I made these cookies solely for looks, but was pleasantly surprised by their flavor. I added 12 chopped maraschino cherries and 2 teaspoons of the juice to the pink portion, an additional 1.5 ounces of unsweetened chocolate to the brown portion, and an additional teaspoon of vanilla extract to the white portion. My favorite thing about this dough is that it freezes exceptionally well when wrapped in plastic and stored in a ziplock freezer bag.

Reviewed On: Dec. 12, 2007

This is the ABSOLUTE BEST recipe for Russian Teacakes! I add two teaspoons of lemon extract to give them a nice tangy flavor, and to make them really stand out from other sugar cookies. Because there are so few ingredients, be sure to use the best you can find (forget the margarine and imitation vanilla). Even after being kept frozen in a ziplock bag for nearly a month, they still taste wonderful. I highly reccomend this recipe for small families who want a cookie that doesn't have to be eaten right away, or someone like me who likes to prepare for holidays and special events ahead of time. Thanks so much for sharing this great recipe.

Reviewed On: Dec. 11, 2007

This recipe is not as bad as I initially thought. I added chocolate chips and walnuts to give the bread a little more flavor, but I had many of the same problems as other reviewers. I needed to increase the baking time by 40 minutes in order for the center to get done. On my second try, I decided to cover the pan with aluminum foil halfway into the baking time, because I had some problems with the top of the loaves getting too crisp. The final results are rather dense, and the loaves collapse a bit in the center while cooling.

Reviewed On: Dec. 10, 2007