Italian Wedding Cookies Recipe

I took everyone's feedback here on the first try and used salted butter with no more salt added (surely the amount shown is a typo?). I also decided that with the almonds and the heavy dose of vanilla called for in this recipe that I would make either true "almond crescents," which is a popular cookie, or true wedding cookies. So, I used only 1 tsp. of vanilla and 3 tsp. almond extract. I could not grind the almonds finely enough, however,so the texture of the final result was a bit too rubbery and bumpy with almond bits easily noticeable and getting stuck in teeth (at least mine), but this was probably my own fault. I'm sure that finely ground almonds would have enhanced my results (can you buy finely ground almonds? I cannot imagine grinding these by hand or machine such that they would truly be fine enough...the almond is very moist). The flavor of these cookies was marvelous! Everyone liked them. Since I bake cookies almost exclusively as my Christmas gifts, I appreciated the larger quanitity produced from this recipe than most others I see. So,a hit for this year means a tradition next year. Think I'll try them with ONLY the vanilla and pecans next Christmas (in addition to the almond crescents again). Thanks for a nice recipe.

My grandmother used to make these when I was little & this recipe is close to it. We called them Mexican Wedding cookies or Besos de Nuez. I used salted butter & ommitted the salt and instead of almonds I used walnuts, they were delicious! The cookies were cooked & slightly brown at bottom at 15 minutes, next time I'll try 12. I recommend letting the cookies cool almost completely before dusting with powdered sugar otherwise the sugar gets warm & melts a little making it sticky & a little clumpy, especially to touch (but they still taste good). The sugar will still stick if you let them cool & they will have a prettier powdery look, then you can roll them again if you want. I used a ziploc & placed about 7 cookies at a time (be gentle). After I was done i put them in a tray & sprinkled more sugar on top of the batch. I found I used a lot more sugar for dusting/rolling than what was recommended, next time I wouldn't bother measuring for this part. Cover tightly to maintain freshness.

This recipe is perfect. One helpful hint, to get the right size ball use a 1/2 teaspoon (measuring spoon) to scoop up your cookie dough for shaping into a ball. Use a slightly heaping 1/2 teaspoon full. You will get a nice size ball and they will all cook evenly because they are all the same size. I cooked mine for about 9 min. If you make them bigger then you will have to increase your cooking time, if you get much bigger than a full heaping teaspoon you may start having trouble with the bottom browning too much and the inside not as done as it needs to be. Great recipe just used it and made about 3 doz cookies. Experiment to get the size of ball you want and the cooking time that is needed to satisfy you. Once you get it down you will forever have great results!

I toasted some whole pecans, then processed in the food processor until they were quite fine. I used 2-1/2 tsp. vanilla plus 1 tsp. almond extract to add some sweetness. I refrigerated the dough before rolling which worked fine. My 1" balls took 22 minutes at 325 degrees in my oven to be fully set inside and not raw in the center. (I cut into a few test cookies at different time intervals to check.) Be sure to use a stand or hand mixer to mix the butter/sugar to make it light and fluffy and then fold in the flour gently so it does not get 'tough'. The results were good, although they are not very sweet and you could really taste the flour as other reviewers have mentioned. Next time and I might add more powdered sugar to the mix and may try the other reviewers suggestion to substitute 1/2 cup of the flour for 1/2 cup of corn starch.

Trying to use the things I had at home I used margarine, salted almonds, and 1/2 tsp of salt. I do enjoy the balance of the salty with the sweet. I baked each pan for 17 mins on parchment paper so I could easily swap out sheets of cookies and use the same AirBake cookie sheet. This recipe yielded 97 cookies (1 tsp each) for me.

I did not add the nuts. I used almond extract instead of vanilla and used a small ice cream scoop so they were all the same size. Made them for a Christmas party, everyone loved them. Will definitely make them again and again.

My husband loves these cookies. I only made few minor changes - half vanilla extract, half almond extract; hand crush sliced almonds so that we can see the almond when eating; instead of rolling in the confectionate sugar (which i did during my first try but turned out to be too sweet and messy), I simply sprinkled the sugar on top with a mesh coffee filter/sieve. They look a lot prettier.

I use pecans instead of almonds (personal and family preference). I have also added mini chocolate chips (1/2 c. mini chocolate chips, 1 c. finely chopped pecans). Amazing!

Very good recipe and this is an excellent "make it your own" type recipe. Use any nut you like just make sure it is very fine. I used almond meal the first time, and I thought they came out great. Substitute almond extract if you like, however I like it with just a hint of almond, so that people are asking, "what is that flavor?" So, I replaced 1 1/2 teaspoons of the vanilla with almond extract and that's one of my fav's now. You can make these into orange or lemon by using those extracts however don't use as much because I think they are too strong; use maybe 1/2 the amount and then throw in some zest to give that extra zing. Here's my favorite trick though, when I make the nut based cookie, I roll them in powdered sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon of powdered vanilla. AMAZING! I like the Nielsen-Massey brand which you can get on Amazon or at Williams Sonoma. For the lemon and orange, mix in some finely grated zest with the powdered sugar. The possibilities are endless. One more thing, since we all like to tweak things and make them our own, I tried substituting some of the flour for cornstarch to see if it produced a more tender cookie and I think it did. Replace 1/2 cup of the flour with the cornstarch and see for yourself. I also save my powdered sugar in between batches and either use it in the next recipe or use it again for tossing the cookies in. These are so darn addictive, baker beware!

I'm a caterer and made these for a wedding. Everyone loved them, I bought slivered almonds which I chopped in my ninja But I also added one tsp of almond extract to give it that extra almond flavor. Everyone enjoyed them And I will make them again??

Great Christmas Cookie. A nice change from the very rich and heavy treats. Nice to have with tea or coffee. I halved the recipe and still got 25 nice sized crescents. I used ground blanched almonds I purchased from the bulk food store. I used some almond extract as well. I found that by making crescents I didn't have to roll in sugar and worry about all that . I just let them cool on wire rack a bit. Then I used a makeshift seive (my tea strainer) filled with icing sugar and tapped it gently while lightly powedering all the cookies:) Worked great! I took an extra step to temper some semi sweet chocolate and then put it into a ziploc baggie with the tip cut off. I then put a swirl of chocolate on the top! Even with the extra step it didn't take long and it was well worth it. Plus it added something special for Christmas. Great recipe. Thank you!!!!

I actually loved the taste and flavor, but they crumble when you take a bite...HELP!

TO ANSWER A REVIEWER QUESTION ABSOLUTELY YOU CAN BUY GROUND ALMONDS AND PECANS BUT HAVE YOU TRIED GRINDING THEM IN A SMALL ELEC. COFFEE BEAN GRINDER?

I didn't have have vanilla extract, but I had almond extract. I made them and they were absolutely delicious. I made the double batch and shared with my neighbor and she loved them also.

It tasted too french i thought it was supposed to be Italian

First time I made these I misread the butter quantity so they came out hard and dry but I decided to remake them again for a cookie exchange and it was so worth it. I used mostly almond extract and a tsp of vanilla. I used a small cookie scoop and opted to not roll them. Once cooled I dusted them with powdered sugar and some edible glitter dust, they were sooo good refrigerated too.

I followed this recipe to the T and the cookies turned out amazing! I was worried to try it, due to the negative reviews but I’m so glad I stuck with it. There was no “melting” and the amount of salt was perfect. Definitely book marking this recipe and saving for every Christmas occasion. Thanks for the delicious recipe! My family loved it and they were so impressed

I made it as directed and the cookies came out perfectly. My experience with cookies in general has been that they never really come out the same way twice, and I think it is because measuring flour and powdered sugar by the cup is so inexact. I would love to have this recipe in weighed measurements to be sure it comes out perfectly every time.

My family loves when I make these. Easy for the kids to help and the adults enjoy them!

Totally exceeded my expectations.