Russian Tea Cakes (Melt-in-Your-Mouth Snowball Cookies)

If there is one cookie that disappears first from my holiday tray, it is Russian tea cakes. These little round snowball cookies are rich with butter and toasted pecans, so tender they practically melt on your tongue, and coated in a thick blanket of powdered sugar that leaves a sweet dusting on everyone’s sweater.

Below I share why this simple dough works so well, how to toast and chop the nuts, and my double-rolling trick for a coat of sugar that stays white instead of melting away. You will also find variations, a troubleshooting table, make-ahead and freezing tips and answers to common questions. The printable recipe card is waiting at the bottom of the post.

Why These Russian Tea Cakes Work

Russian tea cakes go by many names, including snowball cookies, Mexican wedding cookies and butterballs. Whatever you call them, the formula is the same: lots of butter, very little sugar in the dough, finely chopped nuts and no eggs or leavening. That combination gives a short, sandy, tender crumb.

• Powdered sugar in the dough. It dissolves completely into the butter, so the texture stays fine and delicate instead of grainy.
• No egg. Without egg, the cookies stay crumbly and shortbread-like rather than cakey or chewy.
• Toasted pecans. Toasting deepens the nutty flavor and adds a gentle crunch to every bite.
• A short chill. Thirty minutes in the fridge keeps the round shape from slumping in the oven.
• Two rolls in sugar. The first roll while warm melts slightly and acts like glue; the second roll when cool gives that bright, snowy finish.

The dough is not very sweet on its own, which is exactly the point. Most of the sweetness comes from the powdered sugar coating, so each bite starts sweet and finishes buttery and nutty.

These cookies also hold up beautifully. They taste even better on the second day, once the butter and nut flavors have had time to settle, which makes them a smart choice for busy holiday weeks.

Ingredients You Will Need

You only need seven pantry ingredients for these snowball cookies, so choose good butter and fresh nuts.

• Unsalted butter: Softened to room temperature. Butter is the main flavor here, so do not swap in margarine.
• Powdered sugar: A little goes into the dough and plenty more is used for rolling.
• Pure vanilla extract: Adds warmth and rounds out the butter flavor.
• Salt: Just a quarter teaspoon to balance the sweetness.
• All-purpose flour: Spooned and leveled. Too much flour makes the cookies dry and crumbly.
• Pecans: Toasted and very finely chopped. Walnuts, almonds or hazelnuts also work.

How to Make Russian Tea Cakes

Start by toasting the pecans so they have time to cool while you make the dough. Spread them on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 6 to 8 minutes, until fragrant, then let them cool and chop them finely.

1. Cream the butter. Beat the softened butter, 1/2 cup of powdered sugar, vanilla and salt on medium speed for about 2 minutes, until smooth and creamy.
2. Add the flour. Mix in the flour on low speed until the dough just comes together.
3. Add the nuts. Stir in the finely chopped pecans until evenly distributed. The dough will be soft and a little crumbly.
4. Chill. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes so the dough is easy to roll.
5. Shape. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line baking sheets with parchment. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls, about 1 tablespoon each, and set them 1 1/2 inches apart.
6. Bake. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until the bottoms are lightly golden. The tops should stay pale.
7. First sugar roll. Let the cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then gently roll each warm cookie in powdered sugar and place it on a wire rack.
8. Second sugar roll. Once the cookies are completely cool, roll them in powdered sugar again for a thick, snowy coating.

Handle the warm cookies gently during the first roll, as they are fragile until they cool. A spoon makes it easy to turn each one in the sugar without breaking it. By the time the cookies are cool, they are sturdy enough to stack in a tin.

Tips for the Best Snowball Cookies

• Do not overbake. The cookies should be pale on top with just a hint of gold underneath. Overbaked tea cakes taste dry and lose their melt-in-your-mouth texture.
• Measure the flour carefully, spooning it into the cup and leveling it off, or weigh it.
• If the dough is too crumbly to roll, squeeze it in your palm for a few seconds. The warmth of your hands will bring it together.
• Keep the balls small and even so every cookie bakes at the same rate.
• Sift the powdered sugar for rolling if it is lumpy, so the coating looks smooth.
• Save the final sugar roll until the day you serve or gift the cookies for the brightest white finish.
• Bake one sheet at a time on the center rack. The bottoms brown quickly on a lower rack, and an overly toasted base hides the delicate butter flavor.

Russian tea cakes pair wonderfully with other holiday classics. Add them to a cookie box with my piped buttery spritz cookies, jam-filled thumbprint cookies and peanut butter blossoms with chocolate kisses, or find more ideas in my dessert recipe collection.

Russian Tea Cakes, Mexican Wedding Cookies or Snowballs?

These cookies have traveled through many kitchens and picked up a new name almost everywhere they went. Similar nut butter cookies are baked in many countries, from Mexico to Eastern Europe to the Mediterranean, and they are often served at weddings, holidays and celebrations.

In the United States, the name usually depends on family tradition. Mexican wedding cookies are often made with pecans or almonds and sometimes a pinch of cinnamon, while Russian tea cakes are frequently made with walnuts or pecans. Snowball cookies is the friendly catch-all name, especially at Christmas. The method and texture are nearly identical, so use whichever name your family loves.

Serving and Gifting Snowball Cookies

Russian tea cakes look lovely piled high in a glass bowl or arranged on a cake stand, where the white coating stands out against red and green cookies. Serve them with hot tea, coffee or a mug of hot chocolate. Their gentle sweetness makes them a nice balance next to rich fudge or chocolate desserts on a dessert table.

For gifting, nestle the cookies in mini cupcake liners inside a tin so they do not rub against each other and lose their coating. Add a small piece of parchment between layers and tuck in a tag with storage instructions. If you are mailing them, choose a sturdy tin and fill any gaps with crumpled parchment so the cookies stay snug. They are sturdy enough to ship well when packed this way, and they stay fresh for about a week.

At a cookie exchange, they are often the first plate emptied, so I like to bake a double batch. The dough doubles easily in a stand mixer, and you can bake the cookies over two evenings if you keep the second half of the dough covered in the fridge.

Easy Variations

• Walnut tea cakes: Use toasted walnuts instead of pecans for a slightly earthier flavor.
• Almond snowballs: Use toasted almonds and add 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract.
• Cinnamon spice: Add 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the dough and a pinch to the rolling sugar.
• Chocolate chip snowballs: Replace half the nuts with mini chocolate chips.
• Lemon snowballs: Add 2 teaspoons of lemon zest to the butter and skip the nuts for a bright, nut-free version.
• Pistachio cranberry: Use chopped pistachios and add 1/4 cup of finely chopped dried cranberries for festive color.
• Nut-free: Leave out the nuts entirely and add 2 tablespoons of extra flour if the dough feels soft.

Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Make Ahead, Storage and Freezing

Store Russian tea cakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Separate the layers with parchment, and keep extra powdered sugar on hand to freshen the coating before serving.

To freeze, place the baked cookies after the first sugar roll in a freezer container for up to 3 months. Thaw them at room temperature, then give them their second roll in powdered sugar. You can also freeze the unbaked dough balls on a tray, transfer them to a freezer bag and bake them straight from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes.

The dough contains raw flour, so please do not taste it before baking. The FDA explains the risks of eating raw dough.

Frequently Asked Questions

Ready to bake? Here is the full printable Russian tea cakes recipe with exact measurements, chilling time and estimated nutrition.

Russian Tea Cakes

Buttery, tender snowball cookies made with toasted pecans and rolled twice in powdered sugar for a thick, snowy coating.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 14 minutes mins

Chilling 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 4 minutes mins

Servings: 36 cookies

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Calories: 104

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

Cookie dough

• 1 cup unsalted butter softened (226 g)
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar (60 g)
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled (280 g)
• 3/4 cup pecans toasted and very finely chopped (85 g)

For rolling

• 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar sifted (150 g)

Method

 

Make the dough

1. Toast the pecans at 350°F (175°C) for 6 to 8 minutes, cool and chop very finely.
2. Beat the butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, vanilla and salt on medium speed for about 2 minutes, until creamy.
3. Mix in the flour on low speed until the dough just comes together, then stir in the pecans.
4. Cover and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.

Shape, bake and roll

1. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line baking sheets with parchment.
2. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place them 1 1/2 inches apart.
3. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until the bottoms are lightly golden and the tops are still pale.
4. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then gently roll the warm cookies in powdered sugar and set them on a wire rack.
5. When completely cool, roll the cookies in powdered sugar a second time.

Notes

Nuts: Walnuts, almonds or hazelnuts can replace the pecans. Chop them very finely.

Storage: Keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months, then reroll in sugar.

Nutrition is an estimate per cookie, including the sugar coating.

I hope these snowy little Russian tea cakes become a new favorite on your holiday table. If you bake a batch, please leave a comment and a star rating below and let me know which nuts you used. Happy baking, friends. Chef Amber