Russian Tea Cakes Recipe - Classic Christmas Snowball Cookies! (2024)

FAQs

Why are my snowball cookies spreading? ›

If you found your cookies to spread too much in the oven, there are a host of things that can cause this. Your butter could be too warm. You may have improperly measured the flour or the sugar (use that scoop and level method!). You could have placed the dough balls on a sheet pan that was warm.

The origin for pecan snowball cookies is unknown. Beloved in many parts of the world, these cookies may have traveled to the U.S. by way of immigrants from Eastern Europe or Mexico. Since the 20th century, they've become part of traditional American offerings for weddings and holidays, including Christmas and Easter.

You can store snowballs in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. If you stack the cookies, place a piece of parchment paper between each layer to prevent sticking.

Why are my Russian tea cakes crumbly? Russian tea cakes are super tender and meant to be crumbly. They practically melt in your mouth. Keep the size of the cookies small so you can pop a whole cookie into your mouth without biting it into smaller pieces (and getting crumbs and confectioners' sugar all over the place).

Some people believe that Russian Tea Cakes originated in Eastern Europe, but as far as I could tell, they inherited the name from the 19th-century American fascination with Russian tea culture.

Snowball Cookie Tips

If your cookies go flat, check the oven temperature. An oven temperature that's too low can result in your cookies spreading out more. Butter that's too soft or melted can also lead to flat cookies.

Too much flour causes the dough to become dry and crumbly, which prevents it from flattening out during baking. As a result, your cookies will stay in their original shape instead of spreading out into nice circles.

If you think your cookie dough is off, you may not have enough liquid in the recipe. Consider adding a touch more liquid such as melted butter, egg yolks, or a teaspoon of water. Add a teeny bit and see if that helps. Add more as needed until the dough holds together and is scoop-able.

The chocolate chip cookie was created by accident.

In the 1930s, Ruth Wakefield, owner of the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts, added broken chocolate bar pieces into her cookie batter thinking that they would melt. Instead, the classic dessert was born.

History. Modern Christmas cookies can trace their history to recipes from Medieval Europe biscuits, when many modern ingredients such as cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, almonds and dried fruit were introduced into the west.

What are the oldest cookies in the world? ›

Pizzelles are the oldest known cookie and originated in the mid-section of Italy. They were made many years ago for the “Festival of the Snakes” also known as the “Feast Day of San Domenico” in the village of Colcullo in the Italian region of Abruzzo.

You can store snowball cookies in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 4-5 days. I suggest storing each in mini cupcake liners so that they don't smudge into each other. Can you freeze snowball cookies? Yes, snowball cookies freeze beautifully.

Aim to make them about two weeks in advance if you keep them at room temperature. Making them one week or a few days in advance is even better if you are going for the freshest possible cookies. Remember that you can always make a new batch if you accidentally keep your cookies out for too long and they become stale.

Walnuts have a mild, buttery flavor that makes them perfect for baking into cookies and cakes. They have a high oil content, so they tend to toast much faster than other varieties. Because of this, it's best to use raw walnuts to prevent them from burning during the baking process.

In the north of the country, apples make the base for a lot of candies while in the south, sweets sweetened with grape juice are common. Creamy candies: Russians love their dairy products and therefore many of their candies feature buttery fillings and melt-in-the-mouth coatings.

Traditionally, these digestive aid biscuits were made with whole grain flour, vegetable oil, baking soda, sugar, and malt extract. While this recipe has certainly stood the test of time, I'm a firm believer that every baked good tastes better with butter, so I substitute it for the vegetable oil.

Most of them seemed to revolve around the concept of making the cake layers from a roll-out, honey flavored, soft cookie dough, and filled with a lightly sweetened sour cream frosting. Some variations called for pourable cake batters to make the layers, and a few had a dulce de leche based frosting.

If you've never had Russian Tea, it is a sugary mixture of orange Tang, pre-sweetened Country Time Lemonade, instant tea, cinnamon and cloves.