Cookie Swap: Russian Tea Cakes

picture from My Little Cottage in the Making

These cookies are way too good. Like eat the whole plate good. Not overly sweet (even though they are dusted in powdered sugar) but not bland. You may know them as Snowballs. It doesn't really matter what you call them, if they are not already part of your holiday baking they NEED to be!!

What you need:
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup finely chopped macadamia nuts (you can use walnuts or almonds, but macadamia are
the best..unless you don't like macadamia nuts...then they probably aren't the best.
1/4 teaspoon salt
Powdered sugar 1/2 cup plus extra for coating the cookies.

What you do:

Heat oven to 400ºF.

Mix butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar and the vanilla in large bowl. Beat in flour, nuts and salt until dough holds together.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes (they will be set, but do not let them brown).

Remove from cookie sheet and cool on rack until cool enough to touch. While they are still warm, roll cookies in powdered sugar and then return to the rack to cool completely. Roll again in powdered.

Who wouldn't want a cookie that looks like a snowball and has been rolled in powdered sugar not once, but TWICE!!