Tea cookies

This is one of those recipes that is so easy to do that I haven't written it down until now; and I'm doing so because I'm always hunting around the kitchen for the recipe only to realize that I haven't written it down; so here it is. The recipe is adapted from the Joy of Baking's "Mexican Wedding Cakes" and has many names: Russian Tea Cakes, Mexican Wedding Cake, an Italian Butter Nut, a Southern Pecan Butterball, a Snowdrop, a Viennese Sugar Ball, and a Snowball. But, none of those names mean anything here since I don't use nuts in desserts. The adaptation is that I use crushed granola in lieu of the nuts.

This is a crowd favorite and always popular among my co-workers. For simplicity, I just call them tea cookies because they are sweetened just enough to be eaten with unsweetened hot tea.

Ingredients:

1 c. crushed granola bars (I use the oat & honey variety of the Nature Valley granola bars)
1 c. unsalted butter, softened
1 c. + 1/4 c. powdered sugar, separated
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 c. unbleached white flour
1/4 tsp salt
Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter, 1/4 c. powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. Add sifted flour, salt, and crushed granola. Mix until well combined.


2. Refrigerate the cookie dough until it is firm, about 30 minutes to an hour.


3. Scoop out dough with a teaspoon and form into rounded 1-inch balls.


4. Slightly flatten these onto a parchment paper-lined baking tray. These cookies will expand a little bit, so you can probably fit 12 cookies to a tray.


5. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly toasted on the bottom. If you can press them lightly with a finger and not leave a noticeable impression, these are done.


6. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.


7. Dust the cooled cookies with the remaining 1 c. powdered sugar. I use a soup strainer for this step to evenly coat the cookies with the sugar.