These classic Snowball Cookies are little balls of buttery shortbread, melt-in-your-mouth goodness with a powdered sugar coating. They are quick to fix, delicious, and freeze well.
You may even have the ingredients to make them in your house now. They are called Russian Tea Cakes, Italian Wedding cookies, butter balls, and Mexican Wedding Cookies, but in our house, we call them Snowballs. They are the delectable cookies with a thousand names.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Butter: unsalted or salted. If using salted butter, eliminate the added salt. Use natural, honest-to-goodness butter so your cookies taste yummy. I use Land O Lakes butter for all my cookies.
- Powdered sugar: also known as confectioners’ sugar
- Vanilla extract: pure vanilla extract, please
- Nuts: pecans, English walnuts, black walnuts, almonds, pistachios, and cashews.
How to make Snowball Cookies
These delectable holiday cookies are so very easy to make. First, using an electric 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 bit of space between them. Bake until lightly browned.
Allow the cookies to cool just enough to handle them. Then, gently roll them in the powdered sugar. Place them on a wire rack to cool. When they are thoroughly cooled, roll in the powdered sugar again.
Preparation Tips
- 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.
- If you have time, do a test run with one or two cookies. This will help establish the 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.
Try These 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
Freeze the dough in a practice commonly known as flash freezing. Roll the dough and place it on parchment-covered baking sheets. Ensure the dough balls aren’t touching so they don’t freeze together.
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.
Pack the baked 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. Place them in airtight containers and store them at room temperature for up to 5 days.
More Cookie Recipes
Snowball Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup powdered sugar confectioner’s sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ 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.
Video
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
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Sandra
This is really perfect!! My kids enjoyed them. Thanks for sharing the recipe, Beth
Stephanie
These pecan snowball cookies are so yummy and were fun to make with the kids. I’ll make this recipe again soon for my holiday cookie baskets!
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Stephanie! I am so glad that you and the kids had fun making them.
Karen
omg the snowball cookies!!! They were so delicious, so delicious!!! Thank you so much for the recipe, it is cookie season….
Erik
My favorite cookie and impossible to resist. I make these every year around the holidays and everyone loves them.
karen huber
my grandmother taught me to make these when i was a little girl. they were the cookies we left out for santa! hers were shaped in the form of a crescent! grandma also made hers with cake flour which i feel makes for a lighter, more delicate cookie vs all-purpose! 😋
Pamela
The chocolate snowballs were really good. How can I incorporate peanut butter? Chips?
Beth Pierce
Yes you could add peanut butter chips to the dough.
Ellen
I accidentally grabbed almond extract at the store so used that instead of vanilla. So very yummy. Love this easy recipe.
Beth Pierce
Thanks Ellen! So glad that you liked them!
Trish
Should pecans be unsalted?
Beth Pierce
Yes
Holly
Great recipe! Easy and delicious 🖤 thank you
Beth Pierce
The pleasure is all mine Holly!
Colleen
Can I freeze dough before baking…thanks 😊
Beth Pierce
Yes you can! Happy baking!
Debbie
Looks Delicious & I have all the ingredients in my house except the Pecans..Can I use Walnuts instead?.tia & Merry Monday Greetings too you ❣️✌️
Beth Pierce
Yes you can! Merry Christmas to you as well!!
Sherri
I’m sure this is a novice question, but should you use salted or unsalted butter?
Beth Pierce
Unsalted butter. It is not a novice question.
Amanda
Do you use salted or unsalted butter?
Beth Pierce
Unsalted butter
Jeffrey Scott
Delicious and festive! They disappear so fast I’m going to make another batch. Any advice on storage?
Beth Pierce
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days or up to 2 weeks in the fridge. They also freeze well.
Angie
Do you use all purpose or self rising flour
Beth Pierce
All purpose
Dianna Young
Can u use self rising flour in stead?
Beth Pierce
No, sorry.
Francoise H Fussell
These are SO good! They were one of my late husband’s favorites. I used to put off making them because of having to do the mixing part by hand until I discovered that my Kitchen Aid stand mixer can make this dough so the hard work is covered! 🙂
Beth Pierce
Yes so true! Those mixers are wonderful for that! Your husband had great taste!
Judy
Do you measure the 1 cup of pecans before after chopping fine?
Beth Pierce
Measure the nuts first and then chop fine. I changed it to make more sense.