take your pick!
More Pumpkin Treats to Make
If you enjoy this recipe, here are a few more pumpkin recipes to try:
- Healthy Pumpkin Bread
- Healthy Pumpkin Muffins
- Homemade Pumpkin Chai Latte
- Pumpkin Pancakes
- Pumpkin Pecan Scones with Maple Glaze
Please let me know how your pumpkin polvorones turn out in the comments! They are such a fun fall cookie.
Pumpkin Polvorones (Mexican Wedding Cookies)
Polvorones are also known as Mexican wedding cookies. This pumpkin-flavored twist on the classic recipe is the perfect treat for fall. These tender, nutty, whole wheat pumpkin cookies are so simple to make, and might even taste better on day two. Recipe yields 18 to 24 cookies.
Ingredients
- ยฝ cup room-temperature virgin coconut oil* or unsalted butter
- ยฝ cup pumpkin purรฉe
- ยฝ cup cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ยฝ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ยผ teaspoon ground allspice
- ยฝ teaspoon fine salt
- 1 slightly heaping cup raw pecans
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour or regular whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour
- ยฝ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Lightly toast the pecans in a skillet over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, under they are nice and fragrant. Remove the skillet from the heat. You can either use a food processor to finely chop the pecans (about 10 pulses should do it, donโt blend so well that you end up with pecan butter) or finely chop the pecans with a chefโs knife on a cutting board (let the pecans cool until theyโre comfortable to touch before chopping).
- In a large bowl, combine the coconut oil or butter, pumpkin purรฉe, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and salt. Beat them with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually add the chopped pecans and flour, beating on low speed after each addition until well blended.
- Using a 1-tablespoon cookie scoop or your hands, shape the dough into 1-inch balls (if using a scoop, roll each ball between your palms to smooth out the edges). Place the cookies on the baking sheet, leaving about 1 ยฝ-inches around each cookie (the cookies will not expand in size).
- Bake for 14 to 15 minutes, until the bottoms of the cookies are lightly browned. Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet.
- Pour the powdered sugar into a small bowl. Roll each warm cookie in it to coat liberally, then place it onto a wire rack to cool. Taste, and if the cookies arenโt quite sweet enough to delight, roll them again in powdered sugar. Leftover cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or for several months in the freezer.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Kraftโs recipe for Mexican wedding cookies.
*Coconut oil note: If your oil is too solid to scoop (this can happen during the colder months), gently warm it in the microwave just until itโs easier to work with.
Make it dairy-free/vegan: Be sure to use the coconut oil instead of regular butter.
Change it up: Substitute walnuts or almonds for the pecans. Pepitas (green pumpkin seeds) would be good, too, for a nut-free option.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionistโs advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Would you still use 1/2 c of coconut oil if solid and has anyone used anything besides
a spelt flour. I canโt do whole wheat. Thanks.
Yes, use the same amount of oil either way. Iโve heard that these are good when make with gluten-free flour blends. I have wondered if oat flour might be good, too, since these cookies donโt rise like most.
I made these gluten free with a mixture of a gf blend they were fantastic!
Iโm glad they turned out well with gf flour. I thought they might be a good candidate for that since the cookies donโt really rise or fluff up. Thanks for letting me know, Karen!
I made these and wrote about them here.
I had such high hopes for these cookies. Ultimately, they are not the buttery shortbread delights that are the classic Russian Tea Cakes. I kept popping them into my mouth expecting the original version and being disappointed every time, just because they look exactly like Russian tea cakes!
I do plan on making these again, but leaving them as raw cookie dough bites. I liked the dough better uncooked and that way they wonโt look a thing like the traditional Russian tea cakes.
thank you for sharing this recipe!
I made these because I grew up eating these around the holidaysโฆeveryโฆsingleโฆyear and my father NEVER changed the recipe! So I was so excited to see a play on the originalโฆAND THEY WERE AMAZING! Iโm bringing them home to suprise my dad next week, thanks for the recipe!
Thank you, Lindsey! Iโm really happy that you enjoyed my spin on your familyโs favorite cookies. Hope your dad loved them, too.
These look incredible- great idea! Love the combination of Tex-Mex and Thanksgiving flavors in one little dessert. Will be trying them out when it turns winter here in Australia.
I had a leftover farmers market pumpkin and a sweet tooth and googled recipes on a whim โ Iโm so lucky I found these! I made a batch for my roommates and we loved them! I wi have to double or triple the recipe if I want any to try the second day :)
These are great! If you coat them with powdered sugar hot, then do a second coat when cooled it sticks better and becomes opaque and pretty!
Thanks, Traci! Thank you for sharing your tip, too!
I was just wondering Kate, do you think I could make the dough ahead of time and freeze it? Then thaw, bake, and roll? Iโm planning on making them for a party and wanted to do some of the work ahead of time. Can you let me know what you think?
Hey Liesl, I havenโt tried doing that, but I think that would work well! These cookies donโt contain any leavener so I donโt think you have anything to worry about. I would freeze the dough in cookie balls so theyโre easy to thaw and bake. Please let me know if you give this a try!
These look amazing, and I love pumpkin and all spice! But Iโm sad โ if a pretty, talented and smart lady like yourself is alone, then thereโs no hope for me:(
Autumn makes me sad, the cold weather, not having anyone to cuddle with (even the dogs get sick of me). Thatโs why I named my daughter Autumn even though she was born in the Spring โ it helped me get through those tough fall days when I was pregnant knowing that soon Iโd have a little Princess. I think of fall the same as you, and ending to life, but actually, now I think of it as a dormant time, a time where everything is renewing itself to burst forth in spring!
Bonnie, there is hope! Donโt give up. I like thinking of fall/winter as a dormant time. Thatโs a much more tolerable idea.
Would these work with maple syrup, honey, or molasses instead of cane sugar?
Possibly, but Iโm not sure how the extra moisture would effect the final texture. Do you use coconut sugar? Itโs a natural sweetener that might work great here. Iโd still recommend rolling in powdered sugar if youโre going for a wedding cookie effect.
HI, Kate! What do you think would be good substitutes for the cane sugar and powdered sugar? My daughter wants to make some decadent sugar-free fall cookies.
Hi Kimberly, Iโm sorry for the delayed response! That is a bit of a conundrum, because sugar makes cookies sweet and tender. Coconut sugar is a more natural, less refined sugar, and it may work instead of the cane sugar. I donโt have any substitutes for the powdered sugar, except maybe a drizzle of honeyโbut Iโm not sure if either of these qualify for your version of sugar-free.
These cookies are dangerously good! I made them using a vegan butter flavored stick and half brown and half bakers sugar. They are so easy and taste amazing. Thanks for this recipe!
Thanks for sharing, Peggy! Iโm glad you loved them.
Can I use Almond flour instead? And do you think I could use the same measurement you used?
Unfortunately, almond flour isnโt a 1:1 substitute typically.
Hi,
Is Swans Down enriched cake flour (bleached) the same as pastry flour?
I could no find this.
They are different, https://www.bobsredmill.com/whole-wheat-pastry-flour
I just finished making these, and WOW! I absolutely love the nuttiness of the whole wheat flour and pecans, but itโs not overwhelming โ theyโre still just the right sweetness. I used Earth Balance vegan butter sticks, and while the initial wet mixture never quite looked fully blended and definitely not creamy or fluffy, they still turned out perfect. There was enough dough to make 20 larger cookies (probably closer to 1.5โณ, but I didnโt measure them), so I baked them for just slightly longer at 16 minutes. Perfectly firm on the outside and deliciously soft on the inside. Wonderful recipe altogether โ thank you!
These were amazing!! I live in Pittsburgh, and the wedding tradition of the Pittsburgh Cookie Table is about the best thing ever. I made them for a Halloween wedding, and everyone loved them. I didnโt have time to bake the whole lot the first time (I had accidentally tripled the recipe instead of doubling it!), so I rolled the extra dough into balls and froze them. I later thawed them and baked them as usual, and they came out great! I may have to keep some of these in the freezer for last-minute cookie emergencies!
Making today! Can I swap AP flour for whole wheat? How about semolina?
Hi! All purpose flour may work, although I havenโt tried it. Let me know!
Very late on this recipe but made them for Thanksgiving and they were a hit! Would you recommend any other variations? Thinking of making more for the holidays but not too sure if Iโm set on using pumpkin again.
Hi! Iโm glad you loved it. Iโm not sure about other variations without trying it since baking is so precise.
I just made these and they are delicious. The toasted pecan flavor is lovely; Iโm not sure much pumpkin flavor comes through. I would say they are a little more crumbly than the traditional all-butter version. I think the yield in the recipe is off- I followed the recipe precisely, and got 60 cookies using 1-inch balls of dough that were done at 14 minutes.
I have loved every recipe Iโve made from this great blog. I guess there eventually had to be one I didnโt like! The problem here may be that I was expecting the buttery-ahortbread-melt-in-your-mouth feel of Mexican Wedding Cookies, and I found this pumpkin version very cakey. The delicate pumpkin and pumpkin spice flavor was nice, but the texture was not pleasing.
I think it was unrealistic of me to expect them to be buttery melt in the mouth made with whole wheat flour and the addition of pumpkin.
Hi Tiina, Iโm sorry you didnโt love these. I appreciate your feedback.
Really lovely as always Kate! I made these in anticipation of wanting to snack tomorrow as I am cooking (the day before Thanksgiving) and am currently enjoying one with a cup of coffee โ delish!
I did the coconut oil version and actually just mixed by hand as my mixer was out of commission โ and it worked great! Used a whisk for the first mixing and then switched to a rubber spatula when gradually adding the pecans and flour. Thank you for another great recipe!
I made these once and was going on vacation so I popped them in the freezer. When I got back Iโd get 2-3 out at a time and nuke them for a few secs. Ever since then these are a MUST to keep in my freezer! They are so good that way. I crave then when I donโt have them. Theyโre such a great little healthy/sweet snack!
Hooray! Thank you for sharing, Amy. I know others will find that helpful. Might need to do that mysef!
Love it! Itโs sooo good! Thank you for another amazing recipe <3
Do these cookies freeze well?
Hi Nancy, they should. Let me know if you try them and what you think!
Can you make these with walnuts or no nuts?
Sure, you can try that. Let me know how it turns out for you!
The flavor is perfect! These were a hit with the family even if they came out a little too soft and didnโt hold the round shape during my first try making them. I googled around and maybe the dough was too warm? Iโll try putting the dough in the fridge next time for a bit to see if they come not as soft and keep their round shape.
Have you ever tried incorporating savory flavors into these traditional sweet cookies, such as adding rosemary or chili powder for a unique twist?
Do you store these in the fridge or at room temp? Can they be frozen and used later?