Wedding Cookies = Tea Cakes= Snowballs

Four days are left until Christmas.  That’s still plenty of time to bake treats for your loved ones (or yourself)!

These cute cookies go by many different names. You may know them as Italian Wedding Cookies, Mexican Wedding Cookies, Russian Tea Cakes, or Snowballs. They may even hold a few more titles. Obviously, they’re popular all over the world and for very good reason.

I sent some of these to Michael’s family and they were the first to go in both our home and theirs.  They loved them!

Michael’s mom even made the comment of not being able to tell they were gluten-free.  It’s true, if you love the buttery crisp of Italian Wedding cookies but your dietary restrictions have changed, don’t fret…you can still enjoy these lovely little cookies.

Italian Wedding Cookies are one of my favorite holiday treats. These were posted last year during the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies, but this version is gluten-free and just as perfect.

Italian Wedding Cookies (Snowballs)

• 3/4 cup brown rice flour
• 3 Tbsp. potato starch
• 1 Tbsp. + 2 tsp. tapioca flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. xanthan gum
• 1/4 cup almond flour
• 8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 Tbsp. powdered sugar, plus extra for dusting
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 Tbsp. water
• 1/8 tsp. fine grain sea salt
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts (option to roast if you’d like!)

In a medium bowl, sift together brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, and xanthan gum.  Whisk in almond flour and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter on medium-high 1-2 minutes.  Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract, water, and salt. Beat until well combined and fluffy.  Reduce speed to slow and add flour mixture until just incorporated.  Fold in chopped pecans.  Chill in covered bowl 1-2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Scoop dough and roll into small 1” balls and place on baking sheet, 1” apart. Bake 10-12 minutes until bottoms are light gold.  Remove from heat and let cool on baking sheet 5 minutes.  Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely.

For a less-sweet cookie:  Sprinkle powdered sugar over top of cool cookies.

For a sweeter cookie:  Pour some powdered sugar in small bowl and roll the cooled cookies in powdered sugar until fully coated.

A sprinkling of sugar lightly powdered on top is all it takes to make these cookies irresistible.   The caps of sugar are perfect when entertaining at home for a group of people who may want to enjoy a buttery cookie with a slight sweetness.

If you’re looking to pack these cookies or entertaining those with a stronger sweet tooth, fully coating them is the way to go.  The fully coated cookies will retain their appearance while traveling while the snowcaps may not.

Plus, coating the cookies will turn these into cute little snowballs.  And who wouldn’t love a snowball or two during the holidays?

Enjoy!

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Tagged as: 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies, baking, gluten free, Italian Wedding Cookies, Mexican Wedding Cookies, recipe, Russian Tea Cakes, Snowballs, special diets, wheat free