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Russian Tea Cake Cookies Recipe

These dense and buttery cookies with nuts are rolled in powdered sugar and literally melt in your mouth!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American, Mexican, Russian
Keyword Christmas Snowball Cookies, Russian Tea Cake Cookies
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 32 minutes
Servings 32 cookies
Author Ang Paris

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, partly melted
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract (optional)
  • ½ cup powdered sugar, plus extra for rolling
  • cups all-purpose flour
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup finely chopped walnuts, pecans or hazelnuts

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350-degrees F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, cream together the butter, vanilla, almond extract, and powdered sugar until smooth and combined. (If you are using almond extract, add it in this step also.)
    1 cup unsalted butter, partly melted, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon almond extract (optional)
  • Add the flour and salt, and mix to form a soft, but not sticky, dough. Fold in the chopped nuts. The dough will be crumbly and it will seem like you've done something wrong - but don't worry, it should look like this.
    2½ cups all-purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¾ cup finely chopped walnuts, pecans or hazelnuts
  • Roll the dough into tablespoon-sized balls. I like to use a small cookie scoop to help make evenly sized cookies. Scoop the dough into the palm of your hand. The heat from your hand will help warm the butter, making it easier to shape it into a small ball.
    ½ cup powdered sugar, plus extra for rolling
  • Place them 2-inches apart on the prepared baking tray.
  • Bake for 12-14 minutes until firm but not brown.
  • Transfer them to a wire rack to cool slightly.
  • Roll the warm cookies in powdered sugar, and allow to cool completely on the wire rack.
  • Once cool, roll them in icing sugar again.

Notes

How do you keep Christmas cookies fresh?

  • Completely cool cookies before storing them.
  • Place the cookies into an airtight container - I like these BPA-free Bakery Box containers.
  • Use pieces of parchment paper between layers of cookies.
  • On the very top, add a piece of parchment paper and a slice of white bread to help keep the cookies fresh.
  • Store the cookies at room temperature.

How do you freeze Christmas Snowball Cookies?

These cookies can be frozen before you bake them. Here's how:
  1. Arrange the dough balls on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
  2. Freeze uncovered for 1-2 hours.
  3. Remove the tray from the freezer and place the cookies into an airtight container between layers of parchment paper.
  4. These can be baked from frozen, just add 2-3 minutes onto the cooking time and follow the rest of the recipe as stated.
The dough balls for Russian Tea Cake Cookies can be frozen for up to 4 weeks.