SWEET & SAVORY STAFF FAVORITES: RUSSIAN TEA CAKES

A STAFF FAVORITE YOU’LL WANT TO MAKE ALL SEASON LONG

Russian Tea Cakes, also known as Snowballs, are a delightfully buttery, nutty, melt-in-your-mouth cookie that has been a holiday staple in our family for at least six generations.

We do a lot of baking around the holidays, but these are hands down my favorite. I grew up making them with my mom and my great-grandmother. I made them with my children when they were growing up (the ones who were interested, anyway), and now we’re making them with a new generation: my grandson and my grand-nieces. Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas around here without them. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

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Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Ready In: 1 hour

Servings: 3 dozen

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - Salted butter, softened

1 tsp - Vanilla extract

6 tbsp - Powdered sugar

2 cups - All-purpose flour

1 cup - Finely chopped walnuts

⅔ cup - Powdered sugar for rolling

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2. Prepare two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

3. In a medium bowl or stand mixer, cream together butter and vanilla until smooth.

4. In a separate bowl, combine the 6 tbsp powdered sugar and flour.

5. Stir flour mixture into creamed butter until just combined. Don’t overmix.

6. Mix in the chopped walnuts until just incorporated. The mixture will be crumbly.

7. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place them 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie      sheets. We use a 1-inch cookie scoop to measure but roll them by hand.

8. Bake in batches for about 12 minutes in the preheated oven until just golden.

9. Cool each batch on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes, until mostly cool and easy to handle.

10. Roll each cookie in powdered sugar twice, waiting at least 5-10 minutes between rolls.

STORAGE

Store in a shallow, airtight container for up to one week.

FREEZING

You can freeze your Russian Tea Cakes for up to 3 months but be sure to freeze them before rolling them in powdered sugar. Arrange them on a cookie sheet and flash-freeze them for an hour or two. Transfer the frozen cookies into a Ziploc bag or freezer-safe container. Thaw in the refrigerator, then roll in powdered sugar before serving.

TIPS & TRICKS

SHAPE: We like the traditional tea cake shape with flat bottoms and round tops, but if you prefer a round, more snowball-shaped cookie, refrigerate your dough balls for an hour before baking.

DON’T SKIP THE SALT: We have always used salted butter for this recipe, but unsalted butter is fine as long as you don’t forget to add ½ tsp of salt to your flour mixture. Salt brings out the rich nutty, buttery flavors of your cookie; if you skip the salt, your cookies will be too bland.

FLUFF & SPOON YOUR FLOUR: This is the key to achieving a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth cookie. Flour settles – if you scoop and go, you will get too much, and your cookies will be dry. Instead, stir to loosen and fluff your flour, then spoon it loosely into the measuring cup. Use the back of a butter knife to score and then knock away any excess flour for an evenly measured cup.