One of my long time friends from college calls these delicious Mexican Wedding Cake cookies “butter balls”. And for good reason: they are made with lots of butter and rolled in powder sugar that just melts in your mouth. My family has been making these for three generations and we have perfected the recipe. These cookies bake up as round balls that crumble to the touch. And they're an iconic Christmas cookie everyone will be sure to love.
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Today I am on the Handmade Holidays blog hop, our 7th annual hop. Last year we added recipes to the line up of the over 100 handmade gift and decor ideas from some of our favorite bloggers. When I talked to my friends and family about the holidays, they always ask me about my cookies. Every year, I bake Christmas cookies, breads, and yummies, pack them into decorative tins or boxes, and hand deliver them to the homes of friends and family right before Christmas.
When I started eating a paleo diet four years ago, I stopped this annual tradition of baking and cookie delivery. This year, I am bringing it back! Since this cookie is the most requested recipe, along with my version of Fantasy Fudge and Traditional Spritz, I decided to share it with you this year.
How Mexican Wedding Cakes should look
One of the things that makes our Mexican Wedding Cakes a favorite is their round shape. This shape makes the cookies easy to eat in one bite, which is important because the cookies are so crumbly. Getting the round shape happens when you have the ratio of flour to butter to chopped nuts PERFECT. These cookies should be small, about 1″ to 3/4″ round. Any wider, the cookie flatten and look like blobs. I know you've seen those blobby cookies on Pinterest or even on a cookie platter at work! The edges get dry and the inside doesn't cook quite right. The key to nailing this Mexican Wedding Cakes recipes is really rolling a round ball, no bigger than 1″ wide. After rolling a few of these, you'll be a pro at Mexican Wedding Cakes!
Why are they called Mexican Wedding Cakes? You might have heard these cookies also referred to as Russian Tea Cakes. It's believed they actually started out as a Spanish cookies called polvorones … who knew?
I injured my arm so I actually wasn't able to make these cookies in these photos. That's why they are kind of blobby! LOL My husband made them and his “inch” is about 1.5″. So now you know … don't make the cookies bigger than one inch wide.
He did make a good point; they do taste good no matter what shape they are! Honestly, how can I complain? I got homemade cookies without having to bake them. *wink*
Watch this video to see how to make Mexican Wedding Cakes Recipe or Russian Tea Cakes cookies from start to finish:
Everyone asks us about this “splash guard” we have on our KitchenAid Mixer … you totally need one!
PrintMexican Wedding Cakes Recipe (or Russian Tea Cakes) Cookies
A family favorite Christmas cookie recipe.
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 12 min
- Total Time: 30 min
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2.25 cups flour
- 3/4 cup finely chopped nuts
- 1/4 tsp salt
- powdered sugar
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400ºF.
- Mix butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, and vanilla.
- Stir in flour, nuts, and salt until dough holds together.
- Shape into 1 inch balls.
- Place 1 ink apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake 10-12 minutes or until set but not brown.
- Roll in powdered sugar when warm.
- Cool then roll in powdered sugar again.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 5 pieces
- Calories: 544
- Sugar: 8.9g
- Sodium: 5.3mg
- Fat: 40.7g
- Carbohydrates: 42.5 g
- Protein: 7.4 g
- Cholesterol: 81.3 mg
Keywords: Cookies, Cookie, Mexican Food, Christmas Cookies, Snowballs
Click here to get the printable version of this recipe.
These flaky crumbly cookies are the most delicious!
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Before you go make sure that you visit all of the other blogs on this year's Handmade Holidays blog hop. Everyone on the hop today is sharing a handmade holiday recipe that you can easily make yourself at home. Every single blog post has a tutorial that you can follow to recreate the recipe in your own home. The full list of blogs is at the end of this post so be sure to scroll all the way down and visit every single one!
Thank you so much to all of the fabulous sponsors of this year's Handmade Holiday blog hop.
These look amazing! I’ve never tried them before I now I really want to. Yum!
These look so good! And I love your festive presentation!
So pretty and yummy looking.