Mexican Wedding Cookies (aka Noel Nut Balls, Russian Tea cakes, etc…)

Jump to Comments

I’ve used three different recipes for this type of cookie and every time I learn a new name for it. I’m gonna go with Mexican wedding cookie since noel nut ball reminds me of a bad South Park joke. But basically this refers to a crunchy nutty cookie rolled in powdered sugar. I like to make these around Christmas time since they remind me of snow but they’re good year round. I strongly recommend using pecans for this, the sweetness of the pecan really comes through. I’ve also used walnuts and pistachios but the pecan gives it the best flavor by far. 

 

INGREDIENTS

Makes about 45 1 inch cookies

2 1/4 cups of shifted all-purpose flour 

3/4 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup sifted confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar)  plus more I’d say at least another 1/2 cup for rolling)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon bourbon or orange juice (it’s such a small amount you can just buy an orange and juice it, I’ve also used store bought OJ before and I’d say the results are about the same)

 

Whisk together flour, pecans, powdered sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

With a mixer, mix butter and honey on a medium speed until fluffy. Add OJ or bourbon and mix to combine. 

Add flour to butter mixture and beat to combine. 

At this point the mixture will be a bit crumbly. With a spatula spoon the mixture to one side and gather the mixture in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours. (This step is IMPORTANT in saving your sanity when baking the cookies so do not skip! Also do not put in freezer to make it chill faster since it might freeze then be really hard to roll out. Just make these cookies when you have to do something for three hours while your dough is chilling) 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees . Line baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats. You can either use two teaspoons or if dough is firm enough, use one teaspoon to measure out dough and roll with your hand into a ball. Space cookies about 2 inches apart. 

Bake for 12-13 minutes and rotate baking sheets halfway through until cookies are lightly browned. 

On a wire rack cool cookies until they are warm. Roll in powdered sugar once.

When you are done with all the cookies, roll them one more time in the powdered sugar and pat the sugar in to give them a more velvety finish. If you are giving the cookies away you might want to use to a small strainer to tap more powdered sugar on them for a more professional looking touch. The small candy wrappers (as seen in the photo at the top of the post) are a good way to package them. 

 

*These cookies because of the powdered sugar tend to stick together so the best way to store them are in an airtight container in the fridge. Take them out about 30 mins before you intend to serve them.*

 

2 Comments

Filed under Basic and Delicious

Tags: Baking, Christmas, cookies, cooking, food, holiday baking, mexican, Mexican wedding cookies, noel nut balls, powdered sugar, recipes, russian tea cakes