Russian Tea Cakes are tender and buttery on the inside, studded with crunchy walnuts and rolled in powdered sugar. They dissolve in your mouth and you won’t be able to stop at just one.
This is also one of the easiest cookie recipes. We have perfected it over the years. Read on to learn the KEY to making the best Russian Tea Cakes. Russian tea cakes are one of our favorite Christmas cookies and a staple of holiday cookie platters, right up there with classic Sugar Cookies. Just like our Almond Snowball Cookies, these look like adorable little snowballs.
Ingredients2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 lb unsalted butter, or 16 tbsp, at room temperature
1 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
½ cup confectioners sugar, powdered sugar, plus 2 cups more for rolling cookies
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt
Method* Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or silicone liner.
* Toast nuts on a dry skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes, tossing frequently until fragrant and lightly golden.
* In a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer, cream together butter, 1/2 cup of powdered sugar, and 1 tsp of vanilla, until smooth.
* Add flour and salt and continue mixing until no streaks of flour remain. The mixture will be lumpy. Use a firm spatula to fold in the nuts until evenly incorporated.
* Use a firm spatula to fold in the chopped nuts until evenly incorporated.
* Shape the dough into 1-inch balls (using a small cookie scoop to portion the dough makes the process easy) and place them on a clean baking sheet at least 1-inch apart. Bake at 400˚F for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges are golden at the base.
* Fill a bowl with 1 cup powdered sugar and roll the cookie balls in it while they are still very warm then transfer to a platter to cool completely.
* Once cookies are at room temperature, roll them in more powdered sugar to get perfect little snowballs. Cookies may be stored up to 1 week in an airtight container.