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Russian tea cakes thickly coated in powdered sugar piled in a white bowl with a cup of tea on the side

Russian Tea Cakes

Buttery, tender snowball cookies made with toasted pecans and rolled twice in powdered sugar for a thick, snowy coating.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 14 minutes
Chilling 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 4 minutes
Servings: 36 cookies
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 104
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Cookie dough
  • 1 cup unsalted butter softened (226 g)
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar (60 g)
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled (280 g)
  • 3/4 cup pecans toasted and very finely chopped (85 g)
For rolling
  • 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar sifted (150 g)

Method
 

Make the dough
  1. Toast the pecans at 350°F (175°C) for 6 to 8 minutes, cool and chop very finely.
  2. Beat the butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, vanilla and salt on medium speed for about 2 minutes, until creamy.
  3. Mix in the flour on low speed until the dough just comes together, then stir in the pecans.
  4. Cover and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
Shape, bake and roll
  1. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line baking sheets with parchment.
  2. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place them 1 1/2 inches apart.
  3. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until the bottoms are lightly golden and the tops are still pale.
  4. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then gently roll the warm cookies in powdered sugar and set them on a wire rack.
  5. When completely cool, roll the cookies in powdered sugar a second time.

Notes

Nuts: Walnuts, almonds or hazelnuts can replace the pecans. Chop them very finely.
Storage: Keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months, then reroll in sugar.
Nutrition is an estimate per cookie, including the sugar coating.