Mexican Wedding Cookies (also known as Russian Tea Cakes) are a Christmas staple. I'm not quite sure exactly how I started making them. I just know that no Christmas is the same without them. And I probably really do make them every year! They're a festive addition to any cookie spread and look like little snowballs. I feel like Mexican Wedding Cookies also age well. You're drawn to them as a child because they're covered in powdered sugar and just melt in your mouth. But they're still quite the classy cookie and something even the adults look forward to every year.
Mexican Wedding Cookies are also so familiar to me because I've been making the exact same recipe for years and years and years. Since before I can remember I've used Food.com's Traditional Mexican Wedding Cookies. I couldn't tell you how this started. It was from a day and age before Instagram or Pinterest. Back when Google was barely a thing! There's probably a good chance that it was the recipe that my family made out of a cooking magazine at some point. But, for whatever the reason, I am absolutely hooked. They are certainly one of my favorite cookies and I will likely never deviate from this recipe!
Recipe Tips
Mexican Wedding Cookies are a relatively easy cookie to make. They use powdered sugar, instead of granulated sugar. They don't use any eggs. And there is no leavening agent (baking powder, baking soda, etcetera).
The key to a lot of cookies is creaming the butter and sugar together and then not over beating the eggs. This is much easier to do with powdered sugar because it's so fine already that it practically melts into the butter.
You cannot over beat the eggs if the recipe doesn't actually have eggs!
And these cookies also don't have any leavening agent, so you don't have to worry about a rise. If you've ever made cookies that flatten or separate when they cook? Puff up too much and end up looking more like cake? Or had them all bake together into one giant cookie pile? Mexican Wedding Cookies are absolutely the cookie for you! The recipe doesn't contain any baking soda or baking powder. They're more of an incredibly simplified biscuit than anything else.
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What to Make Along w/ Mexican Wedding Cookies
For the rest of the recipes that I made during Christmas this year, along with a breakdown of how to get them all in and out of the oven in time for dinner! Check out my blog on the pandemic holiday season. I also have various other Christmas cookies throughout the years.
Mexican Wedding Cookies are a holiday staple. It seems like no season would be the same without them and I make them every year for Christmas! They're fun and easy with only 5 simple ingredients. They don't use any eggs and there's no leavening agent. So, they're really more like simplified biscuits than cookies. But this makes them exceptionally simple to toss together!
Add softened butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, and vanilla extract to a large bowl. Whisk until light and fluffy.There is also no over beating at this point! This is when you want to really go for it. Whisk until as light as possible. Airiness during this step is absolutely essential. When you think that you've whisked them enough, whisk a little bit longer!
Add the flour to the butter mixture and mix until barely incorporate.This is the exact opposite of the butter mixing process! When you add flour, over mixing will make thee cookies dense and texturally unpleasant. In order to keep the airiness, mix as little as possible to stop seeing white pockets of flour.
Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place on on ungreased cookie sheet.There are no eggs or leavening agents in this recipe, so crowd away. These cookies will not expand! As long as they're not touching, you can put the cookies as close together as you want.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until just barely golden brown.
Meanwhile, add about 1 cup powder sugar to a small bowl. The exact amount isn't necessary. You need just enough to be able to roll the cookies in.
When the cookies are cooked, remove from the oven and let sit on the baking sheet for one minute.The cookies need a minute to cool enough to handle and roll in the powdered sugar without melting. But don't let sit any longer than that! The cookies still need to be slightly warm for the sugar to adhere to them.
Roll the cookies in powdered sugar.
Tips, Tricks, & Notes
For more information on the Fundamentals of Baking Cookies, check out my article on the matter. For instance, I recommend making cookies by hand with a fork and adding slightly less flour than called for.
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