Snowball Cookies aka Russian Tea Cakes aka Mexican Wedding Cookies
Buttery, tender, and nutty. These snowball cookies are easy to make, keep well, and are perfect for your Christmas cookie platter.
Ingredients
- 2 cupsall-purpose flour
- ½ lbunsalted butter (or 16 tbsp, at room temperature)
- 1 cupwalnuts (toasted and coarsely chopped)
- ½ cupconfectioners sugar (powdered sugar, plus 2 cups more for rolling cookies)
- 1 tspvanilla extract
- ¼ tspsalt
Directions
Quick prep:
- 1
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or silicone liner.
- 2
Toast nuts on a dry skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes, tossing frequently until fragrant and lightly golden.
How to make russian tea cakes:
- 1
In a large bowl, mix together with your hand butter, sugar, and 1 tsp. vanilla.
- 2
Add flour and salt and continue mixing until no streaks of flour remain. Fold in the nuts until evenly incorporated.
- 3
Shape the dough into 1-inch balls (using a small cookie scoop to portion the dough makes the process easy) and place them on a clean baking sheet an inch apart.
- 4
Bake at 400˚F for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges are golden at the base.
- 5
Fill a bowl with 1 cup powdered sugar and roll the cookie balls in it while they are still very warm then transfer to a platter to cool completely.
- 6
Once cookies cool, roll them in powdered sugar again. Cookies may be stored up to 1 week in an airtight container.