Mexican Cookies

Mexican Cookie Rings are a delicious buttery sugar cookie with a pretty presentation. These soft Mexican cookies would be great for a birthday party, Cinco de Mayo celebrations, or just when you want a chewy sugar cookie.

While chocolate chip cookies are generally my favorite, these Mexican cookies are way up at the top of my fave list!

Back in 2008 my teenage son came home from school and asked if I would make one of “these recipes”, then proceeded to hand me several different Mexican cookie varieties. He needed them for a “Fiesta” they were having on the last day of school prior to Christmas break. Turned out we had a snow day that day, so none of the other kids at school got to have any, we ate them all ourselves!

Recipe for Mexican Cookie Rings

The sheet my son handed me all those years ago was a print out from All Recipes. I noticed that some people in the comments said the dough was sticky. Mine was not. They probably let their butter get too soft. Baking is a science after all, and in science you must be precise or the results will vary!

Ingredients you will need for Mexican sugar cookies:

In this section I like to provide tips and recommendations about the different ingredients used. I also try to answer questions about substitutions. You will find the full list of ingredients with measurements in the printable recipe card at the end of this post.

• I have only tested this recipe with all-purpose flour. Please know that results will vary if you use other types of flour.
• You will need baking powder and regular table salt.
• Anytime I bake I use unsalted butter. Don’t use margarine for this recipe, but salted butter would be ok if it’s what you have on hand. The instructions say the butter should be softened, that’s about 20 minutes on the counter. The butter should yield slightly to the touch.
• Use regular granulated white sugar, not brown sugar or powdered sugar.
• You will only need the yolks form your eggs, save the whites for making homemade angel food cake!
• When a recipe calls for vanilla extract, I always use pure as imitation has a completely different flavor.
• Decorate your cookies with multicolored sprinkles, jimmies or nonpareils. These cookies are just the right amount of sweetness, so you can skip the decorations if you’re just making them for yourself.

Helpful kitchen tools:

• Insulated baking sheets
• Wooden skewer or wooden spoon with a round handle end
• Parchment paper or silicone baking mat
• Wire cooling rack
• Sprinkles, jimmies or nonpareils

Baker’s Notes:

• These Mexican Cookie Rings do bake up quite a bit. The comparison photo below shows before and after baking. Make sure you leave enough room between cookies on the cookie sheet.
• Be careful with the butter. Take it out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter for about 20 minutes. Press your finger into the butter. It should yield slightly and leave a small dent. That’s the correct texture. If your finger creates a larger indent or goes through the butter, your dough will be sticky and difficult to work with.
• This dough makes 25-30 cookies, depending on your interpretation of a tablespoon. A scant tablespoon will yield about 30-31 cookies.
• As noted in the instructions below, be sure the hole in the cookie is big enough. These cookies expand and if the hole is too small, it will close up and the cookies will look more like thumbprint cookies.

How to Make Mexican Cookie Rings

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line insulated baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.
3. Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg yolks and vanilla, beating until light and fluffy.

1. Mix in the dry ingredients.
2. If your dough is sticky (mine never has been and I’ve made these several times), refrigerate it for 1 hour to make it easier to work with.

1. Shape into 1 inch balls (about 1 tablespoon each). Push a skewer or the end of a wooden spoon all the way through center of each ball and shape dough into a ring. Make sure the whole is big enough as these cookies double in size and the hole will close up while baking.

1. Dip top of each ring in sprinkles. Place cookies onto the prepare baking sheets.
2. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. DON’T OVER BAKE. 8 minutes was perfect for mine.
3. Remove from the baking sheets and let cool on racks.

P.S. These cookies would be delicious with a cup of Champurrado (Mexican hot chocolate)!

Love Cookies? Here’s some more recipes!

• Snickerdoodles
• Peanut Butter Cookies
• Grandma’s Sugar Cookies
• Italian Anisette Cookies

This post originally appeared here on Dec 23, 2008.