Russian Tea Cakes Recipe (Snowballs)

Aerial photo of a plate of snowball cookies.

5 from 6 votes

Russian Tea Cakes Recipe (Snowballs)

Buttery, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread cookies filled with nuts and double-rolled in powdered sugar. A classic cookie at Christmas time!

Prep Time1 10

Bake Time12

Total Time1 22

Recipe Author Lynn April

Servings: 18 cookies

Ingredients

▢ ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
▢ ¼ cup + ½ cup (90g) powdered sugar divided
▢ ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
▢ 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons (135g) all-purpose flour be sure to measure properly
▢ ⅛ teaspoon salt
▢ ⅓ cup (36g) finely chopped nuts I recommend walnuts, pecans, almonds, or macadamia nuts

Need to keep track of your ingredients?Check out my Printable Ingredient List!

Instructions

In a medium size bowl with a hand mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, ¼ cup (30g) of the powdered sugar, and vanilla on medium speed until smooth.
½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, ¼ cup + ½ cup (90g) powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Add the flour and salt and beat again on medium until completely combined. Add chopped nuts and stir with a spatula until evenly dispersed. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
1 cup + 2 Tablespoons (135g) all-purpose flour, ⅛ teaspoon salt, ⅓ cup (36g) finely chopped nuts
When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 400ºF (204ºC). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
Roll dough into approximately 1" balls using a cookie scoop (I use this #50 cookie scoop for all of my standard size cookies) and place on the prepared baking sheet. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes or until set. You do not want cookies to brown at all. Remove cookies from the oven and transfer to a wire rack. Allow the cookies to cool until you are able to handle them.
Roll warm cookies in remaining ½ cup (60g) of powdered sugar. Return cookies to wire rack and allow to cool completely. When completely cool, roll in powdered sugar again. Cookies stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 weeks. Cookies freeze well, up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.

Nutrition Disclosure

All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.