Want to Make the Viral Pink Mexican Cookies? This is the ONLY Polvorones Rosas Recipe You Need 💖
Looking for an authentic polvorones rosas recipe that looks like it came straight from a Mexican panadería (bankery)? You’re in the right place.
Also, smart choice picking these iconic and viral pink cookies — they’re basically the star of every Mexican bakery’s Instagram feed 📸
Also known as Mexican shortbread, Mexican pink cookies or Mexican sugar cookies, they’re ridiculously easy to make and have that perfect crunchy-outside, soft-inside texture that makes them totally addictive.
These colorful cookies are a staple at Mexican celebrations like quinceañeras, weddings, baby showers, and any time you want something sweet and festive.
The Ingredients You Need for Our Pink Mexican Cookies Recipe
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup vegetable shortening (this is KEY for the right texture)
- 2 teaspoons good-quality vanilla extract
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 5-6 drops pink gel food coloring (imo, gel works WAY better than liquid food coloring, but you can use liquid too)
- 1 package of pink sparkling sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
📝 Quick Polvorones Rosas Recipe Notes
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 11-12 minutes per batch
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Servings: About 24 cookies
- Calories: About 120 calories per cookie
Step-by-Step Polvorones Rosas Recipe Guide
1. Preheat and prep
Preheat your oven to 350°F (about 175°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Mix the dry ingredients
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. Cream shortening and sugar
Using a stand mixer like this one (an affordable Amazon best seller), beat the vegetable shortening and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy.
This will take about 2-3 minutes in the mixer. You can also use a large mixing bowl, and it will take a bit longer.
🌸 Polvorones Rosas Pro Tip: Don’t skip the shortening. It’s the key to what gives these cookies their famous texture.
Butter will make these cookies softer and less crunchy. Shortening is what gives polvorones their signature crispy-tender texture.
4. Add wet ingredients
Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until well combined.
5. Add dry ingredients and color
Gradually mix in the flour mixture on low speed until a dough forms. The dough should be soft but not sticky.
Add 5-6 drops of pink gel food coloring and mix (or knead by hand) until the color is evenly distributed throughout the dough.
6. Shape the cookies
Use this medium cookie scoop (which is about 1½ tablespoons) to portion out dough balls. Roll each into a smooth ball about 2 inches in diameter.
7. Coat in sparkling sugar
Pour your edible pink sugar into a shallow bowl. Roll each dough ball in the sugar until fully coated.
Place the sugar-coated balls on your prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
8. Flatten the cookies
Use the flat bottom of a glass or measuring cup to gently press each ball down to about ¼-inch thickness.
🌸 Polvorones Rosas Pro Tip: Spray the bottom of your glass with cooking spray between presses to prevent sticking.
9. Bake the cookies
Bake one sheet at a time for 11-12 minutes, or until the edges are set but the cookies are NOT browned.
⚠️ Warning: These Mexican shortbread cookies should stay pale pink on top with just slightly golden bottoms.
Over-baking will make them hard instead of that perfect crunchy-tender texture.
10. Cool and Enjoy
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
These cookies are best enjoyed with a cup of Mexican hot chocolate, café de olla (Mexican coffee), or just a cold glass of milk.
8 Important Tips When Making Polvorones Rosas
1️⃣ Use vegetable shortening; NOT butter – This is the most important tip within the whole pink Mexican cookies recipe.
This veggie shortening creates that crispy-outside, tender-inside texture that defines polvorones. Butter will make them too soft and cake-like.
2️⃣ Use gel food coloring, not liquid – IMO, this edible pink gel food coloring is WAY more vibrant than food coloring, and won’t add extra liquid to your dough.
You’ll need 5-6 drops for that perfect pink bakery color 🌸
3️⃣ Don’t overmix the dough – Once you add the flour, mix just until combined. Over-mixing develops gluten and makes cookies tough instead of tender.
4️⃣ Use sparkling sugar for the coating – Regular granulated sugar works too, but this pink sparkling sugar gives that authentic Mexican panadería (bakery) look with all the sparkle and crunch.
⚠️ Warning: Make sure to coat the cookies generously. The sugar coating is part of what makes them so pretty and adds that extra crunch.
5️⃣ Keep them pale – Polvorones (aka Mexican shortbread cookies) should NOT be golden brown.
They’re done when the edges are set and the bottoms are just barely golden, and the tops should stay pale pink.
6️⃣ Flatten evenly – Make sure all your cookies are the same thickness (about ¼ inch) so they bake evenly.
Uneven cookies inevitably means that some will be overcooked, while some will be undercooked.
7️⃣ Store at room temperature – These cookies stay fresh for up to 2 weeks at room temperature in airtight containers like these.
Don’t refrigerate them (or any shortbread cookies) or they’ll lose their crispy texture.
8️⃣ Make ahead friendly – You can make the dough up to 3 days ahead and keep it refrigerated, or freeze shaped (unbaked) cookies for up to 2 months.
If you want to bake from frozen, add 2-3 extra minutes to the cooking time.
FAQs About Polvorones Cookies
What does “polvorones” mean?
Polvorones comes from the Spanish word polvo, which means dust or powder.
This is a reference to how these cookies have that crumbly, almost dusty texture that melts in your mouth.
🍪 Polvorones Fun Fact: There are several different types of polvorones cookies throughout Latin America and Spain.
Can I make these in different colors?
Absolutely — Yellow is another super popular color in Mexican bakeries for polvorone cookies where you don’t add anything to the cookie dough.
You can also make brown polvorones by substituting ¼ cup of flour with cocoa powder, essentially giving you chocolate polvorones.
Some people even make tri-color polvorones by dividing the dough into three parts and coloring each one differently (pink, yellow, and brown), then stacking and slicing them.
Can I use butter instead of shortening?
Not recommended — As butter will completely change the texture, vegetable shortening the ingredient you want.
Polvorones are supposed to be crispy and crumbly, and butter 🧈 will make them soft and cake-like.
If you absolutely must use butter, the flavor will be richer but you won’t get that authentic Mexican shortbread texture.
Why did my cookies spread too much?
This usually means the dough was too warm — Make sure your shortening isn’t melted or too soft when you start mixing.
If your kitchen is really warm, chill the shaped cookie dough balls in the fridge for 15-20 minutes before baking.
Also, make sure you’re pressing them down to only ¼-inch thickness.
Can I make these gluten-free?
Yes — Just use a 1-to-1 ratio of this gluten-free flour blend in place of all-purpose flour from our recipe above.
🌸 Polvorones Rosas Pro Tip: Make sure your GF flour contains xanthan gum for the best results (the one linked above 👆 does).
Without xanthan, the texture of your pink Mexican cookies might be slightly different (likely more crumbly), though they should still be delicious.
How do I get the color so vibrant?
We recommend using this pink gel food coloring because gel is MUCH more concentrated than liquid food coloring.
This means you need way less of it, and also, the gel doesn’t water down your dough like liquid food coloring does.
Start with 5-6 drops of the pink gel and knead it in by hand to distribute the color evenly. If you want a deeper color, add in 1-2 more drop(s) at a time.
What’s the difference between polvorones and Mexican wedding cookies?
These are totally different cookies though some people refer to Mexican wedding cookies as polvorones for short, they’re technically called polvorones de nuez (polvorones with pecans).
Mexican wedding cookies are round, nutty, and coated in powdered sugar. They’re similar to a tea cookie, snowball cookie, or meltaway cookie.
Polvorones are flat, crispy, sugar cookies. They’re sort of a shortbread-meets-sugar cookie, but closer in texture to shortbread.
Though both are called “Mexican polvorones,” these two cookies have totally different recipes. In fact, their only similarity might be the name!
Want more authentic Mexican cookie recipes? Check out these other favorites
