Friday, January 20, 2012

Russian tea cakes..... re-visited!

Well you're probably asking how is she re-visiting Russian tea cakes when she never posted anything about them before. Here's the story. My sisters and I have a tradition at Christmas we get together to do some baking and then we share the goodies. That way we all have a variety of Christmas baking over the holidays and it give us a chance to spend some time together. We have been doing this cookie exchange for years.





Couple years ago, I had moved and couldn't make it to the Christmas family cookie exchange so I did a cookie swap with my friend Svetlana instead. She made Russian tea cakes. I had tried them years ago and didn't really like them, so when she told me she was making them I wasn't expecting much. Well let me tell you, her cookies changed my mind. They were amazing!!I knew then that I would be making them a Christmas favourite... 





They are a melt-in-your mouth shortbread type cookie with a delicious nut flavour and a nutty crunch. The icing sugar on the outside adds the perfect amount of sweetness.Russian tea cakes are so popular and many cultures have a similar cookies. These cookies are known by  many other names, Mexican Wedding Cakes, Butternuts and Snowballs to name a few. These Russian teacakes are perfect for any occasions; Tea Parties, Weddings, Christmas gatherings.


The Russian tea cakes recipe is very simple. I think It's important to use butter, quality nuts and pure vanilla extracts to achieve delicious melt-in your mouth tea cakes. These cookie balls, after baking, are coating in powdered sugar while still hot, then again once the cookies are cooled. I think that after you make these tea cakes, they will instantly become a family favorite! 


And so when I said Russian tea cakes re-visited, I meant that after the cookie swap with my friend Svetlana, I got the recipe and revisit the idea of making them. I'm so glad she made them that day, they are the perfect cookie with a cup of tea anytime of the year, especially at Christmas.  




*I toasted the nuts, it brings out the flavour and fragrance of the nuts. *

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  




Place nuts on a baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes till nuts are lightly brown and fragrant. Cool, then chop nuts finely, set aside.

In large bowl, beat 1/2 cup powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Stir in flour, finely chopped nuts and salt; mix until dough forms. shape into 1-inch balls. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 15-20 mintuesor until set but not brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheets. Cool slightly; roll in powdered sugar. Cool completely. Reroll in powdered sugar. Makes about 5 dozen cookies. 






I hope you chose to re-visit this recipe time and time again! You'll be glad you did:)




Thanks for stopping by x
Katya









Russian tea cakes
½ cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter softened
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup finely chopped nuts (pecans, almonds, walnuts)
½ teaspoon salt
Powdered sugar
*I toasted the nuts; it brings out the flavour and fragrance of the nuts. *
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  
Place nuts on a baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes till nuts are lightly brown and fragrant. Cool, then chop nuts finely, set aside.
In large bowl, beat 1/2 cup powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Stir in flour, finely chopped nuts and salt; mix until dough forms. shape into 1-inch balls. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until set but not brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheets. Cool slightly; roll in powdered sugar. Cool completely. Reroll in powdered sugar. Makes about 5 dozen cookies. 


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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

These are my favorite.....quality cookie......amazing test! dt

Katya said...

Mine too! Thanks for checking out my post! Do you like the updated look?

Anonymous said...

Yep, think it looks amazing! You're doing a fantastic job!! 🌺💜🌸💗🌺💛🌸💚........I meant to say "amazing taste" in the last post.......stupid spell check on my iPad!!🌺💐🌸