Photograph by Peden + Munk Food Styling by Maggie Ruggiero Prop Styling by Theo Vamvounakis

Photograph by Peden + Munk Food Styling by Maggie Ruggiero Prop Styling by Theo Vamvounakis

Mexican Wedding Cookies

Desserts from Issue 2 – Fall / Winter 2013 – Traces

Aka Russian tea cakes, aka Italian wedding cookies. No matter the provenance, almost every family has a version of these sprinkled snowball confections (this one was passed down by creative director Michele’s grandmother, Lorene Outland).

serves 3 dozen

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ tsp salt
2 sticks (8 oz) unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ cups confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla
¾ cup finely chopped nuts (like almonds, walnuts, or hazelnuts)

1
Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk together flour and salt, set aside. Stir together butter, ½ cup confectioners sugar, and vanilla until well combined. Stir in flour mixture then nuts.
2
Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place on two ungreased baking sheets. Bake until cookies are firm but still pale, 12-15 minutes.
3
Place remaining 1 cup confectioners sugar in a bowl. When cookies are cool enough to handle, roll them in sugar and transfer to a cooling rack. When the cookies have cooled completely, roll again.