Russian tea cakes, aÌ A Great Holiday Cookie by another name

Russian tea cakes, aÌ A Great Holiday Cookie by another name -

As the old joke goes, these Russian tea cakes might not be Russian, but at least They Aore not cakes. Nobody knows how they came to be known as Russian tea cakes, but nevertheless, they are quite delicious, easy to make, and visually perfect for holiday entertaining.

And when I say, Äúeasy, Âu I mean really easy. You dump everything in a bowl and mix with your hands until combined. Professional pastry chefs will lose their minds, since we Aore renouncing their precious Äúcream butter and sugar, on stage, but the end product is the same, regardless of the technique you use.

the only tricky thing here is the cooking time because there are so many variables. Things like the size of the dough balls, if you use a Silpat or parchment, light or dark the pan of the sheet is, etc, can all effect the last time significantly.

I think this cookie tends to be sub cooked, and some recipes call for as little as 12 minutes at 350 F. I love these pretty gold, if I get this beautiful brown-butter flavor, and it took me about 20 minutes or more, which explains why I gave such a wide range. Start checking at 15 minutes, and from there.

Thanks to their appearance of snow, these, Äúcakes at would be perfect for your holiday dessert spread, Don, AOT feel like you have to wait for a wedding, or for some Russians to come for tea. I really hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!

Makes about 28-32 cookies Russian tea:

1 cup (2 sticks) room temperature unsalted butter

filled 1/3 cup sugar in powder (and more to coat finished cookies)

1 cup finely chopped nuts (walnuts lightly toast in a first dry pan for best results )

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

2 cups and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

- Roll just a little larger than 1-inch balls, bake at 350 F. for 15 to 25 minutes, or until lightly browned