Mexican Pink Cookies (Polvorones Rosas) are thick, crunchy sugar cookies covered in sparkling sugar. These delicious, bakery treats are easy to make at home with simple ingredients.
Why you'll love this recipe
This pink cookie recipe is just what you need when you want a crunchy, vanilla sugar cookie that's perfect with coffee, tea, or milk.
It's hard to believe that such a pretty cookie is so quick and easy to make. The bright pink color and the decorating sugar sparkle make these eye catching treats ideal for party platters as well as less fancy occasions, like after school snack!
Vegetable shortening creates a delicious crispness and makes these polvorones cookies a great choice for warm weather care packages.
For a similar polvorones recipe but with citrus flavor, be sure to check out Mexican Sugar Cookies, another bakery favorite.
Ingredients
Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the ingredients to form dough.
- Add 5-6 drops of pink food coloring gel and knead by hand or with the mixer until evenly colored.
- Scoop dough with a medium cookie scoop to make 1 ½ tablespoon portions of dough. Roll the portions into balls. Roll each dough ball in the decorating sugar in a small bowl.
- Place the cookie dough balls on the prepared cookie sheets, about 2" apart. Use the back of a measuring cup or the bottom of a drinking glass to press down evenly on each cookie until the dough is ¼" thick. Bake.
Storage
Store pink cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 10 days.
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Tips
- Pink and yellow are the most common colors used for these cookies in Mexican bakeries, however polvorones can be made in different colors as well.
- For an almond flavored cookie, use almond extract instead of one of the teaspoons of vanilla.
- Mexican vanilla gives the most authentic flavor, but any type of vanilla can be used.
- In my experience, food coloring gel provides the most intense color using the least coloring.
- My prefered brand of food coloring gel for color options and intensity of color is Americolor.
- These Polvorones Rosas were colored with 6 drops of Americolor Deep Pink.
Frequently asked questions
Vegetable shortening gives these cookies their special crunch. Substituting butter will not produce the same results.
Originally, polvorones were made with lard. To avoid pork flavored cookies, be sure to use rendered leaf lard or processed lard
You can use liquid food coloring instead of gel food coloring, but you will need more of it to create the same color intensity.
Assuming correct measurement of all ingredients, variations in flour and humidity can effect cookie dough. Simply add water, one tablespoon at a time while mixing, until the dough becomes soft and pliable but not sticky.
Related Recipes
Pabassinas are Mexican cookies with raisins and nuts. These chewy cookies are coated in orange icing.
Mazapan peanut candy has a melt in your mouth, crumbly texture and lots of peanut flavor. This delicious treat is made with just two ingredients!
Funfetti Sugar Cookies have crunchy edges, chewy centers, and lots of colorful sprinkles inside and out.
4th of July Cookies are a crunchy swirl of red, white and blue!
Watermelon Cookies are slice and bake treats that look just like a slice of watermelon.
Patterned Cookies for Rosh Hashanah are thick, crunchy sugar cookies decorated with bright, colorful cookie dough designs.
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Mexican Pink Cookies Recipe (Polvorones Rosas)
Ingredients
Cookie dough
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup vegetable shortening, butter flavor
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Decorating
- 5-6 drops pink food coloring gel
- ⅓ cup sparkling decorating sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line acookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the shortening and granulated sugar until fluffy.
- Beat in the egg and vanilla.
- Gradually, mix in the flour mixture.
- Add 5-6 drops of pink food coloring gel and knead by hand or with the mixer until evenly colored.
- Use a medium scoop to make 1 ½ tablespoon portions of dough. Roll the portions into 2-inch balls.
- Roll each dough ball in the decorating sugar in a small bowl.
- Place the balls of dough on the prepared baking sheet, about 2" apart.
- Use the back of a measuring cup or the bottom of a drinking glass to press down evenly on each cookie until the dough is ¼" thick.
- Bake cookies, one cookie sheet at a time, for about 11-12 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 10 days.
Notes
- Pink and yellow are the most common colors used for these cookies in Mexican bakeries, however you can make them any color you want.
- For an almond flavored cookie, use almond extract instead of one of the teaspoons of vanilla.
- Mexican vanilla gives the most authentic flavor, but any type of vanilla can be used.
- In my experience, food coloring gel provides the most intense color using the least coloring.
- My prefered brand of food coloring gel for color options and intensity of color is Americolor.
- These Polvorones Rosas were colored with 6 drops of Americolor Deep Pink.
- Wrap stacks of 4-6 cookies in plastic wrap.
- Place the wrapped bundles in a column in a freezer weight ziplock bag or stack snuggly in a plastic storage container.
- For longer shipping times, vacuum sealing is always the best option, if possible.
Rita
They taste good but we’re like sugar cookies. Not at all like the Mexican cookies from them Mexican bakery.
Wendy Sondov
Perhaps you are looking for a different kind of Mexican cookie. These are Polvorones Rosas and are supposed to be sugar cookies. It's possible that you may have had polvorones made with lard which would change the flavor profile.
Elena Briones
Can the dough be put in the freezer for storage before baking?
Wendy Sondov
Absolutely. You can do it two ways. Freeze the dough in a disc shape (wrapped well) and defrost to scoop and bake. Another way would be to form the scooped and pressed cookies, then freeze them for 2+ hours until frozen. The frozen discs can then be stored in a freezer weight ziplock bag until you are ready to bake and then can be baked without defrosting. Frozen cookie dough balls/discs usually require an extra few minutes of baking time.
Cece
They were only 1/8” thick, not 1/4”, sorry in my notes, CeCe
Sylvia Hankin
Made them, very easy recipe and taste so delicious 😋
Cindy
I have never heard of these cookies before Wendy. They are just the prettiest shade of pink. Looking forward to trying them.