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Pistachio-Cherry Tea Cakes

Some folks call these much-baked and loved cookies Russian Tea Cakes and others know them as Mexican Wedding Cookies or Polvorónes. Still more bakers once named them Swedish Tea Balls and they are also very like Viennese Almond Crescents. Whatever their true identity, my brand new 2024 Colorado version features pistachios, dried cherries, and orange zest all pulled together with not just vanilla but also almond extract. Most of the recipes for this cookie are similar to one another; I just nudged things around to get in the ingredients I wanted to include this year. Happy baking!
Makes about 28 cookies just over an inch in diameter

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup (3 oz/86 grams) roasted and salted shelled pistachios, finely chopped
  • ¼ cup (1.5 oz/42 grams) dried cherries, finely chopped
  • 1 cup (8 oz/225 grams) salted butter, softened
  • 1 ½ cups (6 oz/180 grams) powdered sugar, divided
  • 1 teaspoon EACH: vanilla extract and almond extract
  • 2 cups (8.5 oz/240 grams) unbleached, all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons orange zest (Before zesting, rinse orange in hot water to remove possible wax some producers add to maintain freshness. Pat dry with a towel and zest.)

Instructions

  • PREPARATION: Preheat oven to 400 F. Set rack at center. Get out two cookie sheets. Do not grease.
  • SET ASIDE the chopped pistachios and cherries.

MAKE THE COOKIE DOUGH AND SHAPE INTO BALLS:

  • Beat the butter and just ½ cup of the powdered sugar until light and creamy. Scrape down sides of bowl.
  • Add the vanilla and almond extracts and beat well. Scrape down sides of bowl.
  • Add the flour and the salt and stir until completely mixed.
  • Stir in the reserved pistachios and cherries and the orange zest until dough holds together.
  • ROLL THE COOKIES into balls a little bit larger than an inch and place them on an ungreased cookie sheet an inch apart. (If dough balls don’t hold together, knead handfuls of the dough or flick the dough lightly with water, knead briefly and then try rolling the balls again.)
  • BAKE: one sheet at a time, for 9-11 minutes OR until the cookie bottoms are light brown and the tops are set. Don’t overbake.
  • REMOVE COOKIES TO A RACK for a few minutes and then roll in the remaining cup of the powdered sugar in a shallow bowl. If desired, when cool, roll one more time. Alternately, cool completely and drizzle with dark or white chocolate. SEE LINK BELOW RECIPE FOR INFO ON MELTING CHOCOLATE AND DRIZZLING ON COOKIES.
  • STORE COOKIES in a well-sealed container, using waxed paper between the layers, for up to two weeks. Freeze them in freezer bags for up to two months but be ready to re-roll them in powdered sugar once they are thawed. If you want to freeze cookies that will have a chocolate drizzle, freeze them plain. Let them thaw completely and add the chocolate before serving.

Notes

Baker’s Note: I chopped the nuts in the food processor but did the cherries (with a little of the nut dust mixed in to help avoid stickiness) with a chef’s knife.
Copyright Alyce Morgan, 2024. All rights reserved. Weights courtesy KING ARTHUR FLOUR