Russian Tea Cakes
Deliciously soft, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth cookies filled with finely chopped nuts and generously coated in sweet icing sugar. Perfect for Christmas baking!
Servings: 34 cookies
Ingredients
- 226 g unsalted butter partly melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 62 g icing/powdered sugar plus extra for rolling
- 312 g plain/all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 95 g finely chopped nuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/350°F/Gas 4. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the partly melted butter, vanilla extract, and icing sugar until smooth and combined.
- Add the flour and salt, and mix until a soft dough forms. The dough should hold together when pressed without feeling sticky.
- Gently fold in the finely chopped nuts until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- Roll the dough into tablespoon-sized balls, approximately 20g each, and arrange them on the prepared baking tray, leaving about 5cm (2 inches) between each one.
- Bake for 12–14 minutes, or until the cookies are firm to the touch but still pale. They should not become golden brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking tray for a few minutes, then carefully transfer them to a wire rack.
- While the cookies are still warm, gently roll each one in icing sugar until completely coated.
- Return the cookies to the wire rack and leave to cool completely.
- Once cooled, roll the cookies in icing sugar a second time for a generous, snowy coating before serving.
Notes
Butter: The butter should be partly melted, with some softened pieces remaining. Avoid using completely melted, hot butter.
Nuts: I like using a mixture of peanuts, almonds, and walnuts. You can also use finely ground nuts for a softer texture, or omit them altogether.
Dry dough: If the dough is too crumbly to hold together, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until it becomes manageable.
Storage: Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Freezing: Baked cookies or unbaked dough balls can be frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw baked cookies overnight in the fridge, or bake the dough balls from frozen, allowing a little extra baking time.