Soft and buttery on the inside but crunchy and golden brown on the outside, these traditional Danish wedding cookies hide a cherry in the middle to surprise you with your first bite!
Why You Will Love This Recipe
Soft, melt-in-your-mouth balls made with a cherry center and covered in powdered sugar - what's not to love? Not only will they look festive on your dessert table, they'll also be a sure hit with your family and friends.
With just a few simple ingredients and minimal effort you can create these delightful bite-sized morsels that are sure to impress everyone at your event. Not only will their appearance be show stopping, but the combination of nutty flavors with powdery sugar will leave friends and family alike asking for seconds.
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Ingredients
With this Danish wedding cookie recipe, we'll provide you with all of the tricks and tips necessary to create your own. You can make them with the center cherries or without.
- Butter - room temperature.
- Sugar - granulated white sugar.
- All purpose flour
- Salt
- Almond extract
- Vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar
- Glace` or Maraschino cherries - if using Maraschino cherries, be sure to drain them on paper towels first before using.
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to Make Danish Wedding Cookies
These cookies are incredibly easy to make and full of irresistible flavor. Not to mention they look beautiful when arranged on a cookie platter or packed up in a festive tin box for gift-giving. So let's get started – it's time to learn how to bake some heavenly these Danish wedding cookies!
Cream the Butter & Sugar
- Preheat the oven to 325 F. Line one or two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Cream butter and granulated sugar in a bowl until fluffy. Mix in the almond extract and vanilla extract.
Add the Dry Ingredients
- Add the flour and salt to the creamed sugar mixture. Mix with a hand mixer until just blended, using a spatula to scrape the sides down. Mixture will be crumbly.
Shape and Bake the Cookies
- Fill a tablespoon with some of the crumbly dough. Lay a cherry on top, place the palm of your hand over the filled spoon, and press the filled spoon into the palm of your hand.
Open, add some more cookie mixture, and shape into a ball, keeping the cherry in the middle.
- Space cherry filled cookie balls at 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove and place on a wire rack to cool 10 minutes.
Roll in Powdered Sugar
- Fill a bowl with powdered sugar. Once the cookies are cool, roll each cookie ball in powdered sugar. For more of a 'snowball' look, roll a second time.
Serving Suggestions
These Danish wedding cookies are welcome any time of the year, but they are perfect treats at Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, and during the Christmas Holidays.
If you love powdery sugar coated treats, see our Powdered Sugar Mini Donuts also! See our other festive cookies in our homemade cookie recipes category.
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Related Recipes
Substitutions
You can substitute ¼ cup of the flour for ⅓ cup of cocoa powder to make a Chocolate Danish wedding cookie recipe.
Variations
These Danish wedding cookies are known by many names, depending on the part of the world you live: Russian Tea Cake, Mexican Wedding Cookies, or Snowballs. The only differences are usually in the seasonings. Here are a few variations when making this Danish wedding cookies recipe.
- Mexican Wedding Cookies - Add 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the dough and use vanilla extract instead of the almond extract. Form balls and bake. Roll in cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar with cinnamon blended in.
- Snowballs - Finely chop 1 cup of pecans and add to the flour mixture with the cookie dough. Bake and cool, then roll in powdered sugar.
- Russian Tea Cakes - Bake this danish wedding cookies recipe with or without chopped pecans, walnuts, or almonds. Form into balls, bake, cool, and then roll in powdered sugar.
Equipment
Equipment can have a big impact on how a recipe turns out. Below are some of my favorite pieces of equipment that I use when making this danish wedding cookies recipe.
Storage
Danish wedding cookies can stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for a week.
Tips for Success
- Do not over bake, remove when lightly golden brown. Your cookies will continue to cook more on the hot cookie sheet during the 5 minute wait before transferring them to a cooling rack.
Frequently Asked Questions
Danish wedding cookies are also known as cocoons, Mexican wedding cookies, Russian Tea cookies, or simply wedding cookies. They are a simple shortbread-style cookie with or without nuts, and usually rolled in powdered sugar.
Danish wedding cookie dough can be made ahead, frozen and baked whenever you crave some cookies. To freeze cookie dough, shape into balls, place on a cookie sheet and freeze for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Once dough balls are frozen, remove from baking sheet and place in a freezer bag.
When baking frozen cookie dough, you don't have to thaw the cookie dough. Simply place the frozen scoops of cookie dough onto a baking sheet and bake for 2-3 minutes longer than the original baking time.
Food Safety
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
Some Other Recipes We Are Sure You Will Love
📖 Recipe
Danish Wedding Cookies
Ingredients
- 8 oz Butter room temperature
- ⅓ cup Sugar
- 1½ teaspoon Almond extract
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 2 cup Flour
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 6 oz Glace` or Maraschino cherries
- ½ cup Powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 F. Line one or two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Cream butter and granulated sugar in a bowl until fluffy. Mix in the almond extract and vanilla extract.8 oz Butter, ⅓ cup Sugar, 1½ teaspoon Almond extract, 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- Add the flour and salt to the creamed sugar mixture. Mix with a hand mixer until just blended, using a spatula to scrape the sides down. Mixture will be crumbly.2 cup Flour, ¼ teaspoon Salt
- Fill a tablespoon with some of the crumbly dough. Lay a cherry on top, place the palm of your hand over the filled spoon, and press the filled spoon into the palm of your hand. Open, add some more cookie mixture, and shape into a ball, keeping the cherry in the middle.6 oz Glace` or Maraschino cherries
- Space cherry filled cookie balls at 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove and place on a wire rack to cool 10 minutes.
- Fill a bowl with powdered sugar. Once the cookies are cool, roll each cookie ball in powdered sugar. For more of a 'snowball' look, roll a second time.½ cup Powdered sugar
Notes
- Do not over bake, remove when lightly golden brown. Your cookies will continue to cook more on the hot cookie sheet during the 5 minute wait before transferring them to a cooling rack.
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