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GREEK TEA CAKES
(Makes 30-40 one inch cookies)

Ingredients 
2 ounces pistachios, toasted 
3 ounces granulated sugar 
8 ounces butter 
½ teaspoon vanilla extract 
9 ounces all-purpose flour 
¼ teaspoon salt 
Powdered sugar, for finishing

Procedure 
1. Toast the pistachios and allow them to cool completely. 
2. Grind the cooled nuts with approximately one-third of the sugar in the food processor until they are the consistency of coarse cornmeal. 
3. Cream the butter with the remaining sugar until very light and fluffy. 
4. Add the vanilla extract. 
5. Add the ground nuts and sugar, flour and salt and mix just to combine. Scrape the bowl several times to ensure thorough mixing. 
6. Roll the dough into small balls approximately 1 inch in diameter and place on a parchment lined sheet pan. 
7. Bake the tea cakes at 300 degrees F for 10-15 minutes, or until browned around the edges 
8. Roll the warm cookies in powdered sugar. 

Special instructions 
1. The nuts must be thoroughly cooled before grinding or the oils will come out and produce a nut paste rather than all-purpose flour. 2. Grinding a small amount of sugar with the nuts absorbs some of the excess oils and helps prevent it from turning into a paste. 3. Be sure the butter and sugar mixture is well creamed or the mixture will be difficult to shape later. 4. The dough may be made in advance and refrigerated for 3 – 4 days or frozen for longer storage. 5. Baked cookies may be kept in an air tight container for several days. 6. Pecans may be substituted for the pistachios. 7. It may be necessary to dredge the baked cookies in powdered sugar several times. The steam from the warm cookies will often dissolve the sugar.