Italian Wedding Cookies
Italian Wedding Cookies Recipe – These simple classic cookies are loaded with chopped nuts and rolled in powdered sugar. Whether you make them with almonds or pistachios, Italian cookies are a delightful sweet treat for celebrations, holidays, or any day!
Italian Wedding Cookies Recipe… AKA Mexican Wedding Cookie and Russian Tea Cakes
Nutty, crumbly Italian Wedding Cookies coated with powdered sugar are irresistible for any occasion!
You might be thinking, “Wait, aren’t these Mexican wedding cookies?” In fact, Italian wedding cookies and Mexican wedding cookies are remarkably similar… They are both cookies made with a simple combination of butter, flour, powdered sugar, and nuts. (No eggs required!) The differences are the types of nuts used in the cookies. Mexican wedding cookies include nut varieties from the Americas, such as pecans or walnuts. Italian wedding cookies include almonds or pistachios.
And, surprise, these cookies are also called Russian Tea Cakes, a highly comparable and popular cookie in Russia and Eastern Europe. If a cookie could create world peace, this would be the recipe!
Here we show you the easy step-by-step recipe for how to make sweet, crunchy cookies with your choice of nuts. Whichever one (or combo) you choose, these delicate and delicious wedding cookies are a fabulous addition to any dessert tray or bowl of ice cream!
Ingredients You Need
- All-purpose flour – for a soft but dense and crumbly cookie texture
- Nuts – finely ground almonds or pistachios
- Powdered sugar – also known as confectioners’ sugar
- Vanilla extract – use “real” vanilla extract, not the fake stuff
- Salt – just a bit to balance the sweetness
- Butter – unsalted, softened
How to Make the Best Italian Wedding Cookies
Preheat the oven and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Gather all of your ingredients to streamline the baking process.
Next, place 2 cups of shelled nuts in a food processor. Pulse the nuts in a food processor until they grind into fine pieces. You want a fine crumb, but be careful not to turn the nuts into nut butter.
Beat flour, ground nuts, 1 cup of powdered sugar (reserve the rest for later), vanilla extract, and salt together in the bowl of a standing mixer. Add the softened butter and beat on low until the mixture is smooth and even.
Use a cookie scoop to portion out the dough into balls. Gently roll the dough balls in your hands and place them on the baking sheets, 2 inches apart.
Pro Tip: Wash and lightly dry your hands, but keep them slightly damp. This helps to prevent the cookie dough from sticking while you roll the balls.
Get the Complete (Printable) Italian Wedding Cookies Recipe + Video Below. Enjoy!
Bake until they gold around the edges. Unlike some softer cookies, these should not look “underbaked” when done.
Meanwhile, place the remaining 1 cup of powdered sugar in a shallow bowl.
Once the cookies are out of the oven, allow them to rest on the baking sheet for a few minutes. While they are still warm, but cool enough to handle, roll the cookies in the remaining powdered sugar.
Place the cookies back onto the baking sheets or onto a cooling rack. Allow them to cool completely before storing them in an airtight container.
Pro Tip: Alternatively, you can use a sifter to dust powdered sugar over the top of the Italian wedding cookies. Adding just a sprinkling cuts down a bit on the amount of sugar and messiness.
Recipe Variations
- Gluten-free – Substitute your favorite GF-friendly alternative to all-purpose flour.
- Nuts – Almonds are classic for Italian cookies, but nearly any nut will do! Make this recipe with finely chopped pistachio, walnuts, hazelnuts, or a combination of 2 or 3 of your favorites.
- Extract – I like the mellow flavor of vanilla extract. However, if you want a super intense nutty flavor you can use almond extract or pistachio extract, or whichever extract matches the nuts you include. You can even add a little anise extract or
- Dairy-free – Use your preferred plant-based butter substitute.
- Powdered sugar – If you aren’t a fan of the powdery-ness or trying to cut back on sugar a bit, feel free to completely omit the powdered sugar coating and enjoy the cookies as-is from the oven.
- Halve the recipe – This easy Italian wedding cookies recipe yields approximately 40 cookies. Halve the ingredients to make a smaller batch of 20-24 treats.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cookies usually become unpleasantly flat if A) the dough is overmixed and/or B) the oven is too hot. It’s very important to mix and handle the dough only as necessary, without overdoing it. I suggest checking your oven every now and then with an oven-safe thermometer to make sure it’s calibrated properly. Even a few degrees off can make a huge difference!
Store Italian pistachio or almond cookies in an airtight container, and keep at room temperature for up to a week.
Yes, these crumbly cookies freeze very well! You have the option of freezing before or after baking, whichever you prefer. Freezing the dough balls, unbaked, allows you to keep them in the freezer in an airtight bag for up to 6 months. I suggest flash-freezing the cookie dough balls on a baking sheet for 1 hour before transferring them to an airtight plastic bag and freezing. Bake the cookies from frozen, adding 1-2 minutes of baking time.
You can freeze baked Italian cookies with or without powdered sugar. Either way, let the cookies cool completely before placing them in a freezer-safe ziploc bag. Freeze for up to 3 months and thaw at room temperature for 15-20 minutes before enjoying.
Looking for More Classic Cookie Recipes? Be Sure to Try:
- Soft Strawberry Cookies with Pistachios
- White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies
- Lemon Cookie Recipe
- Earl Gray Tea Cookies
- Cool Whip Cookies (2-Ingredients)
- Mexican Cookies (Biscochitos)
- Cream Cheese Cookies
- Orange Cookies (Sugar Cookies with Orange)
Italian Wedding Cookies Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups finely ground pistachios (or almonds)
- 2 cups powdered sugar divided
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter softened
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Set out two baking sheets and line them with parchment paper.
- Place 2 cups of shelled almonds (or pistachios) in a food processor. Pulse to grind into a fine crumb, but be careful not to turn it into nut butter.
- Set out a stand mixer. To the bowl, add the flour, 2 cups of ground nuts, 1 cup of powdered sugar (reserve the rest for later), vanilla extract, and salt. Beat on low to combine. Add the softened butter and beat until the mixture is smooth and even.
- Use a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop to portion out the dough into balls. Gently roll the dough balls in your hands and place them on the baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake for 15-18 minutes until gold around the edges. Meanwhile, place the remaining 1 cup of powdered sugar in a shallow bowl.
- Allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes, until still warm, but cool enough to handle. Roll the cookies in the remaining powdered sugar and place back on the cookie sheets. (Alternatively, you can use a sifter to dust powdered sugar over the top of the cookies.)
- Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
So simple to make and we tried it with GF flour. They turned out perfectly!
These cookies were not only beautiful but DELICIOUS! So fun for a special occasion!
These are always so good and always a hit!! My kids love anything rolled in powdered sugar!