Sunday, December 21st, 2008

Russian Tea Cookie (Mexican Wedding Cookie, Snowball Cookie)

Mexican Wedding Cookie is one of my favorite sweets at the nice bakery downstairs. The other day, the head pastry chef, Ian, held a baking class there and I signed up. I was glad to see that one of the desserts he showed us how to make was just that! It is also called Russian Tea Cookie or Snowball Cookie sometimes.

Ingredients:

  • 8 oz Butter (It needs to be cold, cut into cubes) （牛油，要冷的）
  • 5 oz powdered sugar （糖粉）
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 12 oz pastry flour (aka cake flour) （低筋面粉）
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 4 oz finely chopped pecans (or walnuts)

Directions:

1. Use a mixer with its paddle attachment to cream together (high speed) the butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. 用搅拌机高速将牛油和糖粉搅匀(十分钟左右）。

(left side is the paddle attachment；用左边这个搅拌件)

2. Mix in vanilla and scrape down.

3. Mix the flour, salt, and chopped pecan together and add to the butter mixture. Mix at a low speed until just combined. （单另混合面粉，盐，和打碎的核桃仁，一起加入搅拌机里，低速搅匀成面团状。）

4. Roll dough into little balls （1-1.5inch in diameter). Be careful not to roll too tight. Roll the balls in powdered sugar and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. （用手将一块块面团撮一寸圆团，千万不要揉得太紧。将小圆球在糖粉中打个滚。）

5. Bake in an oven preheated to 325 degrees for 15-20 minutes until the surface looks sightly golden with cracks. （在烤盘上铺上烤箱纸，放上圆球，入预热325华氏度的烤箱15至20分钟，直至表面金黄分布小裂纹。）

(I forgot that they expand and crowded them too much in my batch) （注意小球加热过程中会膨胀，所以事先不要像我这样排得过紧。）

6. When baked and cooled, roll in powdered sugar. （烤好晾凉后再在糖粉中打个滚。）