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These are my Mom’s Famous Russian Tea Cakes! They’re the perfect classic Christmas cookie and we’ve been making them for my entire life. You can make these easy cookies in no time. The most popular name for these are Snowball Cookies but they’re the same recipe and everyone loves them. My mom gets several requests to make them all year long.
What is a Russian Tea Cake?
A classic Christmas Cookie, tea cakes are buttery cookie balls filled with nuts, also called Snowball Cookies. They only have a few ingredients and are rolled in powdered sugar after baking. They’re delicate and practically dissolve in your mouth.
I don’t make a ton of recipes more than once, but I make my mom’s Russian Tea Cake Recipe several times a year. My mom has been making these longer than I’ve been alive. I call them her Famous Russian Tea Cakes because she’s always the one that makes them – and they’re always expected (and requested!) at parties. She makes them for Christmas, for Easter, for every holiday…and just because it’s a Tuesday.
5 Ingredients in Snowball Cookies
There are just a few ingredients in these easy cookies:
- Butter: You can use salted OR unsalted butter (see recipe notes). Make sure it’s softened. Make sure to use REAL butter, the higher quality the better. (I love Challenge Butter best!)
- Powdered Sugar: This makes them nice and delicate.
- Vanilla: Always buy PURE vanilla!
- Salt: Needed if using unsalted butter – omit if using salted butter.
- Flour: Be sure to measure it correctly.
These cookies hold their shape when they bake, because the have no leavening and no egg.
How to make Russian Tea Cakes
- Cream butter and powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large bowl if using a hand mixer.
- Add vanilla extract, salt, and flour and mix until combined. This will take a long time if you’re using a hand mixer – just keep mixing.
- Add chopped pecans or walnuts (or even almonds or pistachios!)
- Scoop 1 tablespoon sized cookie dough balls onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone mats. Bake until bottoms are light golden.
- Roll cooled cookies in powdered sugar for a snowball look.
FAQs
The best thing about making these cookies (besides eating them) is that they freeze well! My mom and I always freeze these for holidays or just any day you want a cookie. You may just have to re-roll them in powdered sugar once they’re thawed. Other than that you don’t have to do anything special to freeze them.
Traditionally Snowballs are filled with nuts, either pecans, walnuts or almonds. My mom always made them with pecans, so that’s what I use in this recipe.
Yes they freeze great for up to 3 months.
Just keep mixing – this dough is stiff and if you’re using a hand mixer it will take longer to come together than if you’re using a stand mixer. If it’s still crumbly you just need to keep mixing.
They should not flatten at all. Did you make any substitutions? If they flatten you may have not measured the flour correctly or your butter may have been too warm or melted.
Mom’s Russian Tea Cakes Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup (57 g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 ¼ cups (279 g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup finely chopped nuts pecans, walnuts, or almonds
- Powdered sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Mix butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add flour and salt and mix until the dough comes together. Stir in the nuts. If dough is too soft, chill it until you can work it easily with your hands.
- Scoop 1 tablespoon balls of dough and place on prepared cookie sheet.
- Bake cookies for 7-8 minutes until bottoms are just slightly brown. Remove from oven and cool for just a minute, until you can handle them. Fill a small bowl with powdered sugar and roll each cookie in the sugar until coated.
- Place on a rack to cool. (Once cookies are cooled, you may want to re-roll them in more powdered sugar.)
- You can freeze these cookies or make them up to 4 days ahead of serving.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- Omit the nuts and substitute mini chocolate chips
- Omit the nuts and substitute toffee bits
- Omit the nuts and make them plain
- Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
- Check out my snowball category for all ideas!
Recipe Nutrition
Other favorite Christmas Cookies:
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Shortbread Cookies (4 ways)
- Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles
- Cake Mix Crinkle Cookies
- Peanut Butter Blossoms
Easy Russian Tea Cakes are a classic Christmas cookie we’ve been making my whole life. My mom’s recipe is famous in our family! They’re buttery cookies filled with pecans and they’re SO good!
Last Updated on December 7, 2023
these are one of my favorite holiday cookies!
Russian tea cakes are a tradition in my family, except it’s my grandma’s recipe that everyone uses! I love the idea of stuffing Reese’s in them!
Thanks jessica!
My grandma brings these every year at Christmas time! They are the only cookies I associate with Christmas. Thanks for sharing! I’ll have to try the double roll trick!
I agree! Everything my mom makes is better! I always called these Mexican Wedding Cookies. It’s funny how one cookie can have so many different names! I even made them for a college Spanish class for a speech I was doing on wedding traditions! I may have to add these to my Christmas baking this year!
Nothing better for buttery richness than a little round shortbread ball, no matter what nationality (Russian, Mexican, Greek…) As Jocelyn mentioned, these are delicious without nuts too. (I can’t really compare because I can’t eat nuts. I just make up the difference with more flour. ) I can’t imagine them without powdered sugar though. I don’t mind a little powdered sugar mess when it provides such yumminess.:)
Lots and lots and lots of powdered sugar! 🙂
One of my all time favorites! I will definitely be baking these soon!
Love these, Dorothy! My mom always made them every year at Christmas as well, but she shaped them like little crescents and I think everyone in Texas calls them Mexican Wedding Cookies. I love your tip to double roll them so that all of the powdered sugar doesn’t soak in…thanks!
It’s so funny how they have so many different names! Thanks Samantha!
I don’t remember what we cooked in home ec, I just remember sewing pillows. I broke the sewing machine and blamed it on someone else. Not my most proud moment. These cookies are right out of my childhood! My mom made them every year. This one is special to me!
LOL, we’re both sewing machine rejects! 🙂 Love it!
I took home economics in middle school – we never made anything fun and had to sew these ugly locker caddies 🙁 I can’t sew either!
I love old family recipes. Just recently I was looking through some of my grandmother’s old recipes, in her handwriting. It is such a special thing to have, especially once they have passed away 🙂
I got a huge pack of old recipes from my Aunt and I can’t wait to dig in. They’re the best!
These were a staple on our cookie platter but I haven’t made them in years! I am totally intrigued by the Reese’s stuff one!
You can stuff so many things inside! I’ve got another one next week. 🙂
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