I was browsing the cookie archives on MBA and realized that there is certainly a deficit in the area of holiday classics. Growing up, our holiday cookie platters were filled with a very specific variety of cookies. Of course we couldn’t make it easy on my mom – we each had a very different idea of holiday cookie perfection.
I decided that I wanted to recreate and post the classic cookies that made their way to Santa’s plate at our house year after year. First up on the list is one of my brother’s favorites – Snowballs. Jared may be the pickiest eater ever – the only vegetable he eats is broccoli and it must be covered in Cheez Whiz in order for him to choke it down. He’s also not fond of fruit – unless the word Roll-Up comes after it. However, give him a plate of these Snowball Cookies and he’ll eat every last sugar coated crumb.
These Snowballs are easy to whip up and definitely make an impact on any cookie platter. What’s cuter than little snowballs in a festive miniature liners?
These cookies may look familiar to you because I’m fairly certain this holiday cookie classic goes by several aliases – Mexican Wedding Cookies, Russian Tea Cakes, but they’ve always been and always will be Snowballs to my family.
1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped pecans
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted - for rolling cookies
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter and 1/2 cup of the confectioners' sugar until smooth and creamy. Add in vanilla extract and mix until combined.
3. Mix in the flour, pecans and salt. Mixing until just combined.
4. Roll about 1 tablespoon of dough (mine are a bit larger, see notes below) into balls and place on prepared baking sheet. The cookies can be placed quite close together since they do not spread during the baking process.
5. Bake in preheated oven for about 15 minutes – taking care not to over bake. Allow cookies to cool on baking pan until you are able to comfortably hold them in your hands.
6. Sift 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar into a medium bowl. While cookies are still warm, roll them in confectioners' sugar. Place cookies on cooling rack, once they have cooled completely, roll them in confectioners' sugar again.
- Not a fan of pecans? Feel free to sub in another nut such as walnuts or almonds.
- I used a medium OXO cookie scoop to form my snowballs.
- Yield will depend on the size that you roll your Snowball Cookies.
- Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to one month.
My Baking Addiction adapted from allrecipes.com.
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