I have little doubt that you’ll recognize this cookie right off the bat. While it’s known by many names, Russian tea cake, Mexican wedding cookie, snowball… the important thing to know is that they are delicious. I’ve tried a great number of them over the years and my main takeaway is that I prefer them to be a little more on the chewy side than the dry side. So when I heard about a variation that used cream cheese to really lock in moisture I knew I had to give it a go.

The recipe really is simple from start to finish. With a cook time of less than 10 minutes (!!!) you’ll be enjoying these treats in no time. I recommend taking the butter and cream cheese out of the fridge at least 30 minutes ahead of time to allow them to come to room temp for easy mixing.

You’ll get started by creaming the wet ingredients and white sugar together and then adding in the vanilla and almond extract. I’m a huge almond fan, but if it’s not to your taste you can always leave it out and double the vanilla in its place. From there, you’ll add in the flour and then the dough is ready to be rolled into balls and popped in the oven.

While your cookies bake you can prepare the powdered sugar and walnut mixture in a small bowl so it’s ready for your warm cookies to dunk in. Other nuts like pecans or even pistachios could work here as well if you’re looking to mix things up. Once your cookies are just starting to turn golden brown you’ll want to remove them from the oven and let cool for about a minute or until they’re safe to handle. You’ll then dip or roll them in the powder sugar nut mixture (sometimes I don’t coat the bottoms for easier handling). And just like that… you’ve got a sweet little treat that’s guaranteed to be a hit. Now you just have to decide what you’re going to call them!