Snowball Cookies (Russian Tea Cakes)

Russian Tea Cakes are also known as Mexican Wedding Cakes or Snowball Cookies. The cookie dough contains nuts, usually walnuts or pecans which gives the cookies a nutty flavour and slight crunch. The butter in the cookie dough makes the cookies tender and powdery and they almost dissolve in your mouth. The cookies are rolled in confectioners' sugar twice to give them a white coating making them look like snowballs. The cookies may have originated in Eastern Europe and were brought to Mexico by European nuns. They may have also been associated with cookies served with Russian tea urns, or samovars. The cookies may have been named after the 19th century American interest in Russian tea culture, when Russian tea parties were popular fundraising events. The cookies have many names, including Mexican Wedding Cakes, Snowballs, Kourabiedes, Biscochos, Meltaways, Pecan sandies, Hermits, and Pecan puffs. In the U.S., Russian tea cakes became a part of wedding, Christmas and Easter traditions by the 20th century.

2 cups all-purpose flour, unbleached
½ lb butter, or 16 Tbsp., at room temperature
1 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
½ cup confectioners' sugar + 2 cups more for rolling cookies
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp sea salt

Preheat an oven to 400°F (200°C/180°C fan, Gas Mark 6). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or silicone liner.

Toast nuts on a dry skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes, tossing frequently until fragrant and lightly golden.

In a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer, cream together butter, ½ cup of confectioners' sugar and 1 tsp. of vanilla, until smooth.

Add flour and salt and continue mixing until no streaks of flour remain. The mixture will be lumpy. Use a firm spatula to fold in the nuts until evenly incorporated.

Use a firm spatula to fold in the chopped nuts until evenly incorporated.

Shape the dough into 1" balls (using a small cookie scoop to portion the dough makes the process easy) and place them on a clean baking sheet at least 1" apart.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges are golden at the base.

Fill a bowl with 1 cup confectioners' sugar and roll the cookie balls in it while they are still very warm then transfer to a platter to cool completely.

Once cookies are at room temperature, roll them in more confectioners' sugar to get perfect little snowballs. Cookies may be stored up to 1 week in an airtight container.

Makes 36 cookies.