Cookies of Christmas: Mexican Wedding Cakes

Last year my girls and I bake our way through my Mom's 1959 Betty Crocker Cookbook. This year I thought I would share some of our favorite recipes. This post was originally published November 2, 2010.

This week's selection was actually called "Mexican Wedding Cakes" in our house when I grew up. My Mom baked them every year for Christmas. As a girl, I would sit at our kitchen table, roll these little cakes in powdered sugar ,and eat them while they were still warm from the oven. I LOVED these little cookies with a big glass of milk. The smell, texture, and taste of these little cakes brought me back to my mother's kitchen with its orange, yellow, and avocado plaid wallpaper and our colonial revival kitchenette set. Here's the recipe...

Russian Tea Cakes or Mexican Wedding Cakes

Mix together thoroughly:1 cup soft butter, 1/2 cup sifted confectioner's sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla

Sift together and stir in: 2 1/4 cups sifted GOLD MEDAL Flour, 1/4 tsp. salt

Mix in: 3/4 cup finely chopped nuts

Chill dough. Roll into 1" balls. Place 2 1/2" apart on un-greased baking sheet. Bake until set, not brown. While still warm, roll in confectioner's sugar. Cool. Roll in sugar again.

Please note: The recipe called for a 400 degree F oven for 10 to 12 minutes, however I found the temperature too hot and the cookies were browning on the bottom. I recommend baking at 385 degree F oven for 8 to 1o minutes.

So far here are the ranking with our taste testers ages 3 to 10:

First Place: Chocolate Chip Bars

Second Place: Russian Tea Cakes

Third Place: Pumpkin Cut-Outs

Fourth Place: Gingerbread Men

Fifth Place: Scotch Shortbreads, but a favorite with the over 10 crowd. Great with coffee!

Please hop over and visit my friend, Bridget, who is having fun with her children creating the 12 Crafts of Christmas. This week they are creating Freezer Pencil Stencils. You got to check this out, it is like something you would buy at a fancy children's boutique.