Easy Russian Tea Cakes (Cookies without Eggs)

Easy Russian Tea Cakes (Cookies without Eggs) 

Why You Should Give This Recipe a Try

Did you ever get ready to make cookies only to realize you don’t have any eggs? Me too! Happily, these Easy Russian Tea Cakes (Cookies without Eggs) will get you around this problem. Sometimes called Mexican wedding cakes or snowball cookies, these little cakes are delicious buttery, nutty cookies coated in a double layer of powdered sugar. They are absolutely what their name would indicate: the perfect little treat to serve alongside a hot cup of tea or coffee. They are a great addition to holiday season dessert tables and cookie boxes, but are equally nice to have on hand when you want a special treat for yourself.

Some of the best features of this recipe:

Only five ingredients – one of which is not eggs!

Roughly chopped walnuts mean no need for a food processor.

Butter! A whole cup of butter plus some powdered sugar make for a tender cookie.

Hot cookies rolled in powdered sugar, cooled, and then rolled again for just the right amount of sweetness.

​No need to chill the dough before baking.

As with all of my recipes, Easy Russian Tea Cakes (Cookies without Eggs) are simple to make with no difficult cooking techniques, no special equipment, and with ingredients easily found at the grocery store.

Serve these cookies alongside some of these other delicious treats:

Soft Ginger Cookies with Cinnamon Marshmallow Buttercream

Easy Linzer Tart Cookies with Raspberry Filling

Easy Spicy German Pfeffernusse Cookies

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe Ingredients

1 cup chopped walnuts

2 cups all purpose flour

​1 cup butter (room temperature)

2 cups powdered sugar (1/2 cup for the dough and 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar for coating)

1 tsp vanilla extract 

Helpful Tools

• ​Sharp knife
• Cutting board
• Large bowl
• Small bowl
• Stand mixer with paddle attachment/hand mixer
• ​Rubber spatula
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Parchment paper or silicone mats
• Baking sheet/sheets
• ​Cookie scoop or tablespoon
• ​Wire rack
• Shallow bowl

Ingredient Notes

Make sure the butter is softened to room temperature before beginning. This will help form a really smooth dough.

The nuts do not have to be very finely chopped, but shouldn’t be so large that they keep the dough from forming together.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Measure out two cups of all purpose flour and place in a large bowl. Set aside.

3. Chop the nuts using a large knife. Walnuts are quite easy to chop but avoid cutting them into very tiny pieces (they easily turn into powder) or into pieces that are so large the dough will crumble. Place in a small bowl and set aside.

4. Cut the butter into roughly tablespoon size pieces and add to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. The butter pieces don’t have to be perfect.

5. Add the powdered sugar to butter and mix on low speed until creamed together, about 1 to 2 minutes.

6. Add the vanilla extract and mix to combine.

7. Pour the flour into the butter and sugar mixture and mix on low until combined. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl and up from the bottom so there are no streaks of flour.

8. Add the chopped walnuts and mix briefly until they are combined. You can also use a wooden spoon and stir them in by hand.

9. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.

10. Scoop out the dough using a cookie scoop or a tablespoon.

11. Roll the dough between your hands to make a ball and place each cookie on the prepared sheets. They do not spread too much, so you can leave about an inch between cookies.

12. Bake for 12 minutes until the bottoms are just golden. If you are using two trays, rotate them midway through the bake time.

13. Remove the hot cookies to a wire rack. 

14. Place the remaining 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar in a shallow bowl.

15. As soon as the cookies are cool enough to handle – but while they are still quite warm – roll them in the powdered sugar.

16. Return the coated cookies to the wire rack to finish cooling, then roll them in powdered sugar one more time.

Check out the printable recipe card for Easy Russian Tea Cakes (Cookies without Eggs) for easy to follow, step-by-step directions.

Storage

Store the completed cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days.

Tips & Tricks

When measuring out the all purpose flour, use the spoon and level method instead of dipping the cup into the flour. Scoop heaping tablespoons of flour and lightly transfer them to a dry measuring cup. Level off the flour using the back of a knife or a spatula. This is an important step can mean using too much flour and may result in a dry cookie.

Make the dough ahead of time and store in the fridge up to 24 hours in advance.

Chop the nuts and store them in a Ziploc to have on hand for whenever the need for cookies hits.

I love nuts in treats and almond flour is a great way to work them into a recipe like this Lemon Olive Oil Ricotta Cake.