Recipe: Russian Teacakes

Makes about 3 dozen cookies Baker's parchment paper

- 1 1/3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

- 1 cup barley flour

- 2/3 cup chopped walnuts

- 11 tablespoons unsalted butter

- ½ cup powdered sugar

- ½ teaspoon salt

- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

- 1 teaspoon almond extract

- Grated zest of 1 lemon

- About 1 cup powdered sugar for coating

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, or grease the sheets. Place oats, barley flour and walnuts in a food processor. Process 30 seconds or until everything is finely ground.

2. Beat butter, sugar and salt in a medium bowl until smooth. Beat in extracts and lemon zest, then the oat mixture. Roll dough into teaspoon-size balls. Place on prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1-½ inches between them.

3. Bake cookies, reversing the pans midway through, for 15 minutes; they won't have begun to brown, except perhaps slightly around the bottom edge. While they're baking, spoon about 1 cup powdered sugar into a clean, plain plastic bag. (Don't use a zip-top, which is too stiff and may break the cookies.)

4. Remove cookies from oven and let cool 10 minutes. Place warm cookies in the bag a few at a time and shake gently to coat with sugar. Let cool completely on a rack, then shake again in the sugar, adding more sugar if necessary. Place cookies on rack once more to allow time for the sugar to adhere before serving or storing.

From "King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking"