Russian Tea Desserts Recipe (Snowball Cookies)

Russian tea muffins are wealthy and buttery shortbread cookies stuffed with crunchy pecans, rolled in powdered sugar to appear to be frosty snowballs. Each chunk melts away in your mouth!

For those who love the gentle, dissolving texture of those traditional Christmas cookies, try my Southern tea muffins, too.

Why You’ll Love This Russian Tea Desserts Recipe

With the vacations arising, these Russian tea muffins are about to change into a surefire favourite cookie recipe! Dense and cake-like within the heart, crisp and golden on the surface, studded with pecans, and coated in powdered sugar, each chunk of those shortbread cookies tastes like magic. Right here’s why you’ll love them:

• Traditional vacation cookies. Russian tea muffins are a number of the best vacation cookies you can also make. Lined in powdered sugar “snow”, they give the impression of being so fairly on a Christmas cookie platter!
• Wealthy and buttery. Powdered sugar and an excellent quantity of butter within the dough make the feel of Russian tea muffins just like meltaway cookies. The cookies dissolve in your mouth, abandoning satisfying sweetness and pecan nut crunch.
• Straightforward to make. Russian tea muffins use easy elements and the dough requires just one bowl, with none fancy mixing or chilling. The baked cookies keep recent for days, so that they’re fantastic to make forward.

What Are Russian Tea Desserts?

Russian tea muffins are well-traveled cookies. Relying on the place you’re on this planet, you may know these as snowball cookies, Mexican wedding ceremony cookies, butterballs, or kourabiedes (Greek butter cookies). Tea muffins are a traditional cookie recipe made out of candy shortbread-style cookie dough, normally stuffed with nuts for crunch and taste. The dough is rolled into balls, baked till golden, and coated in powdered sugar. They pair completely with a heat cup of tea!

Substances You’ll Want

You want solely 6 straightforward elements to make these straightforward Russian tea muffins, so each is necessary. Discover some fast notes beneath, and bear in mind to scroll to the recipe card for the complete elements record and recipe particulars. 

• Butter – Dropped at room temperature.
• Powdered Sugar – Additionally referred to as confectioner’s sugar. You’ll want it for the cookie dough and coating the cookies after they’re baked.
• Salt 
• Vanilla Extract – Pure vanilla extract has the very best taste.
• Flour
• Nuts – Chopped pecans or walnuts. You possibly can substitute the nuts with chocolate chips to make these cookies nut-free.

Find out how to Make Russian Tea Desserts

Russian tea muffins are really easy to make, it’s no surprise they’re a traditional Christmas cookie. There’s zero chilling time and the dough comes collectively in a short time:

• Make the cookie dough. Cream softened butter with one cup of powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla. Slowly combine within the flour, and at last, fold within the chopped nuts.
• Form the cookies. Scoop and roll the cookie dough into small, even-sized balls, and prepare the balls on a lined baking sheet.
• Bake. Bake the tea muffins at 375ºF for 10-12 minutes, till they’re evenly browned and set within the facilities. 
• Roll in powdered sugar. Whereas the cookies are nonetheless heat (however not sizzling from the oven), roll every cookie fastidiously within the remaining powdered sugar. Place the completed cookies onto a wire rack to chill fully. 

Recipe Suggestions and Variations

These straightforward snowball cookies have you ever coated for all of your festive events, all season lengthy. Listed here are some remaining suggestions for tea cake success:

• Use powdered sugar, and never granulated white sugar within the cookie dough. Granulated sugar will trigger the cookies to lose their snowball form.
• The cookies must be heat if you roll them in sugar. After the cookies depart the oven, give them a few minutes to chill on the baking sheet earlier than you coat them in sugar. The heat of the cookie will soften the powdered sugar barely, for a easy, creamy coating. If the cookies are cooled fully, the sugar coating gained’t stick.
• Strive the double roll. For an additional snowy end, roll the cookies in powdered sugar as soon as whereas they’re heat as directed, and a second time after they’ve cooled additional.
• Don’t overbake. Control these tea muffins and take them out of the oven once they’re simply set, and evenly browned on the underside. Overbaked tea muffins will likely be dry and crumbly.
• Toast the nuts. If in case you have time, toast the pecans or walnuts in a skillet earlier than including them to the cookies for extra depth of taste.
• Extra add-ins. Strive including crushed peppermint, chopped dried cranberries (like my orange cranberry meltaway cookies), cinnamon, or pumpkin pie spice.
• Add sprinkles. Roll the nice and cozy cookies in coloured sprinkles for much more festive aptitude.

Why Did My Snowball Cookies Flip Out Flat?

In case your cookies unfold within the oven, it could possibly be that the butter you used to make the dough was too heat. “Room temperature” means softened, however nonetheless cool to the contact. In case your cookie dough is simply too gentle and greasy, pop it into the fridge to sit back for 20-Half-hour earlier than baking.

One more reason that Russian tea muffins prove flat is as a result of the oven temperature is simply too low, and the cookies bake too slowly in consequence. An oven thermometer is useful to know that your oven is working on the proper temperature.

Find out how to Retailer Russian Tea Cookies

• To Retailer. Preserve these Russian tea muffins hermetic at room temperature for as much as 7 days. 
• Freeze. Retailer the baked cookies in an hermetic container or freezer bag and hold them frozen for as much as 2 months. Defrost the cookies at room temperature. Get pleasure from!

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