Russian Italian Wedding Tea Cakey Cookies

I used to gorge myself on these at Christmastime, when, at family gatherings, some aunt more domestic than my dear mum* put out scores of treats on festive trays next to the trough of eggnog (which my uncle spiked one year and then, feeling très guilty and nervous that people might unknowingly drive drunk, downed by himself. That was almost as funny as the time my mom and I bought a condom in a fake walnut shell at a gag gift store and added it to the other walnuts in a bowl at my grandparents' house. I still don't know if anyone every cracked that particular nut.... As you can see, my childhood was not exactly big on decorum. I was basically raised by wolves.)

So, back to the cookies: I've always loved them (they're rolled in a drift of confectioner's sugar! What's not to adore? [Speaking of which, I love the term "confectioner's sugar," as in, a sugar used by a confectioner, as in, someone who makes confections, as in, a fancy dish or sweetmeat. I mean, why do people call themselves BAKERS? Why not call themselves CONFECTIONERS? Henceforth, I'll refer to myself as a CONFECTIONER! CONFECTIONER CUSICK])

Anyway. I was bored on Sunday. Yoges? Check. Laundry? Check. Quick chat with Sarah about Rock of Love Bus? Check. Quick run to Bed, Bath & Beyond? Check. (I bought some new eyeliner on a tip from Marge; she swears by Prestige brand liner, and I somehow think using it will give me her thick, dark fringe of lashes. Sigh).  Short stroll to enjoy the tropical 40-degree temperatures? Check. All that was left to do was bake!

To the cookbook shelf! For Christmas, my darling brother got me Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything and, wanting to know how to cook something, I flipped to the cookie section. Italian Wedding Cookies caught my eye because I figured they must be pretty simple — a more rotund, dandruffy sugar cookie, really. These little sweeties are also known as Russian Tea Cakes, a name I prefer because these baked goods leave your mouth coated in a cakey, sugary film and I think they'd be aces washed down with afternoon tea. While wearing big Russian fur hats. And contemplating diving under a train. And being a communist. Maybe we should call them Communist Cookies? After all, they do look rather uniform ... and snow-covered, right?

*I should note that this year for Christmas, my mom whipped up no less than four varieties of treats, wrapped them in merry tins, and gifted them to various aunts & uncles & cousins. Well done, mum! Her Scottish shortbread was the cat's PJs. The cat's BUTTERY PJs.

Maybe I'll give that recipe a whirl next!

The Ingredients

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar, plus more as needed

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped salt

1 cup chopped walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans or almonds

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

several bits of milk chocolate (my addition)

Use an electric mixer to beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add 3/4 cup of the confectioner's sugar and cream together.

Combing the flour, salt, and chopped nuts in a bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the dough and beat until just combined. Stir in the vanilla.

Shape the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or as long as 2 days (or wrap very well and freeze indefinitely).

Heat the over to 350 degrees. Roll the dough in 1-inch balls, inserting a smidgen of chocolate into the center of each ball. Bake on ungreased baking sheets until the tops are just turning brown and the bottoms are golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes.

Put the remaining sugar in a pie plate or shallow bowl. Cool the cookies on the sheets just enough so you can handle them; use a spatula to transfer them in batches to the plate of sugar. Roll each cookie in the sugar until coated and then transfer to a rack to finish cooling. Roll them in the sugar again once cooled. Store in a tightly covered container at room temperature for no more than a day or two.

(These suckers do break really easily when they're warm. Do be gentle when rolling them in the sucre! I broke two and had to eat them right away and then I basically fell into a sugary, wine-compounded food coma for the rest of the evening.)