Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks/226 grams) unsalted butter, softened slightly

5 tablespoons (63 grams) granulated sugar

2 teaspoons (10 ml) pure vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon (1.25 grams) kosher salt

2 cups (240 grams) organic all-purpose flour, such as King Arthur Flour®

2 cups (about 240 grams) finely chopped walnuts

1½ cups (about 188 grams) confectioners’ sugar, for dusting cookies twice

Preparation

Using an electric stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, or handheld electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Beat in the vanilla and salt. Gradually add flour or gluten free flour blend (see Notes); beating after each addition. Stir in the nuts; mix until fully incorporated. Divide dough in half and refrigerate in plastic wrap for approximately 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, arrange oven rack in middle of oven and preheat to 350ºF. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Place confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl; set aside. Measure dough using a small, 1-inch spring-loaded scoop making sure each scoopful is level. Roll dough between palms of hands to achieve a small rounded ball.

Place dough balls 1½ inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake in preheated oven until the cookies are just beginning to brown, about 12 to 14 minutes. Do not overbake. The underside of the cookies should be only lightly browned. And, the cookies should not crack—a sure sign of overbaked teacake cookies.

Cool cookies on baking sheets on wire racks for approximately 2 minutes. Remove cookies from baking sheets using a metal cookie spatula. While cookies are still warm, gently roll them in the confectioners’ sugar. Place the sugar-coated cookies on wire racks to cool completely. Roll cookies once again in the confectioners’ sugar.

Variation:

For Gluten-Free Option: Replace all-purpose wheat flour with:

½ cup (64 grams) millet flour or sorghum flour, or blend of both

6 tablespoons (48 grams) arrowroot starch

6 tablespoons (48 grams) tapioca flour

5 tablespoons (50 grams) sweet white rice flour

4 tablespoons (28 grams) blanched almond meal/flour

1½ tablespoons (15 grams) potato starch

1½ teaspoons (4.2 grams) guar gum, such as Now Foods®

Tips:

The dough balls will seem very small, but don’t worry. The cookies puff while they bake.

Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. Cookies will keep up to 4 weeks.

These cookies freeze especially well. To freeze, place in an airtight container separating the layers with sheets of wax paper. To freshen frozen cookies, roll or dust them with additional confectioners’ sugar after thawing.

How to Measure All-Purpose Flour for this Recipe: This tip is provided for bakers who do not own a kitchen scale and will be measuring flour by volume rather than by weight. First, aerate your flour by stirring it in the container. Then, simply use the dip and sweep method by dipping your dry measuring cup into the flour and level off the top with a straight edge of a metal icing spatula. (The straight edge of a knife from a flatware set can be used as well.) Use a sheet of wax paper as a liner on your work surface to measure flour so that the excess can easily be funneled back into flour bag or container.

How to Measure Gluten-Free Flours for this Recipe: This tip is provided for bakers who do not own a kitchen scale and will be measuring flour by volume rather than by weight. When measuring Bob’s Red Mill® gluten-free flours for this recipe, I used the method of spooning the flour into the dry measuring cup and leveling off the top with the straight edge of a metal icing spatula. (The straight edge of a knife from a flatware set can be used as well.) Use a sheet of wax paper as a liner on your work surface to measure flour so that the excess can easily be funneled back into flour bag or container.