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Russian Tea Cookies


These cookies will melt in your mouth.

Russian Tea Cookies
Ingredients:
  • 1 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar (icing sugar)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2-1/2 cups sifted flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup nuts, finely chopped
 Method:

  1. Cream butter and sugar. 
  2. Add vanilla, flour, salt and nuts. 
  3. Mix well. 
  4. Form into small balls. 
  5. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, if you want you can flatten them a bit. 
  6. Bake at 400 degrees F, 11-14 minutes. 
  7. While still warm roll in powdered sugar. 
  8. After cool, roll again in powdered sugar. 
Yields approximately 4 dozen.

38 comments:

  1. Mmmmm....a personal favourite. These taste and look like Christmas!

    Blessings to all,
    Anna (Toronto)

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  2. These are very similar to a type of GREEK cookie. im going to try this recipe, it seems very easy!

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  3. I actually just made some of these.. always a big hit. For some of my friends it was the first year that they have tasted my baking I make them with finely chopped hazelnuts in mine and they are just YUM! Crispy, like little hazelnut biscotti. Originally got the recipe from food network under "Hazelnut Tea Cookies"... but they look VERY similar to this recipe

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  4. Do I dare? Since high school these have been my favorite cookies and you certainly cannot buy any commercially made Russian Tea Cookies that even come close to homemade. I truly never dreamed the recipe was so easy and have all the ingredients to make them this week. I cannot wait!

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  5. Is this cookie made with plain or self rising flour? I was thinking because of the salt it was plain, but I am not sure. Thanks in advance for your help.

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  6. what type of nuts do you use for this recipe?

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  7. Oh, these are so good. I've noticed that many nationalities have a cookie like this - usually the only variation is in the type of nuts used.(hazelnuts and almonds seem to be the most popular although I've seen them made with Brazil nuts as well. They truly do melt in your mouth.

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  8. Love, love, love these cookies!

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  9. I knew these as snowballs, my mom made them around a marischino cherry, dry them on paper towels first

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  10. This cookie reminds me of my childhood...my mom always made these and butter cookies every Christmas. Mom used to put English walnuts in her snowball cookies. They were the BEST!

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  11. Yummy! Can these be stored in the freezer until Christmas?

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  12. I make these every year for Christmas!

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  13. Is the 1/2 cup powdered sugar going into the butter to be creamed then you're rolling the balls when done baking into additional powdered sugar??? I just want to be sure I'm not missing a sugar step here! :)

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  14. I used to bake these every year & my twins (thesecondtwinsews) helped roll them in the powdered sugar. Now the othertwin bakes them each year for family! Now I need to make some Christmas cookies here in Florida & YES I came across this recipe & I have all the ingredients...thank you I've been blest

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  15. Anonymous,
    Just your run of the mill flour. Any nuts you prefer will work. I've used walnuts and pecans and Bev has used hazlenuts.

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  16. Dorothy,
    The first 1/2 cup of powdered sugar is creamed with the butter. I should have added that you'd need extra powdered sugar to roll the cookies in after baking...

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  17. The first time I had these a greek girl I worked with made them she called them greek wedding cookies. Which are the same yummy cookie
    Cathy

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  18. Acorn Hollow, I've also seen them referred to as Mexican Wedding cookies...

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  19. I have to try these!! Oh my, how will we ever eat all the cookies I've made already!!?? Time to start packaging some to give away! :)

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  20. made these today! are they supposed to be a hard cookie? just want to make sure i baked properly. then softens in mouth?

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  21. Judi,
    I've always preferred undercooked cookies, so I watch them and take them out when they are just getting a bit golden...
    They definitely shouldn't be really hard...

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  22. it calls for fine chopped nuts...is that ground nuts?

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  23. Russian Tea cookies are some of my favorite to have when I do a Holiday Tea. I'm having my garden club in tomorrow evening for a Holiday gathering...these just may make the cut! ;) Merry CHRISTmas!

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  24. You might want to try Brazil nuts which is how my family has made these for decades. Yum!!!

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  25. Anonymous chopped into small pieces is what I've always used. I've never used ground nuts...

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  26. I made 10 dozen of those yesterday! Love Love LOVE Russian Tea cookies.

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  27. These are one of my all time favorite cookies! I usually use either walnuts, sometimes I use pecans. I never make anywhere near 8 dozen, though, I like mine a bit bigger!

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  28. Ahh - these have become a family favourite! In fact, in searching for simple recipes my children would enjoy at Christmas (in the days they refused to enjoy Jam-Jams!) these are now a Christmas tradition in our household. Green or red food colouring always added to the dough and sometimes a little "treat" tucked inside before baking!

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  29. Yes you can freeze these. They just may need some touching up with powder sugar if presenting them after frozen

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  30. Anonymous,
    I've never frozen them before but if you do it should probably be before you roll them in powdered sugar...

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  31. These were my favourite cookie as a kid. My mom called them Christmas balls. She like Rich comented made them with a cherry in the middle. We also made them with ground almonds, works well.
    Also works rolled in regular sugar and then they sparkle. Both kinds freeze well.
    Thank you for sharing an old time favourite, nice to see it is enjoyed by so many and to learn its original name.

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  32. I did make these and the are absolutely everything I hoped. The only difference...the recipe only made 4 dozen cookies instead of 8-9 and I made them very small.???

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  33. Granny Annie! Thanks I adjusted the yield amount. I'm thinking I probably halved the recipe and didn't adjust the yield!

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  34. Made those every year for a long time - mostly with finely chopped pecans! I always made them small enough to be a pop-in-your-mouth-in-one-piece! YUM!!

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  35. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I've made two batches since you posted this and everyone loves them!

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  36. Thank you! These is a great recipe! My family is enjoying eating these cookies very much!

    I used a bowl-shaped tablespoon measurement to shape each cookie. I simply packed in enough dough to fill the tablespoon and then pushed the molded cookie out. All of my cookies were evenly shaped and uniform.

    I made 40 cookies from one recipe.

    Thank you, Mennonite Girls, for a great site!

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  37. I make something very similar...except you roll your ball of dough around a chocolate kiss, making sure all of the chocolate is covered.

    Waaaay too yummy!

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