Chef John's Russian Tea Cakes

These Russian tea cakes are Chef John's version of tender, nutty cookies made with flour, butter, and walnuts, twice-coated in confectioners' sugar.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 15 mins
• Total Time: 30 mins
• Calories: 276 Calories

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup finely chopped toasted walnuts
• 0.125 teaspoon salt
• 1.3333333730698 cups confectioners' sugar, divided
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar for dusting, or more as needed

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Arrange a rack in the center position of the oven. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a silicone mat.

Step 2

Place butter, walnuts, 1/3 cup packed powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl. Top with 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour. Mix with clean hands until dough starts to clump up. Keep mixing by hand until all flour and clumps of butter are evenly mixed into dough.

Step 3

Scoop out dough and roll by hand into uniformly round balls, just slightly larger than 1 inch. Place about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.

Step 4

Bake in the preheated oven until lightly golden, 15 to 25 minutes depending on the size of cookies.

Step 5

Let cool for exactly 5 minutes, then roll warm cookies in 1 cup confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl. Let cookies cool completely, then toss them again in confectioners' sugar.