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

FAQs

Why do my snowball cookies go flat? ›

Flat cookies: If they flattened while baking, it's likely the dough was too warm or the cookie sheet was hot. Keep dough in the refrigerator between batches. Dry and crumbly texture: There was too much flour added or they were over-baked. Use a kitchen scale for accurate measurements.

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.

Outside the South, the words “tea cake” mean any cake served with tea. But to Southerners, tea cakes are more than that. They are the nostalgic cookies—crispy and golden around the edges, soft and cake-like inside—that are perfect for tea, or just about anything else you choose to drink.

It was traditionally composed of black tea with lemon and sugar, orange and pineapple juices, cinnamon, clove, honey, and lemon or orange wedges for garnish. It was typically afforded only by the elite at this time and enjoyed during the cold of winter as a way to warm up.

Friendship tea, also called Russian tea and Tang tea, is a mixture of instant tea, orange-flavored fruit drink (Tang), lemonade drink mix, and spices. As a hot tea, it is all of these things at once: quite sweet, quite tart, and quite fragrant with spice.

Not enough liquid

There are a few things you can do if your cookie dough is too dry and crumbly. First, try adding more liquid to the dough. This could be milk, water, or even just additional eggs. If that doesn't work, you could also try melting some butter and adding it to the dough.

Room temperature butter is just the right consistency to incorporate air when it's creamed with sugar. These trapped air pockets result in risen, fluffy cookies. If the butter is any warmer, it won't incorporate enough air and your cookies will have less rise.

If the cookie dough is too warm, the cookies may spread out and flatten during baking. Be sure to chill the dough for at least two hours before forming them into balls and baking. Also, never use melted butter in this recipe.

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.

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 were the original snowball flavors? ›

So Many Flavors

Snowball flavors have advanced dramatically from the original basics of strawberry, pineapple, and spearmint. The first new flavors were still basic fruit flavors like cherry, grape, orange, lemon, lime, coconut, banana, raspberry, blueberry, blackberry, black cherry, peach, mango, and watermelon.

Originating in Russia, as the name suggests, this cookie was intended to be a dessert to accompany teatime, similar to the way the English enjoy tea with pastries. It is not credited to being invented by any particular person since the whole point of the cookies is that anybody can make them.

The origins of this cake are murky. Some sources say it may have first shown up in a Texas newspaper, which is why it's called "Texas" sheet cake, while others claim the name comes from the fact that it's the size of Texas. Regardless of its origins, this cake is truly a crowd-pleaser.

History of Mexican Wedding Cookies

As Spanish colonizers brought these recipes to Mexico, they seamlessly integrated into the local culinary landscape. The cookie's association with weddings stems from its sweet symbolism of happiness, unity, and the joyful occasions surrounding matrimony.

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.

Pizzelle Cookies. These crispy Italian cookies are made with basic ingredients — flour, sugar, butter, and eggs — and are flavored with vanilla and anise. Each of the cookies is shaped like a flat disc and can be stamped with a simple or intricate design, depending on the method used to make them.

Butter, sugar, flour, baking soda and vanilla make thin, cookie like layers of Medovik. They are softened with a cream filling that is one part whipping cream and one part sour cream mixed with sugar and vanilla. Sometimes a filling made with butter and sweetened condensed milk is used.

Tea cakes are soft roll-out cookies that are tender, chewy and pleasantly dense. They are a cookie with a cake-like texture. The ingredients are very simple (flour, sugar, butter, milk, nutmeg, and eggs), and the gentle flavor of nutmeg is what makes these so special.