Persian Tea Cookies

Persian tea cookies resemble snowball cookies seen around the Christmas holidays, also known as Russian Tea Cakes and Mexican Wedding Cookies. Sometimes they are loaded with walnuts, other times pecans or almonds. Whatever you call them and whichever nuts you choose, I love these cookies for their buttery, powdery yumminess.

It’s time to make a Persian version of one of my all-time favorite cookies – roll them, shape them, flatten them into sweet oval shapes, and best of all, enjoy them any time of year!

This recipe makes a small batch – only about one dozen small cookies. I use whole wheat pastry flour for a slightly healthier version. If you’re a regular OvenHugger you know that I normally cut down the sugar and added fat in traditional recipes. We’re keeping the butter and sugar intact for this recipe this time. In fact, I even increase the butter ratio so that the cookie is less crumbly and easier to mold and shape. I find one cookie to be filling and satisfying so portion control is a snap.

Once you have room-temperature butter, these cookies are easy to put together in very little time and effort.

Using a plastic spoon or plastic scraper, cream together room temperature butter with sugar and vanilla.

Finely chop your favorite nuts or use a food processor (Cuisinart) for a fine grind.

Stir the ground nuts into the butter/sugar mixture –

Lastly, stir in whole wheat pastry flour until well combined. Use your hands once it becomes crumbly if necessary.

Using your hands, shape into ovals and flatten the cookies down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. You can further mold them into egg-shapes by making one side come to a little bit of a point like an egg. These cookies don’t spread much and can be placed close together on the sheet.

Bake in a 400-degree F oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Coat with powdered sugar while still slightly warm. Use a colander to sift extra powdered sugar over cookies until white in color.