Author: Fred Towner
Date: 1998/12/07
Forums: rec.food.recipes

Russian Tea Cakes
Makes: 30

1 cup Butter/margarine (2 sticks)
1/2 cup Sifted powdered sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp Almond extract
2 1/4 cups Sifted flour
1/2 tsp Salt
3/4 cup Finely chopped nuts

Mix butter, sugar, vanilla and almond extract together thoroughly. Sift flour and salt together. Blend all ingredients together. Mix in nuts. Chill dough. Roll into 1 inch balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in preheated oven at 400* for 10 minutes until set, NOT BROWN. Roll in powdered sugar while still warm. Roll once more after cooled.

Triple recipe and Do not overbake. The secret to moist tea cakes is to catch them when they are set (9 min).

Russian Tea Cakes (Snowballs)

1 cup Soft butter
1/2 cup Sifted confectioners' sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
2 1/4 cups Sifted all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp Salt
3/4 cup Nuts, finely chopped
Extra sifted confectioner's
Sugar for covering cookies

Mix the butter, confectioner's sugar, and vanilla, thoroughly together. Sift and stir in the flour, and salt. Then mix in nuts. Chill dough. Roll into 1 inch balls. place on ungreased baking sheet (cookies do not spread). Bake until set, but not brown. While still warm, roll in confectioner's sugar. Cool. Roll in sugar again. Temperature: 400F (mod hot oven).

Time: Bake 10 to 12 minutes.
Amount: About 4 dozen, 1 1/2 inch cookies.

NOTE: When rolling dough into balls, use a light touch, and do not handle very long. The dough will get hard, and become almost rocklike after baking if you overhandle. This has been a family favorite for almost 30 years. Once you start eating them, you can't stop. I've seen and tasted many other recipes for "Snowball" cookies, but none have measured up to this one. I've had many "rocks" in my time!

From The Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book. First Edition (Ninth Printing), published by McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. @ 1950.

Russian Tea Cakes
From Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book (1950)
Makes: about 4 dozen 1 1/2-inch cookies

This is one of my favorites ... and has been since I was a child I can tell because my grandmother marked the page with a "P" and it's covered with drips and drops! :)

1 cup soft butter
1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar + extra powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup finely chopped nuts

Mix butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, and vanilla thoroughly. Sift together and stir in flour and salt. Mix in nuts. Chill dough. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll into 1-inch balls. Place 2 1/2-inch apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 1012 minutes, until set, but not brown. While still warm, roll in powdered sugar. Cool. Roll in sugar again.

This is essentially what my Mom made for holiday time, only she rolled out the dough to about 1/8-inch thickness, cut the rolled out dough into 1/2x2-inch strips and then baked them. After they were baked & still warm from the oven, she'd roll them in the powdered sugar.