Italian Wedding Cookies

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Italian wedding cookies are a Christmas staple in our house. My mom made these every year during the holidays, but they are also perfect for bridal or baby showers. They go by many names; Mexican wedding cookies, Russian tea cakes, snowball cookies, and even butterball cookies. But, if they are a crescent shape, all of a sudden they are Viennese crescents, or just crescent cookies.

Italian wedding cookies.

These nutty cookies are a riff on shortbread. Buttery and crumbly, they’re full of finely chopped nuts. Whether or not these are traditional Italian wedding cookies, this is what they are called on my my mom’s vanilla stained recipe card dating from the early 60s. The ingredients are simple; butter, flour, sugar, ground almonds, and salt.

Italian wedding cookies.

The result is a not too sweet, delicate cookie. Once cooled, they’re rolled in powdered sugar coating, for buttery, melt your mouth cookies. (This post was originally published on December 23, 2011)

Ingredients for Italian wedding cookies

italian wedding cookies ingredients.
  • 1 3/4 cups whole blanched almonds, chopped fine in the food processor.
  • 2 cups of flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 8 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature.
  • 1/3 cup superfine sugar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3/4 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 cup powdered sugar

How to make wedding cookies

The nuts are processed twice. First they’re all chopped fine, then half are removed and again processed until they are very fine. 

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
  • Mix 1 cup chopped nuts, flour, and salt in a bowl and set aside. 
ground almonds and flour.
  • In the bowl of food processor finely chop the remaining nuts until they are very fine. 
ground almonds.
  • Add the finely chopped nuts to the dry ingredients.
  • In an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat softened butter and sugar until light and creamy, about 2 minutes.
  • Add vanilla, scraping sides of bowl with a spatula.
  • Next add flour mixture, at low speed just until the dough comes together, about 15 seconds.
  • Scrape sides of bowl and beat another 10 seconds. Don’t over-beat mixture.
cookie dough.
  • While you can bake the cookies at this stage, I prefer to chill the dough for at least 30 minutes. 
  • For uniform cookies, I like to weigh all the dough (in grams, because they’re more precise) and then divide by 48. If you don’t have a scale, or don’t need a perfect cookie, roll cookie dough into balls about the size of a walnut.

Dough can be frozen at this time if desired.

  • Place dough balls on ungreased cookie sheets lined with parchment paper about 2 inches apart. Bake two baking sheets at a time; one on the top rack, and one on the lower third rack.
  • Bake just until bottoms and tops of the cookies are pale golden brown, about 18 minutes. Reverse the cookie sheets halfway through, switching the sheets from top to bottom, and front to back for even baking.
  • Allow the cookies to cool for a few minutes before transferring cookies to a cooling rack. 
italian wedding cookies on wire rack.
  • Cool cookies until room temperature.
  • In a small bowl with powdered sugar, use two small forks or tongs to roll each baked cookie in powdered sugar to coat.
  • Shake of excess powdered sugar and store in single layer an airtight container or cookie tins.
rolling cookies in powdered sugar.
  • Just before serving, coat them once again in extra powdered sugar.
sugar shaker on cookies.

Variations for wedding cookies

  • Switch out the nuts! Walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts can be substituted for the almonds. If you do decide to use a different nut, omit the almond extract extract and increase the vanilla extract  to 1 1/2 teaspoons.
  • Make crescents, cigar shaped cookies or rings.
crescent cookies.

What can you do if you only have unblanched almonds?

If you’re like me during the holidays I buy nuts in bulk and they always come raw. If you have raw, unblanched almonds it’s easy to blanch them.

  • Place raw almonds in a large bowl. 
  • Pour boiling water over almonds. Let sit about 5-10 seconds. Immediately drain and rinse under cold water to stop the almonds from cooking. 
  • Once the almonds are cool enough to handle, gently press the base of each almond. The skin will easily slip off easily.

Looking for more holiday baking ideas?

Here’s a selection of cookies from around the world ideal for cookie trays.

Austrian Linzer Cookies

linzer cookies.

Easter European Rugelach

Rugelach on plate.


Scottish Shortbread

scottish shortbread.

Italian Cantucci

basket of biscotti.

Moravian Molasses Cookies

Gingerbread molasses cookies.

Oatmeal Carmelitas

tower of carmelitas.


Orange Pistachio Shortbread

Pistachio shortbread on green plate.

7 Layer Bars

7 layer bars close up.

 

 

 

 

Italian wedding cookies.

Italian Wedding Cookies

Cynthia
Italian wedding cookies (almond butter cookies).
No ratings yet
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American, Italian
Servings 48 cookies
Calories 102 kcal

Ingredients
  

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 325*F. Blanch and chop the almonds. Reserve 1/2 of the chopped almonds.
  • In the bowl of a food processor, pulse remaining 1/2 of the chopped nuts several times until they resemble they are finely chopped, about 10 seconds. Mix chopped nuts, flour, and salt in medium bowl. Add the other half of the reserved nuts to the flour mixture.
  • In the bowl of an electric or hand mixer, beat butter and sugar at medium speed until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. Beat in vanilla.
  • Scrape down sides of bowl and add flour and nut mixture, beating at low speed just until dough begins to come together, about 15-20 seconds. Using a rubber spatula scrape down sides of bowl and beat at low speed until dough is just mixed. another 10 seconds. Don't overbeat.
  • Roll dough into crescents, cigars, or balls using about 1 Tablespoon dough. Cookies can be frozen at this point. (see notes)
  • Bake in a preheated 325 degree F. oven for 18-20 minutes, rotating cookie sheets to ensure even baking.
  • Cool cookies on baking sheets about 2-3 minutes, then transfer to wire racks and to cool completely, about 30 minutes.
  • Place confectioner's sugar in a small bowl and roll or shake balls in sugar to cover completely. Shake off excess sugar. Store in an airtight cookie for up to 5 days. Roll or dust cookies in confectioner's sugar a second time just before plating.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookieCalories: 102kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 2gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 37mgPotassium: 45mgFiber: 1gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 118IUCalcium: 16mgIron: 0.4mg
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