Russian Teacakes And How To Chop Walnuts

For the batches and batches of Russian Teacakes I made yesterday, I had to chop more than three pounds of walnuts.

Good thing I know this simple trick to chop them fast using a rolling pin and a plastic bag.

Chopping nuts the easy way.

Just put the walnuts, a cup or so at a time into a sealed plastic bag and hit them with a rolling pin to break them apart. It's fast and easy and that's exactly what I needed to make all of these cookies which will help fill the Trinity Christmas Cookie Boxes.

Twelve recipes of Russian Teacakes ready for the cookie boxes.

And, here's the recipe for Russian Teacakes which are one of my family's favorite cookies. They are also known by other names like Snowballs, Mexican Wedding Cakes and Swedish Teacakes.

Russian Teacakes
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/4 teaspoon salt
Extra powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Whip the butter until smooth and creamy, add the vanilla, salt and powdered sugar and whip again. Stir in the flour and the nuts until mixed thoroughly and the dough holds together.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. I like to use a cookie scoop to get even sizes and then roll it with my hands to form a nice ball. Place the cookies 1-inch apart on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until set but not brown. Let the cookies cool until they are still slightly warm and roll in powdered sugar.