Whether you know them as Mexican wedding cookies, Russian tea cookies, or snowballs, you know you crave them! Beware of their melt-in-your-mouth buttery sweet flavor with a hint of nuts because you can't just eat one! Trust me!
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Why Choose This Recipe
- Melt in your mouth, irresistible flavor!
- Just as easy as my other Cookie Recipes!
- Costs less to make than buy from the store!
Ingredient Notes
- Almonds -you can substitute pecans or walnuts if you wish
- Unsalted Butter - no substitutes!!! This recipe is dependent on butter for flavor! If all you have is salted butter, just omit the salt from the recipe.
- Vanilla - pure vanilla is best
Step by Step Instructions
- Start by finely chopping the almonds or running them through a nut grinder.
- Set them aside for now.
- Begin preheating your oven to 350 degrees and line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a mixing bowl, cream the unsalted butter and powdered sugar.
- Add the vanilla and salt and mix well.
- Add the chopped nuts and the flour.
- As you can see in picture 7, this is a dryer cookie dough. It should not be sticky.
- Scoop dough out my ½ Tablespoonfuls and roll into a nice, round ball between your hands. They should end up about the size of a gumball.
- The dough should not be sticky but should be moist enough to roll into a ball. If your dough is crumbling instead of shaping, add ½ Tbs of water to the cookie dough, mix it, and try again. I find I need to do this when the humidity in the air is very low.
- Place each dough ball on your prepared baking sheets.
- These cookies don't cost much, so you can place them closer to each other than you would regular cookies. I put 20 per baking sheet.
- Bake for 13 minutes at 350 degrees. These cookies won't brown other than right on the bottoms.
- While baking, put some powdered sugar in a shallow dish like a pie plate.
- Roll the baked cookies through powdered as soon as they come out of the oven and set them on a wire rack to cool completely.
- After the cookies have cooled completely, roll them through the powdered sugar again. Enjoy!
Recipe FAQs and Expert Tips
What are snowball cookies?
They are delicate nutty butter cookies that don't flatten out. You roll the hot butter cookie balls through powdered sugar to add a little sweetness. These are more commonly made with ground pecans, but I like almonds better.
What's the difference between snowball cookies, Mexican wedding cookies, and Russian Tea cookies?
Not a thing! Other than the names, they are all the same thing.
Can you freeze snowball cookies?
You surely can! Make sure they are completely cool before placing them in an airtight container and placing them in the freezer.
Related Recipes
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Almond Snowball Cookies Recipe
Whether you know them as Mexican wedding cookies, Russian tea cookies, or snowballs, you know you crave them! Beware of their melt-in-your-mouth buttery sweet flavor with a hint of nuts because you can't just eat one! Trust me!
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Unsalted Butter (no substitutes)
- ½ Cup Powdered Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 1 Cup Almond Slivers finely chopped
- 2 ¼ Cups Flour
- 2 Cups Additional Powdered Sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper or lightly spraying with non-stick cooking spray.
- Finely chop the nuts and set them aside for a moment.
- Cream the butter and powdered sugar.
- Add the vanilla and salt.
- Add the almonds and flour. Mix until everything is well combined.
- Scoop out dough in ½ Tablespoon scoops.
- Roll into balls with your hands. (see note) They should be about the size of gumballs.
- Place on baking sheets. I put 20 on a pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 13 minutes. These cookies won't brown other than the very bottoms.
- Roll baked hot cookies through the powdered sugar as soon as they come out of the oven. Set on a wire rack to cool.
- Once completely cool, roll the cookies through the powdered sugar again. Eat!
Notes
- If all you have is salted butter, don't worry. Just omit the ¼ teaspoon of salt.
- The dough should not be sticky but should be moist enough to roll into a ball. If your dough is crumbling instead of shaping, add ½ Tbs of water to the cookie dough, mix it, and try again. I find I need to do this when the humidity in the air is very low.
Nutrition
Calories: 73kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 1gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 2mgPotassium: 16mgFiber: 0.3gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 95IUVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 13mgIron: 0.3mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Jeremiah
These came out so good and were easy to make. Always been a favorite of mine and my partner but we can never find them anywhere and they're so expensive to order online. Thanks!
Mindee
That's awesome! Glad you enjoyed them!
Jeremiah
What's a good way to mix the butter and powdered sugar? Should the butter be room temperature? Don't have access to a standing mixer.
Mindee
Yes, have the butter at room temperature. You don't need a stand mixer to make these. You can mix them with hand beaters or just by hand as well.
Nicole
Can you make the dough a day ahead and keep in the fridge to roll and bake them the next day? Anyone tried this?
mindeescookingobsession
Yes, but it would be better to roll them into balls before putting them in the fridge and then baking them the next day. This dough is a drier dough so it gets really hard when chilled. It takes forever to warm up enough to roll into balls.
Claudia
I did, I have even froze them for a few days worth of baking
G. T.
Can't stop eating these!!!
Christine
Does it matter if you use salted or unsalted butter for this recipe?
mindeescookingobsession
Either works fine!
Allison
Delicious!!!!
I like more of almond flavor so I used almond extract instead of vanilla
Donna
That's what I was wondering, adding almond extract for the vanilla or at least some of it. Did it turn out good??
Mindee
I've added almond extract for half the vanilla and it turned out delicious!
janette civitello
There also knownanett as Russian Tea Cakes and Swedish Heirloom cookies !!
mindeescookingobsession
I didn't know that. Thanks for sharing!