Russian Tea Cakes recipe
- Carbohydrate 7.81878334462058 g
- Cholesterol 13.5569444617186 mg
- Fat 7.10170056216289 g
- Fiber 0.408500009749163 g
- Protein 1.52242277872119 g
- Saturated Fat 3.35967055969729 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (19g)
- Sodium 124.61327793648 mg
- Sugar 7.41028333487141 g
- Trans Fat 0.560654500484419 g
- Calories 99 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- In a medium bowl, cream butter and vanilla until smooth.
- Combine the 6 tablespoons confectioners' sugar and flour; stir into the butter mixture until just blended.
- Mix in the chopped walnuts.
- Roll dough into 1 inch balls, and place them 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven.
- When cool, roll in remaining confectioners' sugar.
- I also like to roll mine in the sugar a second time.
The Danger of Overbaking
Bakers frequently leave shortbread-style confections in the oven until the edges turn golden brown, resulting in a dry, crumbly texture that shatters awkwardly on the palate. These walnut-studded spheres should remain pale ivory across their tops and bottoms alike, requiring only twelve minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit to set their structure. Watch for the moment when the bottoms develop the faintest blush of straw color, which signals that the flour has cooked through without sacrificing the tender crumb provided by the high butter ratio.
The Double-Coat Technique
Confectioners' sugar serves two distinct purposes here: six tablespoons bind quietly within the dough to inhibit gluten formation, while the final coating provides the iconic snowy exterior. Rolling the baked sweets twice—once while warm to create a molten sugar seal, and again after complete cooling—ensures a thick, opaque crust that resists dissolving into the butterfat over time. Letting them cool completely on wire racks before the second pass prevents the powder from melting into unsightly transparent patches.
Origins Across Borders
Variations of these butter-and-nut rounds appear globally under numerous aliases, including Mexican wedding cookies, Italian wedding cakes, and Austrian kipferl. Historical food scholarship suggests these delicate pastries evolved from medieval nut-and-spice biscuits that spread across European trade routes before adapting to local pantry staples. Despite the shifting nomenclature, the fundamental technique of binding finely chopped nuts and flour with heavily creamed fat remains remarkably consistent across centuries.
