How to make Snowball Cookies?
These delectable holiday cookies are so very easy to make. First, using an electric mixer or stand mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed, cream the butter and the powdered sugar until light and fluffy! Then turn the mixer to low speed and add the salt, vanilla, flour, and chopped pecans. Using a 1-tablespoon scoop, roll the cookies into balls and place them on a parchment-covered baking sheet with a little space between them. Bake until lightly browned.
Can snowball cookies be frozen?
They can be baked and frozen ahead of time. Pack the cookies in double Ziploc freezer bags, place them in a sturdy, glad-ware freezer container, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw the cookies in the fridge overnight. Once the cookies have thawed, reroll them in powdered sugar. Then, place them in airtight containers, and store them at room temperature for up to 5 days.
The dough can easily be frozen as well in a practice commonly known as flash freezing. Simply roll the dough and place it on parchment-covered baking sheets. Make sure the dough balls aren’t touching so they don’t freeze to each other. Place the whole sheet in the freezer until frozen, and then transfer the balls to a freezer bag. Store that bag in a sturdy freezer container. When you are ready to bake, simply place the cookies on a parchment-covered baking sheet and let them thaw just a tad while the oven preheats. Frozen cookies may require an additional one to two minutes of baking time.
Do you have to use pecans?
Heck no! You can use English walnuts, black walnuts, almonds, pistachios, and even cashews. Just make sure the nuts are shelled, roasted, and finely chopped. Each nut gives the cookie a delicious different unique flavor.
Helpful Recipe Tips
- Use real honest-to-goodness butter so they taste yummy. I personally use Land O Lakes butter for all my cookies.
- Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy
- Chop the pecans fairly fine. Remember, you can use different nuts.
- This a thick dough, so roll the cookies with your hands because the warmth of your hands will help shape the cookies.
- Preheat the oven and load the baking sheet in the middle of the oven.
- Use parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- If you have time, do a test run with one or two cookies. It really helps to establish baking time.
- Do not over-bake the cookies. These are a type of shortbread cookies with a crumbly melt-in-your-mouth texture.
- When measuring your flour, spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off with a table knife to keep from adding too much flour.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 5 days.
Recipe variations
- Roll the dough around an unwrapped chocolate kiss
- Add 3/4 cup chopped Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips to the cookie dough
- Add 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips to the cookie dough
- Mix 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder at the same time as the butter and powdered sugar. Also, add 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips stirred in at the end to make Chocolate Snowball Cookies
- Replace the vanilla with lemon juice, add 1-2 tablespoons lemon zest, and use finely chopped sliced almonds instead of the pecans to make Almond Lemon Snowballs.
- Substitute almonds coarsely ground in a food processor for the pecans and add 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract.
Snowball Cookies Recipe
This snowball cookie recipe is a Christmas tradition and my favorite cookie! These melt-in-your-mouth buttery pecan shortbread cookies are baked to perfection and rolled in powdered sugar.
Course: cookies
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 15minutes
Cook Time: 11minutes
Total Time: 26minutes
Servings:30-36
Calories: 116kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar confectioner’s sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup pecans or walnuts finely chopped
- 1 cup powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment on medium speed, cream the butter and powdered sugar. Turn the mixer to low and add the salt, vanilla, flour, and pecans. Roll the dough into one-inch balls using a 1-tablespoon scoop. Place on parchment-covered baking sheets a few inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until very lightly browned. Do not over-bake
- Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool just enough to handle them. Pour 1 cup powdered sugar into a medium bowl. Gently roll the cookies in the powdered sugar. Use a fork to scoop under each cookie and gently shake to remove excess powdered sugar. Place on cooling racks. Once completely cooled, roll in the powdered sugar again.
Notes
- Use real honest-to-goodness butter so they taste yummy. I personally use Land O Lakes butter for all my cookies.
- Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy
- Chop the pecans fairly fine. Remember, you can use different nuts.
- This a thick dough, so roll the cookies with your hands because the warmth of your hands will help shape the cookies.
- Preheat the oven and load the baking sheet in the middle of the oven.
- Use parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- If you have time, do a test run with one or two cookies. It really helps to establish baking time.
- Do not over-bake the cookies. These are a type of shortbread cookies with a crumbly melt-in-your-mouth texture.
- When measuring your flour, spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off with a table knife to keep from adding too much flour.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Calories: 116kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 21mg | Potassium: 25mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 190IU | Vitamin C: 0.04mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 1mg
