Sunday, November 30, 2008

My Christmas Cookie: Russian Teacakes

Amy has organized a virtual cookie exchange this year, and I am very happy to participate. Lately, the Breach has been getting a lot of Google hits on the topics of "christmas cookie blog" and "baking christmas" and "cookie recipe" so I figured I'd better make it worth the visits.

These are the cookies I burned my fingers on last year. But it was worth it! My mom has been making these since I was a wee kid--I think her recipe comes from a truly ancient Betty Crocker compendium from the mid-1960s that she received as a gift for her (first) wedding. It's a shortbread, but a little less rich and more powdery than the norm.

Russian Teacakes

1 cup soft butter
1/2 cup sifted icing sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

Mix first 3 ingredients. In separate bowl mix flour and salt and stir into butter mixture. Add nuts. Roll into 1" balls. Bake 350 degrees, 10-15 minutes. While still warm roll in extra icing sugar.

(It's that last bit that results in burned fingers, just so you know.)

Happy baking!

4 comments:

Beck said...

Dumb question - are the nuts necessary?

I burn myself ALL THE TIME while I'm cooking, and I never write about it because then cruel, cruel people MOCK me. tsk.

Mimi said...

Beck -- I don't think the nuts are absolutely necessary, but it's kinda the vibe of the thing, you know? I'm going to do more recipes this week, and tonight's has no nuts at all, if you can wait ...

Kyla said...

Can you just bring some over? I'm much too lazy to do this myself. Well, maybe not lazy so much as selectively active. LOL. Either way, the only cookies I make come at least partially made.

Mimi said...

"selectively inactive"--Kyla, I LOVE that. That's my new catchphrase. I'm not lazy--I'm 'selectively inactive'. Perfect!