Mexican Wedding Cookies

Mexican Wedding Cookies (also commonly known as “Russian Tea Cakes” or “Snowball Cookies”) are so simple to make and just require a handful of ingredients!

These cookies have always had a special place on my Christmas cookie tray, but they’re truly great at any time of the year! We serve them every holiday season beside classic Shortbread Cookies and Chocolate Crinkle Cookies and all of the cookies are always quickly devoured!

Mexican Wedding Cookies

No cookie tray is ever complete without a selection of the BEST Mexican Wedding Cookies!

This Mexican Wedding Cookies recipe is actually the basis for my well-loved chocolate chip snowball cookies recipe, and while I’m an admitted chocoholic, this chocolate-free version is every bit as good! The ingredients are simple ones you probably already have on hand, and the steps are simple, so let’s get started!

How Do You Make Mexican Wedding Cookies?

One of my favorite things about these cookies is that they’re so simple to make and they use only a few ingredients (no eggs required for today’s recipe!). To make Mexican Wedding Cookies:

1. Cream together butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt
2. Stir in flour
3. Stir in finely chopped nuts
4. Roll dough into balls and bake
5. Roll in powdered sugar and enjoy!

What Nuts Should I Use for Mexican Wedding Cookies?

Different people and different recipes will give you different answers to this question! Pecans, walnuts, and almonds are all popular and good options for Mexican Wedding Cake Cookies. My personal preference is for pecan snowball cookies, but since I exhausted my entire supply making a half dozen pecan pies, I used walnuts for today’s recipe.

For this recipe, I recommend measuring out 1 cup of your favorite nuts, lightly toasting them in the oven, then finely chopping them with a food processor before working them into your dough. Heavenly!

More Nutty Cookies You’ll Love!

• Chocolate Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies – a family fave!
• Classic Thumbprint Cookies – traditional!
• Watergate Cookies – love this retro recipe
• Peanut Butter Cornflake Cookies (no bake) – kid approved!
• Big Island Cookies – a special treat!

Can You Freeze Mexican Wedding Cookies?

Yes! Mexican Wedding Cookies actually freeze quite well. You have two options when freezing these cookies:

1. Prepare the cookie dough, roll into balls, and freeze. Store the cookie dough in an airtight container (I like to wrap each ball with cling wrap and place in a Ziploc bag or place them in a large Tupperware container, using wax paper to layer the dough so it doesn’t freeze together). You can bake these cookies directly from frozen, but keep in mind that they may take a little longer to bake than the recipe indicates.
2. Bake the Mexican Wedding Cookies, roll well in powdered sugar, and allow to cool completely. Once cookies are cooled, place in an airtight container (again, I use a large Tupperware, separating the layers with wax paper), and freeze. You can freeze the baked cookies for several months this way.

Enjoy!

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Mexican Wedding Cookies

How to make classic Mexican Wedding Cookies!  Mexican Wedding Cookies (also commonly known as "Russian Tea Cakes" or "Snowballs") are so simple to make and just require a handful of ingredients!

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Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 11 minutes minutes

Total Time 26 minutes minutes

Servings 35 cookies

Author Samantha

Equipment

• Baking Sheet
• Stand Mixer

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 cup unsalted butter softened
• ▢ 1 cup powdered sugar
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 2 cups all-purpose flour plain flour
• ▢ 1 cup nuts, finely chopped (measure before chopping) pecans, walnuts, or almonds will work well with this recipe, please see recipe notes for instructions on optional toasting and on chopping your nuts*
• ▢ Additional powdered sugar for rolling (about 1 ½ cups)

Instructions 

• Preheat oven to 375°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper**.
• Combine butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer (or you can use a large bowl and an electric mixer) and beat until creamy.
• Gradually, with mixer on low-speed, add flour until ingredients are well combined (be sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl!).
• Add finely chopped nuts and use a spatula to work nuts into dough.
• Scoop cookie dough by approximately 1 tablespoon and roll between your hands to form a smooth ball. Place on prepared baking sheet, spacing cookies 1" apart.
• Bake on 375°F for 10-12 minutes or until bottom edges of cookies are just beginning to turn light golden brown.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before rolling generously through additional powdered sugar. Enjoy!

Notes

*If you would like to toast your nuts before using (for best flavor), toast them while they are still whole before chopping them. Spread nuts in an even layer on a cookie sheet and bake on 350°F for 3-5 minutes (you should be able to smell them when they're finished roasting). Let them cool before chopping.

To chop your nuts, you can do so with a knife or you can quickly chop them by placing in a food processor and pulsing until they're finely chopped.

**If you don't have parchment paper, you can use a regular ungreased cookie sheet, I just prefer the parchment because it makes cleanup easier!

5 from 14 votes

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 108 | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 34mg | Potassium: 21mg | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 165IU | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 0.4mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.

Course Cookies, Dessert

Cuisine American

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