Russian tea cakes began as a cookie-like dessert made with simple ingredients. They were served at Russian tea ceremonies during the 1800s. Similar recipes include polvorones—Mexican wedding cookies—butterballs, Italian wedding cookies, and snowball cookies. All these recipes include the signature step of coating the pastries in powdered sugar. By the 1900s, Russian tea cakes were well-known in the US and served at weddings and during the Christmas season.
Recipe Servings: 36
Prep Time
30 minutes
Cook Time
12 minutes
Total Time
42 minutes
Vegetarian
Vegan
Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Kosher
Halal
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 Tbsp and ⅓ cup powdered sugar, divided
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup walnuts, chopped
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Cream together the butter and vanilla until smooth.
- Whisk together 6 tablespoons of powdered sugar and the flour in a small bowl. Stir it into the butter mixture until just blended.
- Stir in the walnuts.
- Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place them 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake for 12 minutes.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and roll them in ⅓ cup powdered sugar until coated.
- Let the cookies cool and then roll them again in any remaining powdered sugar.
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