Moms Russian Tea Recipes

MOM'S RUSSIAN TEA

Steps:

• Bring 8 cups water to a boil in a large stockpot. Remove from heat. Add tea bags; steep, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove and discard tea bags and return pot to medium heat.
• Bring 1 cup water to a boil in a separate pot. Add sugar; stir well until dissolved. Pour mixture into the stockpot with the tea. Add pineapple juice, orange juice concentrate, and lemon juice. Stir.
• Put cloves in a tea ball and place into the stockpot with the tea-juice mixture. Cook for 10 minutes; do not boil. Turn heat down to very low; let simmer until flavors blend, 15 to 20 minutes more.

MOM'S RUSSIAN TEA CAKES RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Mix butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add flour and salt and mix until the dough comes together. Stir in the nuts. If dough is too soft, chill it until you can work it easily with your hands.
• Scoop 1 tablespoon balls of dough and place on prepared cookie sheet.
• Bake cookies for 7-8 minutes until bottoms are just slightly brown. Remove from oven and cool for just a minute, until you can handle them. Fill a small bowl with powdered sugar and roll each cookie in the sugar until coated.
• Place on a rack to cool. (Once cookies are cooled, you may want to re-roll them in more powdered sugar.)
• You can freeze these cookies or make them up to 4 days ahead of serving.

RUSSIAN PRYANIKI RECIPE

Steps:

• Whisk egg yolks with sugar until well combined.
• Whisk in sour cream, mayonnaise, and honey until well combined.
• In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking powder.
• In small portions, add your dry ingredients into your wet. Don't fret if the dough is sticky -- it should be! Chill dough in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
• Using a spoon, portion out individual pieces of dough. With wet hands, shape the dough mounds into circles.
• Bake cookies at 350°F for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove cookies from the oven and bring to room temperature.
• Using a stand up mixer, beat egg whites with powdered sugar until you get a thick glaze.
• Using a pastry brush, glaze the tops of the cookies and let them completely dry at room temperature. Turn cookies over and apply the same glaze to the bottoms. Repeat the drying process. Serve and enjoy!

MOM'S RUSSIAN TEA CAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the margarine and powdered sugar with the honey, salt, and vanilla. Stir in the flour, working until the ingredients come together to make a soft dough.
• Portion the dough into 1" balls, rolling each one in powdered sugar and placing them onto a greased cookie sheet, about 2" apart.
• Bake tea cakes, uncovered, on the center oven rack for 12-14 minutes, until the bottom of each tea cake is nicely browned.
• Remove the tea cakes from the oven, letting them rest on the baking sheet for a few minutes; roll each tea cake in powdered sugar once more while still warm, then place them onto a cooling rack until fully cooked.
• Store tea cakes in an airtight container for up to a week, or freeze for up to 6 months. Dough freezes well, too.
• Makes 12-15 tea cakes, depending on the size of the balls....and how much of the dough you "sample".

RUSSIAN TEA CAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together butter, vanilla, almond flavoring and sugar.
• In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Add flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix to combine. It will look crumbly at first, but keep mixing until it comes together in a thick dough. Mix in walnuts.
• Shape dough into balls (about the size of golf balls). Place about 1 inch apart on parchment or silicone-lined baking sheets.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes, or just until set and firm to the touch (but not browned). Allow the cookies to cool for a few minutes, then roll the warm cookies in powdered sugar. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Once cool, roll the cookies in powdered sugar again.