Russian Tea Cakes

These little melt in your mouth Russian Tea Cakes make great gifts for the holidays.  With just a few ingredients they are quick to make and are so pretty wrapped up in bright, cheery packages.  I made these vegan using Earth Balance Buttery Sticks.  They turned out great.

The tea cakes are tossed in powdered sugar after cooling for a short time then tossed once again before serving.

Russian Tea Cakes

Makes 40 cookies

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups Earth Balance Butter Sticks, room temperature (or regular butter)

3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/8 cups finely chopped walnuts

Preparation

Cream butter, sugar and vanilla together.  Add flour and salt, stir to combine.  Stir in walnuts.

Shape into small balls and bake at 375 degrees about 15  – 20 minutes until edges are very lightly browned (check for doneness after 15 minutes).  Do not let cookies brown too much.

Allow cookies to cool slightly, about 15 minutes, then roll in powdered sugar while still slightly warm.  Toss cookies in powdered sugar once more.  Let cool completely before storing in an air tight container.