Chef John's Russian Tea Cakes

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter , room temperature
• 1 cup finely chopped toasted walnuts
• 0.33 cups confectioners' sugar , packed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 0.13 teaspoons salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar for dusting , or more as needed

Instructions

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Arrange a rack in the center position of the oven. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a silicone mat.

2. 2

   Place butter, walnuts, 1/3 cup packed powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl. Top with 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour. Mix with clean hands until dough starts to clump up. Keep mixing by hand until all flour and clumps of butter are evenly mixed into dough.

3. 3

   Scoop out dough and roll by hand into uniformly round balls, just slightly larger than 1 inch. Place about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.

4. 4

   Bake in the preheated oven until lightly golden, 15 to 25 minutes depending on the size of cookies.

5. 5

   Let cool for exactly 5 minutes, then roll warm cookies in 1 cup confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl. Let cookies cool completely, then toss them again in confectioners' sugar.