This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Jump to Recipe

Mexican Wedding Cookies, also known as Russian Tea Cakes or Snowball Cookies, are delightfully nutty little balls of powdered sugar covered goodness! These classic holiday cookies come out every year at Christmas and everybody loves them!

If you love holiday baking, be sure not to miss my collection of 35+ of The Best Christmas Cookies and Easy Homemade Christmas Candy Recipes!

a pile of mexican wedding cookies and pecans with one cookie bitten to reveal insides

This post is sponsored in conjunction with Christmas Cookies Week. I received product samples from sponsor companies to aid in the creation of the Christmas Cookies Week recipes. As always, all opinions are mine alone.

These buttery pecan cookies getting rolled in a generous coating of powdered sugar TWICE after baking, just to be sure they are coated in plenty of powdered sugar. The first roll sort of melts into the cookie, but that second roll builds up a good layer of powdered sugar that makes these extra delicious.

I have no idea why these Mexican wedding cookies have so many names, if they are even from Russia or Mexico originally, if they really were/are served at weddings or at tea time (is there a Russian tea culture?) or what the story is behind them.

But what I DO know is that these are yummy and perfectly perfect at Christmas time. There is so much goodness going on in these cookies from the butteriness of the slightly crumby cookie to the sweetness of the powdered sugar to the ubiquitous chopped nuts.

An image of Mexican Wedding Cookie dough rolled into balls and spaced on a baking sheet.

But really the BEST thing about these Mexican wedding cookies (or Russian tea cakes or snowballs or whatever you want to call them) is their melt-in-your-mouth quality.

That quality is unique to Mexican wedding cookies because the butter-to-sugar ratio is 2:1.

In most cookie recipes, there is more sugar than butter, so switching that up creates a really unique, rich cookie experience unlike others.

They don’t flatten and spread though because of the amount of flour in the dough that helps the cookies hold their signature round snowball shape.

An image of Russian Tea Cakes rolled in powdered sugar on a baking sheet.

I like to use pecans in Mexican wedding cookies, but you can use almost any nut you like: walnuts, macadamia nuts, pistachios, and almonds all would work well and can be used interchangeably in the recipe. 

How to Make Mexican Wedding Cookies

  1. Beat the butter and vanilla in a mixer until light.
  2. Whisk together the flour, powdered sugar, and salt, then add to the butter and mix until combined.
  3. Stir in the chopped pecans then roll into small 1-inch balls and bake at 400 degrees F for 10-12 minutes.
  4. As soon as the cookies are cool enough to handle, roll in powdered sugar, then cool completely before rolling a second time.
  5. Store in an airtight container.

A collage showing step-by-step how to make Mexican wedding cookies.An image of a plate of Russian tea cakes, also known as Mexican wedding cookies, with pecans.

More Classic Christmas Cookies for Your Holiday Baking

You can also FOLLOW ME on INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and TWITTER for more great recipe tips and ideas!

a plate filled with mexican wedding cookies and scattered whole pecans
Yield: 42 cookies

Mexican Wedding Cookies

Mexican Wedding Cookies, also known as Russian Tea Cakes or Snowball Cookies, are delightfully nutty little balls of powdered sugar covered goodness!  These classic holiday cookies come out every year at Christmas and everybody loves them!

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 22 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup pecans, chopped fine
  • Additional powdered sugar

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat mat.
  2. In a medium bowl, beat butter and vanilla until smooth and creamy, about 2-3 minutes. 
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, powdered sugar and salt, then stir into the butter, mixing just until combined.  Mix in the chopped pecans. 
  4. Roll dough into 1 inch balls, and place them 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned on the bottoms.  Remove from oven and wait just until they are cool enough to handle but still warm, then roll in powdered sugar and transfer to a separate plate of baking sheet.  Wait until cool, the roll in powdered sugar again to generously coat. 
  5. Store in an airtight container.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

42
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 85Saturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 52mgCarbohydrates: 6gSugar: 1g
© Amy Nash, House of Nash Eats
Cuisine: American / Category: Dessert

#ChristmasCookiesWeek Thursday Recipes

Disclaimer: Thank you #ChristmasCookiesWeek sponsors: Adams Extract, Sprinkle Pop, YumGoggle and Silpat for providing the prizes free of charge. The #ChristmasCookiesWeek giveaway is open to U.S. residents, age 18 & up. All entries for the winner will be checked and verified. By entering you give the right to use your name and likeness. The number of entries received determines the odds of winning. Four (4) winners will be selected at random from entries received. The prize packages will be fulfilled by and sent directly from the giveaway sponsors. #ChristmasCookiesWeek bloggers are not responsible for the fulfillment or delivery of the prize packages. Bloggers hosting this giveaway and their immediate family members in their household are not eligible to enter or win the giveaway. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter or any other social channel mentioned in the #ChristmasCookiesWeek posts or entry.