Colorful Mexican Polvorones (Panadería-Style Cookies)

The tender, crunchy, and beautiful tri-color Mexican sugar cookies known as polvorones are a family favorite, especially around the holidays.

My simple recipe for panadería-style polvorones requires just 10 ingredients and 15 minutes of active time to make, bringing the delicious scents and flavors of your favorite Mexican bakery right into your home.

What are Polvorones?

Polvorón means “powder” or “dust” in Spanish — a nod to how these crumbly shortbread cookies practically melt in your mouth. While the name comes from Spain, dozens of regional versions have popped up across Latin America and the Philippines.

In Mexico, panadería-style polvorones are large, colorful bakery cookies — often pink, yellow, and chocolate — shaped into triangles or rounds. Unlike Mexican Wedding Cookies (also called polvorones de nuez), these are typically made without nuts and are less delicate.

The dough is wonderfully versatile. You can:

• Make them in different shapes (rounds, squares, triangles)
• Tint them with food coloring
• Add flavors like almond extract, citrus zest, or cocoa powder
• Top them with sugar, sprinkles, or jam

These tri-color cookies remind me of the ones I grew up with — and they’re just as delicious with Café de Olla or a holiday drink like Ponche Navideño or Mexican Hot Chocolate.

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Ingredients & Substitutions

These cookies are not overly sweet by design — similar to classic shortbread. The dough is lightly sweetened with powdered sugar, and a dusting of granulated sugar after baking helps balance the flavor. If you prefer a sweeter cookie, consider adding an extra tablespoon or two of powdered sugar to the dough.

As promised, you only need 10 simple ingredients to make this polvorones recipe. Here’s what to grab:

• Unsalted Butter & Butter-Flavored Shortening – Cookies made with shortening rise better and are more tender, but those made with butter are more flavorful, delicious and rich. Using a combination means you get the best of both worlds! Feel free to swap in salted butter if that’s what you have on hand. You can also use regular shortening and add 1/2 teaspoon of imitation butter flavor.
• Powdered Sugar – Also known as confectioner’s sugar, this powdery sweetener is essential to getting the proper melt-in-your-mouth consistency. If you don’t have any on hand, you can easily make your own using sugar, cornstarch, and a food processor.
• Baking Powder – Not to be confused with baking soda, this is used for leavening. Don’t try to make the swap; it won’t work.
• Egg – Let it come to room temperature to make it easier to work into the dough.
• Vanilla Extract – For richness.
• Wheat Flour – Using wheat flour in this recipe creates denser, heavier cookies that hold their shape during baking and gives these cookies a nuttier, heartier flavor.
• Cocoa Powder – For flavor and color. I typically use Dutch-process cocoa because it is less bitter, but feel free to swap in regular cocoa, black cocoa for even darker color, or cacao powder instead.
• Food Coloring – I used red and yellow to make the traditional tri-color cookies (alongside the part that is colored with cocoa powder), but you can easily swap in your own favorites.
• Granulated Sugar – While this is optional, I love adding a bit of sparkle to my polvorones. Feel free to swap in different colors of sanding sugar to match your color palate. You can also brush the cookies with an egg wash and add different colors of sprinkles or non-pareils before baking, or wait until the cookies are cooled entirely and coat them in powdered sugar instead.

How To Make Polvorones Mexicanos

Since these are shaped shortbread cookies, there are a few more steps than what you’d find in a drop cookie recipe. Rest assured, none of them are difficult! Here’s how to make these delightful Mexican sugar cookies:

Step 1: Cream the butter, shortening, and powdered sugar together until smooth.

Step 2: Mix in the egg, vanilla, and baking powder. Gradually, add in wheat flour, mixing to combine after each addition.

Step 3: Knead the dough with your hands on a flour-dusted work surface.

Step 4: Add Color. Divide the dough into three equal parts and place them in separate bowls. Add pink or red food coloring into one portion of dough and knead until it reaches the desired color; add yellow food coloring to the second bowl and knead until it reaches the desired color. Add cocoa powder to the last dough ball and knead until thoroughly combined.

NOTE: If you want to add different flavors for the yellow and pink colors, this is the time to do it. Consider adding citrus zest and/or lemon extract to the yellow dough, and/or try almond extract or pulverized freeze-dried strawberries to the pink dough.

Step 5: Chill. Cover the containers of dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Step 6: Shape. On a lightly floured surface, roll each color into a cylinder with a diameter of about 2-inches and 16 to 18-inches long (for mini cookies). Place the three colors side by side on a large sheet of plastic wrap. Cover tightly with plastic and roll gently to fuse the three colors together.

NOTES: I shaped the cookie dough roll into a square, but feel free to adjust for round cookies, or place two rolls of cookie dough on the bottom and one on the top to form a triangle. You can also feel free to pause after shaping and freezing the dough; it will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months!

Step 7: Prep. Freeze shaped dough for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.

Step 8: Cut. Take the dough out of the freezer, remove the plastic wrap, and cut the cylinder of dough into 1/4-inch thick pieces. Place cookies onto the prepared baking sheet.

Step 9: Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly golden.

Step 10: Dust with granulated sugar while warm. Allow to cool, then enjoy!

Optional Variations

While I love making these tri-colored Mexican shortbread cookies to look and taste like my childhood favorites, there’s plenty of room to customize them to your liking.

• Mexican Wedding Cookies – Omit the cocoa and food coloring. Add about 1/2 cup of chopped, roasted nuts to the dough and skip the shaping step. These should be formed into a slight dome shape, so use a cookie scooper to assist you. Bake as directed, then cool entirely before sprinkling liberally with powdered sugar.
• Polvorones de Canela – These are essentially the Mexican version of snickerdoodles. Add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to the dough, omitting the cocoa and food coloring. Roll into a single log, then slice and bake as directed. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar while still warm.
• Different Colors – Pink, yellow, and brown triangles are the polvorones I grew up with, but since then I’ve taken to making them in different colorways to suit different needs. Consider making a batch with your school colors for the annual PTA bake sale, go red, white and green for Christmas, etc.
• Mix-Ins – Citrus zest, flavor extracts, warming spices, and finely chopped nuts are all fair game. You can also add a dab of jam, jelly, or cajeta in the center of larger cookies or use the preserves to sandwich two cookies together.

Storage Instructions

Store these polvorones in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks in the fridge. For longer storage, freeze the cookies or unbaked dough for up to 2 months. Let frozen cookies thaw at room temperature before serving, or pop them in a toaster oven for a few minutes to refresh.

Polvorones (Panadería-Style) FAQs

More Recipes

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Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies

Orejas Pan Dulce (Orejitas)

Conchas (Mexican Sweet Bread)

If you tried this Panadería-Style Mexican Polvorones recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!