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ByLisa LottsPosted onUpdated on
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This tea cookie recipe resembles famous Russian tea cookies with a holiday twist: chewy red cranberries and crunchy green pistachios mixed into the dough. The result is powdered sugar-dusted tea cookies that are lightly sweet, with pops of texture and flavors, perfect for Christmas and the holidays.
Tea Cookies are made from a simple recipe of flour, butter, and chopped or ground nuts with a powdered sugar coating. Known commonly as Russian Tea Cookies or Mexican Wedding Cakes, many versions of this irresistibly delicious treat exist worldwide.
In Europe, walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts are standard, whereas pecans are the norm in Mexico.
For my Christmas rendition of tea cookies, I add red and green in the form of dried cranberries and crunchy toasted pistachios, adding texture and flavor to the biscuits. I’ve been making this old-fashioned tea cookie recipe for 20 years, and they’ve become a tradition on our holiday baking list.
Why you’ll love these cookies:
- They’re quick and easy to make. No rolling out on a floured surface, using a cookie cutter to shape them or any of the hassle of fussy decorating.
- There is no chilling required.
- They taste delicious and everyone loves them.
- This recipe makes a manageable amount, about 20-24 cookies, depending on their size.
- The recipe can be doubled for larger groups.
- They’re perfect for a holiday cookie swap and gifting.
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Ingredients:
- Butter – I use unsalted butter because different brands add different amounts of salt, and there is salt in the recipe. You want to be able to control the amount of sodium. Be sure your butter is at room temperature before starting the recipe.
- Confectioner’s Sugar – This recipe for tea cookies uses powdered sugar for both the cookie dough and decorating the baked tea cakes. Powdered sugar disrupts gluten formation and gives the cookies a light, fine crumb that melts on the tongue.
- Vanilla Extract – I use Penzey’s Double Strength Vanilla, which is a bit more potent, but you can use any vanilla flavoring or vanilla paste.
- Salt – iodized salt is preferable as it’s fine and distributes evenly through the dough. Don’t use Kosher salt for this recipe.
- All Purpose Flour – I recommend King Arthur’s unbleached flour, but use what you have.
- Masa Harina – made from nixtamalized corn that’s dried and ground very fine, masa harina gives these cookies a distinctive flavor and melt-in-your-mouth texture. You can find it in most grocery stores near the other flours.
- Pistachios – we love this bright green nut for giving these cookies a holiday look. The nuts also provide a great crunch.
- Dried Cranberries – I used sweetened dried cranberries. If any of the fruits are stuck together, be sure to separate them before adding to the cookie dough mixture.
This tea cake recipe doesn’t call for a large egg, as some others do, so these cookies are more crumbly and melt-in-your-mouth than a Southern tea cake, which need to be rolled
Before you start, ensure the butter has softened to room temperature (see my Pro-Tip below), and the oven has been preheated to 300° F (not 350°).
Step-by-step instructions:
- Combine the softened butter and powdered sugar in a large bowl and beat on high with a hand mixer for 3-4 minutes until very light and fluffy.
- Add the salt and vanilla, mixing on medium speed to combine.
- Mix in the flour and masa harina at medium-low speed (so it doesn’t fly all over the counter) until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. The dough will be rough and crumbly.
- Stir in the finely chopped pistachios and dried cranberries until well combined.
- Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, measure the dough into 1½-2″ balls and rest on an ungreased baking sheet.
- Bake for 22-25 minutes until very lightly browned and set.
- Transfer the warm cookies to a bowl of powdered sugar and toss well to coat. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack.
- Once cooled, roll them again in the powdered sugar for another coating.
Pro-Tips:
To soften butter quickly, add boiling water to a tall glass and let it sit for 1-2 minutes. Empty the water from the glass and immediately turn the glass upside down over the stick of butter (still in its wrapper). Let it sit for a few minutes. The heat of the glass will soften the stick, without melting it.
Variations:
- You can substitute other types of nuts for a more traditional tea cookies recipe. Try finely chopped hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts, or pecans. Brazil nuts would be a good addition too.
- For a finer, more melt-on-the-tongue texture, grind the nuts to a coffee-grind consistency and skip the dried fruit.
- For a hint of spice, add ½ teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg, allspice or ginger to the flour before assembling the dough for the tea cookies.
- Add the zest of a lemon to the cookie dough for a citrus flavor.
Storage:
Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days. If stacking the tea cookies, separate each layer with a sheet of parchment paper.
Freezing:
You can freeze tea cookies, but it’s better to do that before rolling them in powdered sugar, as the sugar can get gummy with any moisture that comes into contact – a likely circ*mstance in the freezer. Freeze in an airtight container for 2-3 months. When ready to enjoy, roll them in confectioner’s sugar to give them a “fresh-baked” appearance.
FAQs
What are tea cookies made of?
Russian Tea Cookies are made of butter, flour, confectioner’s sugar, vanilla, salt and ground walnuts.
Mexican Wedding cakes are made with coarsely chopped pecans.
European recipes for tea cookies can include ground almonds or hazelnuts.
This Christmas version uses pistachios chopped large enough so you can see the green color.
Why are cookies called tea cakes?
The moniker can be traced back to Great Britain’s tradition of serving small biscuits or cookies with a cup of afternoon tea.
Note: recipes for tea cookies abound and can take the form of round snowball-esque cookies to flat, round biscuits with a cake-like texture.
Holiday gifting? These tea cookies are a welcome one.
I’ve found that the gifts people look forward to most are the special homemade ones and these tea cookies are always happily received.
Pack them into festive tins, separated by parchment, and give them to your neighbors, friends, family, your hairdresser, mailman, UPS driver, or anyone else invaluable to you.
But be warned, they’ll be asking for these cookies again next year.
What our tasters said:
“It’s taking everything in my power not to eat more.” — Scott
“I love the crunch of pistachios and the chewy tartness of the dried cranberries.” — Barbara
“These are so delicious. I have to have the recipe.” — Jill
More Christmas cookies you might like:
- Almond Crescent Cookies
- Easy Cutout Spiced Cookies
- Rosemary Sugar Shortbread Cookies
- Christmas Meringues
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4.28 from 18 votes
Tea Cookies with Cranberries and Pistachios
These tea cookies are buttery, crumbly, and lightly sweet. Crunchy pistachios and chewy dried cranberries give them a festive look. Makes a great food gift for the holidays.
Author: Lisa Lotts
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword christmas cookies, dried cranberries, pistachios, powdered sugar
Dietary Restrictions Vegetarian
Prep Time 20 minutes minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes minutes
Total Time 45 minutes minutes
Servings 20 cookies
INGREDIENTS:
US Customary – Metric
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ⅓ cup confectioners sugar powdered, plus 1 cup for dusting
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons masa harina
- ⅓ cup pistachio nuts finely chopped
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries chopped
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 300℉.
In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer or stand mixer, beat together the butter and ⅓ cup of sugar until very light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and salt.
Reduce speed to low and beat in the flour and masa harina until dough comes together and is crumbly, but holds a shape when pressed together.
Stir in the pistachios and cranberries until they’re evenly distributed.
Scoop out a rounded tablespoon of dough and roll into a 1½-2″ ball between your hands. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Bake until pale golden, about 22-25 minutes.
Place confectioners sugar into a shallow bowl. Working with 2-3 cookies at a time, and while they’re still warm, roll them in the sugar and set on a cooling rack.
Once cooled to room temperature, Roll the tea cookies a second time in powdered sugar.
Store cookies in an airtight container for 3-5 days at room temperature. If stacking the cookies, separate each layer with a piece of parchment paper to prevent sticking.
NOTES:
These tea cookies are delicious with a hot cup of tea or coffee.
NUTRITION:
Calories: 169kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 50mg | Potassium: 68mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 260IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 0.8mg
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