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RUSSIAN TEACAKES

 

King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking
by King Arthur Flour
Russian Teacafees, Mexican Wedding Cakes, Greek Kourabiedes, Spanish Pohwones... they're basically all one and the same: a mound-shaped, tender, nut-filled cookie heavily coated with confectioners' sugar. Though considered a special-occasion cookie in most cultures, in this country you'll find them served year-round.
Yield: 41 cookies
Baking Temperature: 325°F
Baking Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients
• 1 1/3 cups (4 5/8 ounces) old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup (4 ounces) whole barley flour
• 2/3 cup (2 5/8 ounces) chopped walnuts
• 11 tablespoons (5 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar for coating


Directions
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (or use them without parchment, ungreased). Place the oats, barley flour and walnuts in a food processor. Process for 30 seconds, or until everything is finely ground.

Beat the butter, sugar and salt in a medium bowl until smooth. Beat in the extracts and lemon zest, then the oat mixture. Roll the dough into teaspoon-size balls (a teaspoon cookie scoop works well here). Place the balls on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 1/2 inches between them.

Bake the cookies, reversing the pans midway through (top to bottom, bottom to top), for 15 minutes; they won't have begun to brown, except perhaps very slightly around the bottom edge. While they're baking, spoon about 1 cup confectioners' sugar into a plastic bag with a plain (not zip) top.

Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes. Place the warm cookies in the bag and shake gently to coat with sugar. Allow them to cool completely, then shake them in the sugar again, adding more sugar to the bag if necessary. Place the cookies on the rack once more, to allow time for the sugar to adhere, before serving or storing.

Nutrition Information Per Serving (1 Cookie, 14G): 6g whole grains, 69 cal, 5g fat, 1g protein, 5g complex carbohydrates, 2g sugar, 1g dietary fiber, 8mg cholesterol, 27mg sodium, 26mg potassium, 26RE vitamin A, 5mg calcium, 25mg phosphorus.