The Best Snowball Cookies Recipe (2024)

Published: · Modified: by Sherri · This post may contain affiliate links · 48 Comments

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These easy Snowball Cookies are an old fashioned, buttery shortbread cookie with pecans that are dipped in powdered sugar. They’re an elegant treat to enjoy any time of the year and to add to your Holiday season baking!

Some people know these cookies as Italian wedding cookies, Mexican wedding cookies, and even Russian Tea cookies. I grew up calling Pecan Balls. However you may know them, they are melt-in-your-mouth yumminess that everyone loves.

Pecan balls were one of my Grandma’s specialties and are truly one of my fondest childhood Christmas traditions and are, by far, my favorite cookies. We made these cookies and these Oreo Balls every year and it’s so great creating the same memories with my own children.

The Best Snowball Cookies Recipe (1)

These pecan cookie balls are the best simple and delicious treat that comes together quickly and the dough freezes well. It’s hard to beat cookies shaped like little snowballs right?! They are pure decadence.

Ingredients Needed

Butter – a cup of unsalted butter to give that classic, buttery shortbread flavor

Sugar – just a tad of white sugar gets mixed into the dough

Water – a small amount of water to moisten the dough

Vanilla extract – To give it the cookies flavor

All purpose flour – I have also used Bob’s Red Mill One-to-one flour

Pecans – chopped finely in a food processor or with a hand held chopper

Confectioners’ Sugar – to roll and coat the baked cookies in

Tips and Variations

Make them with no nuts if you’d like.

Used chopped walnuts, almonds, or any type of nut you’d like to use.

Add ⅓ cup of mini chocolate chips if desired.

Add ½ cup cocoa powder for a chocolate version.

Chop nut in a food processor or with a hand held chopper.

Add 1 teaspoon of almond extract in place of 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract if desired.

How to Make These Butter Ball Cookies

Preheat oven to 325 ° F

Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium speed. You can also use your stand mixer with the paddle attachment as well

Add in the water and vanilla extract and mix until combined.

Then add flour and mix on low speed until flour is just mixed in, making sure to scape down the sides of the bowl..

Add the chopped nuts and gently stir to combine.

Chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours

Using a cookie scoop, scoop dough into your hand and roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place on an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.

After baking, transfer to a wire rack and cool for 5-10 minutes.

Place the confectioners’ sugar in a shallow bowl or plastic bag. Roll each baked cookie ball in the powdered sugar while they are still a little warm. Then place them on a sheet of parchment paper .

Roll in the powdered sugar again for a second time after they have completely cooled to generous coat the outside of the cookies.

How to Store?

Store in an airtight container for up to 5-6 days.

Can snowball cookie dough be frozen?

Yes, you can place the cookie dough in a freezer bag and freezer for up to one month. The entire ball of dough can be frozen or roll the cookie balls and then freeze them. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature prior to baking.

Freeze snowball cookies after baking as well. Once they have thawed completely, roll them in powdered sugar again to freshen them up.

The Best Snowball Cookies Recipe (2)

Try these other easy Holiday treats too:

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Easy Peppermint Bark

Raspberry Pecan Pinwheel Cookies

Easy Oreo Balls Recipe

Classic Snickerdoodle Cookies

The Best Snowball Cookies Recipe (3)

Old Fashioned Snowball Cookies

These easy Snowball Cookies are a buttery shortbread cookie with pecans that will literally melt in your mouth

5 from 51 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Chill dough: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 48

Calories: 81kcal

Author: Sherri Hagymas

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter salted 2 sticks, softened
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoon water optional
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 cups all purpose flour sifted
  • 1 cup pecans chopped
  • ½ cup confectioners Sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 325 ° F

  • Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and cream with an electric mixer. You can also use a stand mixer.

  • Add in the vanilla extract and water and mix until combined.

  • Then add flour and mix thoroughly.

  • Add the chopped nuts and gently stir to combine.

  • Chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours

  • Roll the chilled dough into 1 inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

  • Bake for 20 minutes.

  • After baking, transfer to a wire rack and cool for 5-10 minutes.

  • Then roll in confectioner's sugar.

Notes

Used chopped walnuts, almonds, or any type of nut you’d like to use.

Add ⅓ cup of mini chocolate chips if desired.

Add ½ cup cocoa powder for a chocolate version.

Add 1 teaspoon of almond extract in place of 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract if desired.

Tips:

Chop nuts in a food processor or with a hand held chopper.

Make them with no nuts if you’d like.

Dough is very dense after adding flour.

Keeping the dough cool is important to the cookies staying nice and round.

Place the dough back in the refrigerator between batches.

Nutrition

Serving: 1ball | Calories: 81kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 33mg | Potassium: 16mg | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 120IU | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 0.3mg

Nutritional Disclosure

Nutritional facts are estimates and are provided as a courtesy to the reader. Please utilize your own brand nutritional values to double check against our estimates. Nutritional values are calculated via a third party. Changing ingredients, amounts or cooking technique will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.

Tried this recipe?Mention @ToSimplyInspire or tag #ToSimplyInspire!

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The Best Snowball Cookies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to making the best cookies? ›

The key is to always use top-quality ingredients as they'll result in a better cookie; it really is that simple.
  1. Always use butter.
  2. Choose the right sugar.
  3. Choose the right flour.
  4. Check your flour is in date.
  5. Choose the right kind of chocolate.
  6. Cream the butter and sugar.
  7. Beat in the eggs.
  8. Fold in the flour.

Why are my snowball cookies falling apart after baking? ›

If your snowball cookies are falling apart, the most likely culprit is adding too much flour to the dough. This usually happens when flour is not measured properly. To measure the flour properly, be sure to stir the flour with a spoon, then spoon it into your measuring cup.

What is the trick to making soft and chewy cookies? ›

Cornstarch gives the cookies that ultra soft consistency we all love. Plus, it helps keep the cookies beautifully thick. We use the same trick when making shortbread cookies. Egg yolk: Another way to promise a super chewy chocolate chip cookie is to use an extra egg yolk.

Why is my snowball cookie dough crumbly? ›

It is probably because the cookie dough needs more liquid or fat or the dry or wet ingredients are unbalanced.

What makes cookies taste better? ›

Instead of margarine or shortening, add butter to your cookie mix. Butter results in a richer flavor, which makes sense when you consider it started as cream! Margarine contains more water than fat. This means your cookies spread while baking, resulting in thin cookies with a gummy texture.

What happens if you add milk to cookie dough? ›

Baking recipes have to be fairly precise for the best results; adding extra liquid in the form of milk to cookie dough could cause the baked cookies to spread, over-brown, and lose their shape. However, it's easy to add a tablespoon or two of milk powder to cookie batters without affecting the final texture.

How to make cookie dough more moist? ›

Dry – “Dry” or “Crumbly” dough is a product of over-mixing or using too much of any ingredient during the mixing process. This can be reversed by adding one to two tablespoons of liquid (water, milk or softened butter) to your mix.

Can I bake cookies on aluminum foil? ›

aluminum (not “tin foil” as it's often called). Aluminum is a great heat conductor, which makes it heat-safe and well-suited for many oven and stovetop applications. But this attribute is exactly why you should avoid using it when it comes to baking cookies.

What makes bakery cookies so soft? ›

The ingredients that make cookies soft do double duty: they add and maintain moisture and they add flavor that develops while the cookies bake. Butter is more than 15% water, so it plays a role in making cookies soft by adding water and fat, which contributes flavor and tenderness.

What does adding cornstarch to cookies do? ›

Cornstarch does kind of incredible things to cookies. I mean not only does it give them soft centers, prevents them from spreading, and makes them somewhat thick (in a good way), but it also contributes to the chewiness factor, which, in my opinion, is the most important cookie attribute.

How do I make my cookies chewy instead of crunchy? ›

How To Make Cookies Chewy Without Cornstarch
  1. Go heavy on brown sugar. It has more moisture than its granulated counterpart, which means the cookie comes out less crispy. ...
  2. Choose margarine or shortening instead of butter. ...
  3. Use baking powder instead of baking soda. ...
  4. Rest your dough. ...
  5. Shorten baking time.
May 14, 2023

Why did my snowball cookies go flat? ›

Why do my snowball cookies go flat? These snowball cookies should not flatten. If they do it's likely the dough wasn't chilled long enough and the ingredients were too warm to begin with so they spread. It's also possible you accidentally measured the ingredients incorrectly!

What happens if too much butter is in cookies? ›

But one unexpected error bakers can make is adding too much of a good thing, butter. Although butter generally makes it all better, bakers who go overboard with it are dooming their cookies to a greasy and crumbly texture.

How do you make cookies less crumbly and more chewy? ›

Too much flour = crumbly cookies

If you don't want to measure by weight, try sifting your flour first and scooping flour into your measuring cup with a spoon, and don't pack it down into the cup. If all else fails, try reducing the amount of flour in the recipe by 10%.

What is the most important thing in cookies? ›

Flour is the main ingredient that provides structure in a cookie – without it, there would be no cookie! The gluten in flour forms a web of sorts – the framework that catches the air bubbles/gasses given off during rising. This helps provide the structure.

What makes a delicious cookie? ›

The best cookies have layers of texture. A slightly crisp outer shell that holds up to some heat with an inner core that's soft and chewy. Premium cookies taste great at room temperature, straight out of the fridge or slightly heated. Creating cookies in small batches is key.

References

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