The name may change — from Mexican wedding cookies to Austrian kipferln and Russian tea cakes — but these cookies have a lot in common. They all carry a good measure of chopped or ground nuts, a small amount of granulated sugar, plenty of butter, a coating of confectioners’ sugar and an appealing “melt-away” texture.
Mexican Wedding Cookies
16 Tbs. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup ground blanched almonds
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter on high speed until fluffy and pale yellow. Add 1/2 cup of the confectioners’ sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed to low, add the vanilla and salt, and beat until blended.
Over a sheet of waxed paper, sift together the flour and cinnamon. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat on low speed or stir with a wooden spoon just until blended. Stir in the almonds. Cover and refrigerate until the dough is chilled but not hard and is no longer sticky to the touch, about 15 minutes.
Preheat an oven to 350°F. Sift the remaining 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar into a shallow bowl.
Shape the dough into 1-inch balls. Place about 1 inch apart on 2 ungreased baking sheets.
Bake until the cookies are just golden on the bottom, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks and let cool for 5 minutes, then remove the cookies one at a time and roll them in the confectioners’ sugar. Let the cookies cool completely on wire racks. Makes about 4 dozen cookies
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Collection Series, Cookies, by Marie Simmons
12 comments
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Love this cookies. Super easy to make and they melt in your mouth. They are out of this world, delicious!!
These look great!
I place some confectioners’ sugar in a tin, fill tin with cookies and add more confectioners’ sugar over the cookies. They always look pretty when I take them out.
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My husband wouldn’t think it was Christmas without these cookies. His favorites. I like how you use almonds instead of pecans. I think I will give that a try this year. Thanks for the inspiration.
My Mother use to make these every year—-Miss her, loved the cookies, maybe I will try to make them.
One tip I had learned, after several years making these cookies, is to let the cookies completely cool, than roll in the sugar. They will look better and won’t have that gummy texture when rolled warm.
It is an easy cookie to make!
Nice cookie, great flavor, easy to make….this one’s a keeper!
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