If you love the soft, dissolving texture of these classic Christmas cookies, check out my Southern tea cakes, too.
Why You’ll Love This Russian Tea Cakes RecipeIngredients You’ll NeedHow to Make Russian Tea CakesTips and Variation IdeasWhy Did My Snowball Cookies Turn Out Flat?How to Store Russian Tea CookiesMore Holiday Cookie RecipesGet the Recipe
Classic holiday cookies. Russian tea cakes are some of the easiest holiday cookies you can make. Covered in powdered sugar “snow”, they look so pretty on a Christmas cookie platter! Rich and buttery. Powdered sugar and a good amount of butter in the dough make the texture of Russian tea cakes similar to meltaway cookies. The cookies dissolve in your mouth, leaving behind satisfying sweetness and pecan nut crunch. Easy to make. Russian tea cakes use simple ingredients and the dough requires only one bowl, without any fancy mixing or chilling. The baked cookies stay fresh for days, so they’re wonderful to make ahead.
Looking for more festive cookie recipes? Try my Peanut Butter Blossoms or these Butter Cookies.
Butter – Brought to room temperature. Powdered Sugar – Also called confectioner’s sugar. You’ll need it for the cookie dough and coating the cookies after they’re baked. Salt Vanilla Extract – Pure vanilla extract has the best flavor. Flour Nuts – Chopped pecans or walnuts. You can substitute the nuts with chocolate chips to make these cookies nut-free.
Make the cookie dough. Cream softened butter with one cup of powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla. Slowly mix in the flour, and finally, fold in the chopped nuts. Shape the cookies. Scoop and roll the cookie dough into small, even-sized balls, and arrange the balls on a lined baking sheet. Bake. Bake the tea cakes at 375ºF for 10-12 minutes, until they’re lightly browned and set in the centers. Roll in powdered sugar. While the cookies are still warm (but not hot from the oven), roll each cookie carefully in the remaining powdered sugar. Place the finished cookies onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Another reason that Russian tea cakes turn out flat is because the oven temperature is too low, and the cookies bake too slowly as a result. An oven thermometer is helpful to know that your oven is running at the right temperature.
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