Homemade Classic Danish Wedding Cookie Recipe (2024)

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Made with butter, powdered sugar, and nuts this Danish Wedding Cookies recipe results in cookies with a tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture that’s just as lovely at weddings as it is on Christmas cookie platters!

Homemade Classic Danish Wedding Cookie Recipe (1)

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These Danish cookies are a simple, no-fuss recipe made with 7 ingredients and with no requirement to chill the dough. Which can be a total pain when you are in cookie-making mode.

The main ingredients are butter and powdered sugar, which give them an incredibly tender texture while pecans add some crunch.

Though they are called wedding cookies, you’ll most often see these appearing on Christmas cookie platters, providing a nice contrast to the denser, gooey cookies.And the powdered sugar coating gives a nice contrast to the usual brown uniform of most cookies.

Truth be told, I love these anytime! These little balls of butter and sugar are downright addictive and so easy to make. Almost too good!

If you’re looking for a quick and easy recipe, definitely give this Danish wedding cookie recipe a try!

Homemade Classic Danish Wedding Cookie Recipe (2)

The History of Danish Wedding Cookies

Danish wedding cookies are not Danish nor are they exclusively for weddings. Also called Mexican Wedding Cookies, it’s said that these cookies actually have some Middle Eastern history and then made their way through Europe and the Americas.

Despite often appearing on Christmas cookie trays (and often called “snowball cookies” then), Danish Wedding Cookies do have a cultural wedding significance. It’s said that they are a good luck charm on a wedding day and the nuts represent life’s bumps in the road while the sugar is the sweetness of a happy marriage. How sweet and fitting for a wedding!

What is the difference between a Danish Wedding Cookie and Russian Tea Cakes?

There is very little difference between a Danish Wedding Cookie and Russian Tea Cakes. The only real difference is the addition of a little bit of cinnamon in the Danish wedding cookie.

Homemade Classic Danish Wedding Cookie Recipe (3)

Ingredients & Substitutions

  • Unsalted Butter – The butter should be softened to room temperature but not too soft.
  • Powdered sugar – Gives these cookies the melt-in-your-mouth texture and softness.
  • Vanilla extract – Try to use pure vanilla extract vs imitation vanilla.
  • Cinnamon – Adds a hint of warmth to the cookies.
  • Salt – Helps to balance the sweetness and is a flavour enhancer.
  • Flour – You can use all-purpose flour or pastry flour.
  • Chopped pecans – See below for substitutions.

Can other nuts be substituted for the pecans?

Yes, you can use pretty much any nut you want. Walnuts, pistachios, and hazelnuts work best.

How soft should the butter be?

Note that the butter should be soft like you’d use for shortbread cookies. That means it’s just soft enough to make an indent with your thumb. Any softer and it will make the dough sticky and may result in the cookies losing their shape during baking.

How to Make Danish Wedding Cookies

Begin by preheating your oven to 400°F.

Then cream the butter with half of the powdered sugar and the vanilla, until lighter in colour and fluffy.

Homemade Classic Danish Wedding Cookie Recipe (4)
Homemade Classic Danish Wedding Cookie Recipe (5)

Add half a cup of the powdered sugar, flour, and salt to a large sieve over the bowl. Mix the dry ingredients through the sieve into the butter mixture with a wooden spoon.

Be sure not to over-mix!

I like to try and make it a game and see how quickly I can get the dry ingredients into the butter. If you mix the batter too much the cookies will get tougher or less crumbly when baked.

Add the pecans and mix until blended evenly.

Homemade Classic Danish Wedding Cookie Recipe (6)
Homemade Classic Danish Wedding Cookie Recipe (7)

Once mixed roll a heaping teaspoon of cookie batter into a ball and place on a cookie sheet. I love my ceramic cookie sheet from Pampered Chef because it never ever sticks. If using a regular cookie sheet I recommend lining it with parchment paper first.

Let the cookies bake for about 8-10 minutes or until the bottoms start to brown. You don’t want the tops of these cookies to brown.

Homemade Classic Danish Wedding Cookie Recipe (8)
Homemade Classic Danish Wedding Cookie Recipe (9)

Remove the cookies to a cookie sheet and let them cool completely on a cooling rack.

Once cooled, it is time to roll them in the remaining powdered sugar and you are all set!

Can these Danish Wedding Cookies be made gluten-free?

I haven’t tried this personally but they should work well with a good 1:1 all-purpose flour.

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Does the dough need to be chilled?

No, these snowball cookies should hold their shape just fine. However, if you notice the dough is sticky, it’s likely that the butter used was too soft. You can fix this by chilling the dough in the fridge for just 10 minutes or so.

Storing Danish Snowball Cookies

These Danish wedding or snowball cookies can be stored in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days. Keep them out of direct sunlight so that the sugar doesn’t melt.

If you find that the sugar has melted you can always toss them in more powdered sugar.

Homemade Classic Danish Wedding Cookie Recipe (11)

Can I freeze this Danish Wedding Cookie Recipe?

Yes, these cookies freeze well.

Place them in a sealed, airtight container and freeze them for up to 3 months. I do recommend freezing them before adding the powdered sugar and rolling them in the sugar just before serving.

More Cookie Recipes:

  • Scrunchies
  • Strawberry Lemonade Cookies
  • Key Lime Meltaway Cookies
  • Italian Butter Cookies
  • Granda McFeeter’s Shortbread
  • Skor Bit Meltaways
  • Oreo Red Velvet Cookies

Danish Wedding Cookies

Alisa Infanti | The Delicious Spoon

Made with butter, powdered sugar, and nuts this Danish Wedding Cookies recipe results in cookies with a tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture that’s just as lovely at weddings as it is on Christmas cookie platters!

4.60 from 5 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 8 minutes mins

Resting Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 38 minutes mins

Course Dessert, Snack, Treat

Cuisine Danish, English, Mexican, North American

Servings 36 cookies

Calories 116 kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter; softened
  • 1 ½ cup powdered sugar; divided
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ¼ tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 2 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ cup chopped pecans

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400°F. Cream butter, half the powdered sugar and vanilla with a hand mixer until lighter in colour and fluffy; about one minute.

  • Add a large sieve over the bowl and add a half cup of the powdered sugar, flour and salt. Use a spoon to mix the dry ingredients through the sieve into the butter mixture below.

  • Add the pecans and mix until blended evenly.

  • Roll a heaping teaspoonof the dough into a ball and place on a non-stick cookie sheet or cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Do not brown.

  • Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely. When cookies are completely cooled roll them in the remaining powdered sugar and enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookieCalories: 116kcalCarbohydrates: 9.4gProtein: 1.3gFat: 8.5gSaturated Fat: 3.5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1.2gMonounsaturated Fat: 3.2gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 14mgSodium: 17mgPotassium: 29mgFiber: 0.7gSugar: 2.9gVitamin A: 160IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 6mgIron: 0.5mg

Notes

Storing:

These Danish wedding cookies can be stored in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days. Keep them out of direct sunlight so that the sugar doesn’t melt.

These cookies freeze well. Place them in a sealed, airtight container and freeze them for up to 3 months. I do recommend freezing them before adding the powdered sugar and rolling them in that just before serving.

Please Note:

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Pin Recipe

For the step-by-step version of this recipe, check out the How to Make Danish Wedding Cookies Story.

Homemade Classic Danish Wedding Cookie Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Are Keebler Danish Wedding Cookies discontinued? ›

Yet, their decision to discontinue Danish Wedding Cookies has left many consumers like me disappointed and longing for their unique taste. According to Statista 2020 report, cookies are consumed by over 90% of U.S households annually - a testament to their popularity among Americans.

What are the ingredients in Keebler Danish Wedding Cookies? ›

ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, VITAMIN B1 [THIAMIN MONONITRATE], VITAMIN B2 [RIBOFLAVIN], FOLIC ACID), SUGAR, VEGETABLE OIL (SOYBEAN, PALM AND PALM KERNEL, HYDROGENATED PALM KERNEL OIL), COCONUT, DEXTROSE, WHOLE GRAIN OATS, CORNSTARCH, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF INVERT SUGAR, COCOA, SALT, WHEY, COCOA ...

What is the difference between Danish and Mexican wedding cookies? ›

How are Danish wedding cookies different from Mexican wedding cookies? They are essentially the same cookie. Sometimes Mexican Wedding Cookies have a combination of nuts in the cookie dough, but other than that, they they are made of the same ingredients and in the same way.

What is the best Danish cookies? ›

Vaniljekranse are one of the most famous Danish cookies. They consist of a simple buttery dough which is extruded into long strips and then formed into small circles. These traditional cookies are distinguished by a light taste of vanilla and the addition of ground almonds, which make them incredibly crispy.

What is the original brand of Danish cookies? ›

Royal Dansk (meaning "Royal Danish") is a Danish brand of butter cookies, manufactured by Kelsen Group A/S. It is known for its distinctive royal blue round tin container.

Who makes Danish Wedding Cookies? ›

No matter your age, Keebler Danish Wedding Cookies make for perfectly charming snacks at school, the office, traveling, lunchtime, at the game, and more—the Uncommonly Good options are endless.

Why are Danish cookies in a tin? ›

In order to maintain their freshness, the Danish cookies were packed in a distinctive blue tin showing the old Danish farmhouse named “Hjemstavnsgaard” from the island of Funen. The resealable and reusable tin has become an icon for Royal Dansk.

Who made the original Danish butter cookies? ›

The first, Kjeldsen, had opened in 1933, when a young, married couple named Anna and Marinus Kjeldsen opened a bakery in a small village in Denmark's Jutland called Nørre Snede. The second, a cooperative factory in Helsingør called Royal Dansk, had sprouted up in 1966, hundreds of miles away.

Do Danish cookies have coconut in them? ›

Wheat flour, butter (milk), sugar, desiccated coconut, invert sugar, salt, ammonium bicarbonate, natural flavor (vanilla). May contain traces of eggs, hazelnuts, pecans, and macadamia nuts. Contains: wheat, milk, coconut.

Why are wedding cookies called wedding cookies? ›

Food historians have noted that during the Cold War, Russian tea cakes started disappearing from American cookbooks, and wedding cookies began to appear. It could be a coincidence, but no one knows for sure," Parra explains. Most assume the cookie's name is due to its occasional appearance at some Mexican weddings.

Why did my Mexican wedding cookies flatten? ›

Mexican wedding cookies can flatten for two reasons: if they are overmixed, or if they are baked without chilling. They should be mixed just until the dough comes together in a ball. I recommend chilling the dough for at least one hour so that the butter gets very cold and the cookies don't spread in the oven.

Are Danish butter cookies the same as shortbread cookies? ›

Are Danish butter cookies the same as shortbread cookies? Both shortbread cookies and Danish butter cookies are very similar in texture, taste and ingredients used. Like Danish butter cookies, shortbread cookies use a good amount of butter, but normally do not use a leavener, like egg or baking powder.

What is the most famous Danish pastry? ›

Traditional Danish pastries

In Denmark, these world-famous sticky delights are called Vienna Bread (wienerbrød), as they were first made in Denmark in the 1840s by Austrian bakers.

What is the most popular butter in Denmark? ›

Lurpak butter is made in Denmark from the purest Danish cow's milk. Available salted or unsalted, it is a great butter to spread on bread, melt over steamed vegetables, or use as a baking ingredient. Perfect to mix, fry, drizzle and bake into all kinds of creations.

What is the most popular cake in Denmark? ›

Lagkage – a heavenly multilayered vanilla sponge cake filled with jam and cream. Its name literally translates to 'layer cake' – imagine stacked layers of cake held together by frosting or other sweet fillings. If you're off to a birthday bash in Denmark, you can bet a delicious layer cake will be waiting for you!

Why are there no Keebler cookies? ›

The cookie and cracker lines were separated when Kellogg's sold the cookie line and the rights of the Keebler name to Ferrero SpA in 2019. The cracker lines are now marketed under the Kellogg's or Sunshine names.

What Girl Scout cookies are discontinued? ›

While the annual season marks the return of classic favorites such as Thin Mints, Samoas (which some regions call Caramel deLites) and Tagalongs, fans of the Raspberry Rally will be sad to know the cookie has been discontinued.

Does Keebler still make Girl Scout cookies? ›

In 2008 the licensed companies were Little Brownie Bakers (LBB), a subsidiary of Keebler, which is owned by Ferrero SpA; and ABC Bakers, a subsidiary of Interbake Foods, which is owned by George Weston Limited. In 2023, the same two companies were producing all Girl Scout cookies.

Why did Mother's cookies go out of business? ›

The company suffered an accounting scandal in 2008 and in October 2008, the company became a victim of the financial crisis of 2007–2010 when the company filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy and laid off all of its workers.

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