Russian Tea Cakes

Buttery, flakey, nutty, sweet mounds of heaven...

For me, this used to be one of those reject Christmas cookies. You go to a holiday party and if you are me, you head straight for the dessert table. You see gingerbread men, sugar cookies, peppermint fudge... all the celebrated regulars. Then as you continue perusing the sweets, you come across the rejects: fruit cake, cherry cordials, almond logs, all those other weird cookies and then, the russian tea cakes. 

It wasn't until high school that I ventured down to this end of the table. I was learning the set backs to being a picky eater. I decided to give these cookies a try. I was obviously pleasantly surprised. These are the best cookies maybe in the whole world? They are the perfect texture, they have a cinnamon and nutty flavor and then are coated in the most delicious layer of buttery powdered sugar. I never looked back after entering this end of the table. Just give it a chance!

Fresh warm out of the oven they are seriously better than anything. Maybe make two batches, one to eat warm and one to eat the next day. 

Enjoy! Happy Holidays!

Russian Tea Cakes

Yields 3 Dozen Cookies

• 1 cup Pecans or Walnuts, toasted
• 1 cup Salted Butter, softened
• 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon Freshly Grated Nutmeg
• Sprinkle of Cloves
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a food processor, blend your nuts until they are finely diced, set aside.

In a large bowl, blend your butter, 1/2 cup of powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and vanilla on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the flour about a half cup at a time until just mixed. Add your chopped nuts and blend until combined.

Roll 1-inch sized balls and place on the cookie sheet an inch apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes. While they are baking, pour your remaining 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar into a small bowl. The tops should just begin to crack and the cookies should be golden on the bottom. Right when you take them out of the oven, roll the cookies in the powdered sugar until heavily coated (I like lots of powdered sugar!). Let cool for a little so you do not burn yourself, but have a few of them warm, they are SO good warm!

If you have extra powdered sugar at the end you can use a fine sieve to dust the rest over the cookies.