I remember having them back when I was in elementary school. Someone's mom brought them in and told us they were Mexican Wedding Cookies but didn't have an explanation for the name. Naturally, I looked it up and found out that Russian Tea Cakes really are the original name and the recipe does indeed originate from Russia. The cookie is commonly eaten around Christmas in both Russia and the US. They appeared in Russia in the late 18th century as a confection to have with tea. By the 20th century, it became popular to serve at weddings in Russia and the US. Wikipedia tells me the name "Mexican Wedding Cookie" emerged in the 1950s possibly due to the strained relations between the US and the Soviet Union. This sentence has a citation in Wikipedia so it must be 110% accurate.
I calculated the nutrition facts of these cookies. They're not very large but amount to 110.7 calories a piece. I imagine this is because the recipe contains ground pecans and whole pecans. I only put one coat of confectioner's sugar on it because any more would make it unfathomably sweet. At least for me.
I'm pleased with the results and I'd definitely make them again (: Some recipes suggest walnuts or almonds but that seems like a travesty to me. D:
