Welcome back culinary connoisseurs, Chef Laird is back with another round 1 pick in this year’s Christmas cookie spread: A buttery sweet cookie to complement any of your favorite holiday beverages, that is easy to make, doesn’t require many ingredients, and is sure to satisfy all of your guests. These coveted cookies are known by many names, but the flavor, and overall joy found within their powdery coats remains the same. Russian tea cakes have a highly disputed past, with certain individuals believing that they hail from Cleveland, but the general consensus is that the cookies were born somewhere in Europe, with no specific ties to Russia, and that Spanish nuns brought them to the new world, where they found place in weddings, hence the name Mexican Wedding cookies.
This week, we asked 30 students what they thought of the tea cakes, or whatever you call them, and they got an average rating of 8.41 out of 10, not bad considering they are meant to be served with a warm drink. One student said assuredly, “after eating the cookie any drink will be enhanced and you’ll want to go straight back into the cookie;” Something I could not have said better myself. Others said that it reminded them of Christmas, or of their grandma’s baking, making them a comforting treat perfect for the holiday season.
Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
A dash of salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 1/4 cups sifted flour
Preparation
Mix all together, roll into balls about ¾ inch in diameter, and bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes. After they cool, cover cookies in additional powder sugar (I like to put powdered sugar in zip-loc bag, drop in 3 cookies at a time and shake them gently until they’re covered).
