Everyone wanting to tempt people to our Deep State dark side needs a good recipe for these cookies — whatever name they go by in your house. I grew up with the Betty Crocker New Picture Cookbook, so I knew them as “Russian Tea Cakes,” but they’re also called “Mexican Wedding Cakes,” “Louisiana Pecan Balls,” “Snowball Cookies”… well, you get the idea. But whatever you call them, they’ll definitely bring many recruits to the dark side.
When I was a teen, I started giving tins of homemade cookies to friends and teachers at Christmastime, and this cookie was always included in the collection. For many, these cookies are a holiday staple. So without further comment, here’s the recipe!
Russian Tea Cakes
(Русские чайные пирожные)
Recipe from Betty Crocker
yields about 4 dozen cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup finely chopped nuts
- Powdered sugar
Directions
Heat oven to 400ºF.
Mix butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt in large bowl. Stir in flour and nuts until dough holds together.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until set but not brown. Remove from cookie sheet. Cool slightly on wire rack.
Roll warm cookies in powdered sugar; cool on wire rack. Roll in powdered sugar again.
If you want a gluten free version, Betty Crocker has you covered on their website.