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Toasted Almond Russian Tea Cakes Recipe: Buttery Snowball Cookies

Toasted Almond Russian Tea Cakes

These buttery Russian tea cakes are packed with finely chopped toasted almonds and finished with two coats of powdered sugar. They make about 32–36 delicate snowball cookies.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 1 minute
Servings: 32 servings
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Cookie Dough
  • 1 cup (226 g) Unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup (60 g) Powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
  • 2 1/4 cups (270 g) All-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon Fine salt
  • 3/4 cup (85–90 g) Almonds, toasted and finely chopped
Coating
  • 1 cup (120 g), approximately Powdered sugar

Method
 

Step-by-Step
  1. Toast the almonds on a baking sheet at 350°F (175°C) for 8–10 minutes, stirring once, until lightly golden and fragrant. Cool completely, then chop them finely.
  2. Beat the softened butter and 1/2 cup powdered sugar until smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla extract.
  3. Gradually mix in the flour and salt, then stir in the cooled chopped almonds. The dough should be soft but hold together when pressed.
  4. Cover and refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes if it feels very soft or sticky.
  5. Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and line baking sheets with parchment. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls and place them about 1 inch apart.
  6. Bake for 10–14 minutes per batch, until the bottoms are lightly golden and the tops remain pale. Avoid overbaking.
  7. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then roll them in powdered sugar while warm. After they cool completely, roll them a second time for a thick white coating.

Notes

Measure flour by weight or spoon it into measuring cups and level it to prevent dry cookies. Store airtight at room temperature for about 1 week. Baked cookies may be frozen and dusted with fresh powdered sugar after thawing.