The Best Snowball Cookies Recipe (2024)

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

Jump to Recipe

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!

Sharing of this recipe to social media is both encouraged and appreciated. Please share the direct link back to the recipe. Copy/Pasting and/or screenshots of the recipe to any social media is strictly prohibited. Content and photographs are copyright protected

The Best Snowball Cookies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why didn't my snowball cookies stay round? ›

Chilling your cookie dough thoroughly, at least an hour, should help. The rest in the chill chest helps that butter firm up. That, in turn, helps the cookies hold their shape.

What is the secret to making good 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 do my snowball cookies go flat? ›

Why did my snowball cookies turn out flat? Snowball cookies should not flatten. Since they do not contain a leavening agent, the main factor to check is that the dough is chilled before baking.

What is the secret to chewy cookies? ›

Cornstarch helps product soft and thick cookies. Using more brown sugar than white sugar results in a moister, softer cookie. An extra egg yolk increases chewiness. Rolling the cookie dough balls to be tall and lumpy instead of wide and smooth gives the cookies a bakery-style textured thickness.

How do I make sure my cookies keep their shape? ›

Sandwich your dough between two sheets of parchment, roll, then freeze; it makes cut-out cookies a breeze! If you plan to store it for only a few hours or days, there's no need to overwrap the baking sheet; for longer storage, wrap the entire baking sheet tightly with plastic wrap before freezing.

What is the best flour for cookies? ›

All-Purpose Flour: The Versatile Choice

All-purpose flour is the most commonly used flour in cookie recipes due to its moderate protein content (usually around 10-12%).

How long to chill cookie dough before baking? ›

Scooping then chilling your cookie dough for at least. 2 hours before baking. As you can see, this primarily affects spread and height, both of which significantly contribute to texture.

What brings out the flavor in cookies? ›

  • Butter. The most obvious contribution of butter is its flavour (the milk protein browns as the cookie bakes and adds to nuttiness and overall flavour). ...
  • Sugar. First and foremost, sugar adds flavour. ...
  • Flour. ...
  • Eggs. ...
  • The secret ingredient – AIR! ...
  • Others – Salt plays an important part to balance the flavour of caramelised sugars.
Jan 17, 2018

How to keep snowball cookies from spreading? ›

Chill the dough for just 30 minutes to help that creamed butter solidify, which helps guarantee your rounded cookies stay… well, rounded! Without chilling, your cookies could spread flat.

Why is my snowball cookie dough crumbly? ›

Overmixing the dough

If you overmix the dough, the cookies will be dry and crumbly. The best way to fix this is to add more liquid to the dough. This can be done by adding milk, water, or even melted butter. You may also need to add more flour to the dough if it is too wet.

How long do snowballs last? ›

Snowball cookies will last up to 3 days at room temperature, in a sealed container, or up to 2 weeks if stored in the refrigerator.

Should I use baking soda or baking powder in cookies? ›

Baking soda is typically used for chewy cookies, while baking powder is generally used for light and airy cookies. Since baking powder is comprised of a number of ingredients (baking soda, cream of tartar, cornstarch, etc.), using it instead of pure baking soda will affect the taste of your cookies.

Is it OK to use melted butter instead of softened? ›

Softened butter and melted butter are not the same. Using melted butter will change the texture of whatever you're baking. If you only want the butter to soften for spreading, microwave it on the Defrost setting (30%) in 5-second increments until it's softened as desired.

Why do my cookies keep coming out flat? ›

If you use too much butter, the cookies will end up flat and greasy. And if you use too little flour, the amount of butter and sugar will be proportionally too high, meaning the cookies will spread for the aforementioned reasons.

Why are my cookies not round? ›

Too much flour causes the dough to become dry and crumbly, which prevents it from flattening out during baking. As a result, your cookies will stay in their original shape instead of spreading out into nice circles.

Why is my cookie dough not holding shape? ›

First, try adding more liquid to the dough. This can be milk, water, or even just a little bit of extra oil. If that doesn't work, you can try kneading the dough for a few minutes to help it come together. Lastly, if all else fails, you can always add in a few tablespoons of flour to help bind the dough together.

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Twana Towne Ret

Last Updated:

Views: 6468

Rating: 4.3 / 5 (44 voted)

Reviews: 83% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Twana Towne Ret

Birthday: 1994-03-19

Address: Apt. 990 97439 Corwin Motorway, Port Eliseoburgh, NM 99144-2618

Phone: +5958753152963

Job: National Specialist

Hobby: Kayaking, Photography, Skydiving, Embroidery, Leather crafting, Orienteering, Cooking

Introduction: My name is Twana Towne Ret, I am a famous, talented, joyous, perfect, powerful, inquisitive, lovely person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.