Russian Tea Cakes are the perfect tiny bite of a cookie. They’re buttery, sweet and melt in your mouth. They’re so addicting you’ll have a hard time eating only one.
Like so many of the recipes I post here, this one is a family heirloom. I’m not sure what the backstory is, nor have I ever cared. I simply know, deep down in my soul, that these are my mom’s cookies. When I eat these cookies I think of home, of my mom, of our annual tradition of baking Christmas cookies for friends and neighbors. I think of my brother racing from his room to the kitchen, in hopes of getting the first taste. I think of all the times we’ve had to double the batch because we knew they wouldn’t last the night. These are the cookies I wait around for every year, even though I’m perfectly capable of making them whenever I want.
And I know what you’re thinking, “Nicole it’s just a cookie” as you roll your eyes. But the truth is, we all have a meal that immediately takes us back to our childhood. The ones that make us sentimental, or remind us of a loved one who makes it perfectly so. Even when I was preparing these, I knew they wouldn’t be as good as my moms (moms have a magic touch after all). The ironic part in all this is how we talk about how impressive my grandmother when she baked. She wouldn’t measure a thing, it was all done by feeling. I’ve seen my mom do the same with these.
So, thank you, Mami, for this recipe and all the memories that they’ve brought. 🙂
Tips for Russian Tea Cakes:
- These cookies are buttery and melt in your mouth when you eat them. Therefore, they should be bite sized. Any larger and they will be hard to eat
- These cookies should be pale even after you bake them. You can tell they’re finished baking by the slight brown on the bottom.
- Cool them completely before you roll them in powdered sugar. If not, the sugar will melt and cake on the cookie.
- The recipe below yields roughly 96 cookies (remember they’re bite sized). Feel free to cut this recipe in half.
- These will last up to 5 days in an airtight container.
Russian Tea Cakes are so simple and soooo darn good. I hope you love them just as much as me and my family do. Enjoy! 🙂
Russian Tea Cakes
Ingredients
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 lbs butter salted, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and granulated sugar together until smooth. Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined. Add the all-purpose flour and mix until just combined.
- Scoop a teaspoon amount of dough and gently roll in the palms of your hand until a small even ball is formed. Place on the lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, spacing the cookies roughly 2 inches apart.
- Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool completely on a wire rack. Once cool, gently roll the cookies in powdered sugar. Enjoy!