What are Russian tea cookies made of?

Russian Tea Cake Ingredients Flour: All-purpose flour adds structure and holds the dough together. Sugar: You'll need powdered sugar for the dough and to roll the tea cakes. Walnuts: Finely chopped walnuts add nutty flavor and welcome crunch.

Why do my snowball cookies go flat?

Why do my snowball cookies go flat? These snowball cookies should not flatten. If they do it's likely the dough wasn't chilled long enough and the ingredients were too warm to begin with so they spread. It's also possible you accidentally measured the ingredients incorrectly!

What is the origin of snowball cookies?

The origin for pecan snowball cookies is unknown. Beloved in many parts of the world, these cookies may have traveled to the U.S. by way of immigrants from Eastern Europe or Mexico. Since the 20th century, they've become part of traditional American offerings for weddings and holidays, including Christmas and Easter.

Where did Russian tea cakes originate?

Some have speculated the recipes either derived from other Eastern European shortbread cookies, may have migrated to Mexico with European nuns, or may have been associated with cookies served beside Russian samovars (tea urns).

What makes Russian tea different?

It was traditionally composed of black tea with lemon and sugar, orange and pineapple juices, cinnamon, clove, honey, and lemon or orange wedges for garnish. It was typically afforded only by the elite at this time and enjoyed during the cold of winter as a way to warm up.

What is the most famous Russian tea?

Traditionally, black tea is the most common tea in Russia, but green tea is becoming more popular.

Why is my snowball cookie dough crumbly?

If you think your cookie dough is off, you may not have enough liquid in the recipe. Consider adding a touch more liquid such as melted butter, egg yolks, or a teaspoon of water. Add a teeny bit and see if that helps. Add more as needed until the dough holds together and is scoop-able.

How to prevent snowball cookies from spreading?

Use a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Coating your baking sheet with nonstick spray or butter creates an overly greasy foundation, causing the cookies to spread. I always recommend a silicone baking mat because they grip onto the bottom of your cookie dough, preventing the cookies from spreading too much.

How long can you store snowball cookies?

Snowball cookies will last up to 3 days at room temperature, in a sealed container, or up to 2 weeks if stored in the refrigerator. Add them to your Christmas Dessert Charcuterie Board when ready to enjoy!

What is Russian candy made of?

In the north of the country, apples make the base for a lot of candies while in the south, sweets sweetened with grape juice are common. Creamy candies: Russians love their dairy products and therefore many of their candies feature buttery fillings and melt-in-the-mouth coatings.

What is a tea biscuit made of?

Traditionally, these digestive aid biscuits were made with whole grain flour, vegetable oil, baking soda, sugar, and malt extract. While this recipe has certainly stood the test of time, I'm a firm believer that every baked good tastes better with butter, so I substitute it for the vegetable oil.

What is Russian honey cake made of?

Most of them seemed to revolve around the concept of making the cake layers from a roll-out, honey flavored, soft cookie dough, and filled with a lightly sweetened sour cream frosting. Some variations called for pourable cake batters to make the layers, and a few had a dulce de leche based frosting.

What are tea cakes made of?

Tea cakes are soft roll-out cookies that are tender, chewy and pleasantly dense. They are a cookie with a cake-like texture. The ingredients are very simple (flour, sugar, butter, milk, nutmeg, and eggs), and the gentle flavor of nutmeg is what makes these so special.

Russian Tea Cakes Recipe - Classic Christmas Snowball Cookies! (2024)

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Russian Tea Cakes are tender, buttery cookies with a light nutty flavor all covered in powdered sugar! Also called “Snowballs,” these cookies are delicious and a wonderful holiday classic. One of my most requested Christmas cookie recipes!

Looking for more Christmas cookie ideas? Try my easy sugar cookies recipe, or these Italian Christmas cookies!

Russian Tea Cakes Recipe - Classic Christmas Snowball Cookies! (1)

Table of Contents

The Best Russian Tea Cakes (Snowball Cookies)
What Are Russian Tea Cakes?
How to Make Russian Tea Cakes
How Long Can You Store these Cookies? Can They Be Frozen?
More Great Holiday Cookie Recipes:
Get the Recipe

The Best Russian Tea Cakes (Snowball Cookies)

There are so many things to love about these cookies! For starters, they are quick and easy to make. The cookie dough comes together with only 6 ingredients. I do like to refrigerate them for about an hour before baking them, but you don’t have to. I personally think the cookies stay a little more tender on the inside if they’ve been refrigerated first.

Another reason to love them is that they are literally covered in sugar. Yes! Two layers of it, in fact. That outside layer of powdered sugar just melts right in your mouth. Completely addicting! And after you get past the outside, the inside is soft, buttery and also melts in your mouth. So darn good!

Of course one thing that adds great flavor to these cookies is the light nutty flavor, bit if you aren’t a nut fan, you could certainly leave them out. I’ve even left out the nuts and added coconut for a fun Easter version that I called “Bunny Tails”, ha!

Russian Tea Cakes Recipe - Classic Christmas Snowball Cookies! (2)

What Are Russian Tea Cakes?

Russian Tea Cakes are a simple cookie, similar to shortbread, known for the nuts included in the cookie and the powdered sugar used to decorate them. They are also often referred to as Snowballs and Mexican Wedding Cakes.

How to Make Russian Tea Cakes

It doesn’t get much easier than these Russian Tea Cakes. To start, you’ll combine the butter and powdered sugar, then add the vanilla extract.

From there, you’ll add the flour and salt and mix just until the dough comes together. Finally, you’ll stir in your nuts. I used chopped, toasted pecans but other nuts like walnuts or macadamia nuts would work as well.

Create tablespoons sized balls and refrigerate them for an hour. You don’t have to refrigerate them, but I think the cookies are even better if you don’t skip that step.

Bake them just until the bottoms are turning slightly brown. The time will vary based on your oven, but 7-8 minutes was just right for me.

When you take them out of the oven, let them cool just long enough so that you can handle them, then roll them in the additional powdered sugar. The sugar will melt a little from the heat, so after they cool, roll them in the powdered sugar one more time.

Russian Tea Cakes Recipe - Classic Christmas Snowball Cookies! (4)

How Long Can You Store these Cookies? Can They Be Frozen?

These cookies last very well for about a week when stored in an air tight container. They could also be made ahead and frozen, but you’ll want to freeze them prior to adding the powdered sugar, which would just dissolve when they thaw. Instead, thaw the cookies in the fridge when you’re ready for them and then dip them in the powdered sugar.

These Russian Tea Cakes are wonderful, sugary little bites of heaven! They are nice and small, so they are easy to snack on with a cup of coffee or eggnog (or tea!) and just enjoy the holidays. I hope you love them!

Russian Tea Cakes Recipe - Classic Christmas Snowball Cookies! (5)

More Great Holiday Cookie Recipes:

Italian Ricotta Cookies
Classic Spritz Cookies
Best Gingerbread Cookie Cutouts
Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies
Classic Chewy Snickerdoodles
Peanut Butter Blossoms
Candy Cane Cookies
Soft and Chewy Eggnog Cookies
Southern Pecan Pralines
Reindeer Cookie Balls
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Cutout Sugar Cookies

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Russian Tea Cakes (Snowball Cookies)

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Author: Lindsay
Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Yield: 40 cookies
Category: Dessert
Method: Oven
Cuisine: American

Description

Russian Tea Cakes are tender, buttery cookies with a light nutty flavor all covered in powdered sugar! Also called “Snowballs,” these cookies are delicious and a wonderful holiday classic!

Ingredients

1 cup (224g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups (173g) powdered sugar, divided
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups (293g) all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup (85g) finely chopped nuts (I used toasted pecans)

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C) and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and 1/2 a cup (58g) of powdered sugar together until smooth.
3. Add the vanilla extract and mix until smooth.
4. Add the flour and salt and mix on low speed just until the dough comes together.
5. Stir in the chopped nuts.
6. Scoop tablespoon sized balls of dough and shape into a ball. Refrigerate for about 1 hour, then place on the prepared cookie sheet 1-2 inches apart.
7. Bake for 7-10 minutes, or until the bottoms are just lightly brown.
8. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes, until you can handle them.
9. Add the remaining 1 cup (115g) of powdered sugar to a small bowl and roll each cookie in it until well coated. The sugar will melt a little bit. Allow the cookies to cool completely, then re-roll in powdered sugar.
10. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 cookie
Calories: 99
Sugar: 4.5 g
Sodium: 29.9 mg
Fat: 6.1 g
Carbohydrates: 10.2 g
Protein: 1 g
Cholesterol: 12.2 mg