Russian Tea Cakes

Russian Tea Cakes

(or Mexican Wedding Cakes)

It may be premature to start posting holiday recipes, but with Thanksgiving coming closer, we are already starting to plan Christmas activities.  Last year was the first year our daughter was old enough to help with making sugar cookies for Santa.  The delight on her face as she cut out shapes will forever be one of our fondest memories of the year.

Since we have already been thinking about Christmas, it is only natural that we
should start to crave holiday treats.  This sweet daydreaming is what brought us to
make Russian Teacakes. 

When we were both single this was the cookie that we both baked most often; the reason being that it takes very few ingredients, so even the barest of cupboards will almost always have ingredients on hand. With this cookie there are no midnight runs to the market desperately hoping to find the missing ingredient for the recipe you suddenly started craving an hour ago. After finally giving in to the urge for fresh baked goods, you start mixing things together only to realize you are missing key ingredients.  This is a recipe so simple and basic that everyone should have it.

Around the holidays, we will sometimes make a batch of the teacakes and deliver
them to the young singles in our network of family and friends and include the recipe. 
They are always a hit, and we usually hear back later that the recipes were appreciated too!  It’s a great gift for beginners or anyone who wants a simple and easy cookie for the holidays (or any time!).

Russian Tea Cakes

Ingredients:

1 cup room temperature butter (not margarine or butter-flavored shortening)

½ cup sifted confectioners’ sugar + extra sugar for coating finished cookies

1 ½ teaspoon vanilla

2 ¼ cup all purpose flour

¼ teaspoon table salt

¾ cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Preparation:

On lowest speed, cream together the butter and sugar until creamy.  (I use a stand
mixer, but this can be done by hand or with a hand mixer. ) With mixer still on low speed,  add vanilla.

Measure the flour and salt and sift together into a bowl.  With the mixer again running on the lowest speed, add the flour/salt mixture to the butter mixture on spoonful at a time allowing each spoonful to be incorporated before adding the next.

When all the flour is mixed in, and the dough is crumbly, add the chopped nuts
and mix well.

Roll dough into 1” balls and place on a cookie sheet.  These cookies barely expand during baking so they can be placed fairly close together on the cookie sheet.  Refrigerate the balls on the sheet for approximately 15 minutes or until very firm.  While the balls are chilling, preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Bake 8-10 minutes or until set but not brown.  Allow cookies to cool for a minute or two on the cookie sheet.

Gently roll warm cookies in the  extra sugar to coat.  Cool cookies on wire rack until completely cool.  Roll in sugar again.  Enjoy with hot tea or ice cold milk.

Makes approximately 40 cookies.

Find other great cookie and holiday recipes in our Holiday Recipe Collection!