Russian Tea Balls

Directions

Position rack in center of the oven and preheat to 375℉ (190℃).

In a large bowl combine the butter with ½ cup of the confectioners sugar; beat with an electric mixture until fluffy, about 1 minute.

With a spoon, stir in the vanilla, flour, salt and walnuts to form a stiff dough.

Using about 2 teaspoons of dough for each cookie, shape half the dough by rolling between hands.

Place about 1½ inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet and bake about 12 minutes, until just pale golden on the bottom.

Meanwhile, sift ½ cup of the remaining confectioner’s sugar into a 13 by 9 inch pan.

As soon as cookies are removed from the oven, use a spatula to transfer them to the sugar, tossing them around to coat; let the cookies cool completely in the sugar and then sift ¼ cup more sugar over them to coat.

Repeat with the remaining cookie dough, using a cool baking sugar, divided as before, to coat.