Pecan Snowball Cookies
User Reviews
4.9
60 reviews
Excellent
-
Prep Time
15 mins
-
Cook Time
8 mins
-
Additional Time
45 mins
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Total Time
1 hr 8 mins
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Servings
24
-
Calories
172 kcal
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Course
Baked Goods
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Cuisine
American
Pecan Snowball Cookies
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Pecan Snowball Cookies are buttery, tender cookies featuring finely chopped pecans mixed into a rich dough and rolled in confectioners’ sugar. The cookies have a soft crumb with a delicate nutty texture, achieved by chilling the dough before baking to prevent spreading and allow flavor development. Toasting nuts enhances their flavor further.
Description
Pecan Snowball Cookies combine all-purpose flour, chopped pecans, salt, butter, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla to create a dough that yields crisp yet tender cookies with a characteristic powdery coating. The nuts may be toasted to deepen their nutty aroma and flavor, contributing to the cookies’ overall richness and texture.
The dough is mixed until just combined to maintain a tender crumb, and chilling the shaped dough balls before baking is essential to prevent the butter from melting too quickly, which otherwise causes spreading. Baking at a relatively low temperature ensures even toasting of the nuts and a gentle bake.
Once baked, the cookies resemble small snowballs coated with confectioners’ sugar, suitable for gifting or enjoying during holidays and gatherings. They keep well refrigerated for several days and can be prepared in advance by chill storing the dough.
The recipe accommodates nut omission or substitution with walnuts while noting that nuts improve the dough’s texture and flavor significantly.
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Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup pecans or walnuts, finely chopped; toasted optional*
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup butter at room temperature, unsalted
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar sifted (plus more for rolling, for the dough
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- To a large bowl, add the flour, chopped pecans or walnuts, salt, and whisk to combine; set aside.
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large mixing bowl and electric handheld mixer), add the butter, and beat on high speed for about 1 to 2 minutes, or until soft, fluffy, and creamy. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add 1 cup confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract, and initially beat on low speed to incorporate the sugar, and then ramp up to high speed until the mixture is soft and fluffy. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the dry ingredients mixture (flour, nuts, salt) and mix to just incorporate; don't overmix.
- Using a small 1-tablespoon cookie scoop or similar, form approximately 24 equally sized mounds of dough, place them on a large dinner plate, cover with plasticwrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or longer (up to 3 days**). Tips - Do NOT chill the whole bowl of dough and then later on try to later scoop it out because it'll be dry, crumbly, difficult to work with, and this chiseling method is not advised. Use a large dinner plate and find some space in your fridge for 30 to 60 minutes to chill the dough.
- While the dough is chilling or before you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 400F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpats; set aside. Note - You can also use a 375F oven rather than 400F. The cookies will take longer to bake but will be less prone to burning on the bottoms and you won't need to watch them quite as carefully.
- Place the chilled cookie dough mounds on the baking sheets. Tips - I bake about 12 cookies per sheet. They don't spread much. I bake them one sheet at a time in the center oven rack, rotating the pan once midway through baking, for optimal results. I try to avoid baking two sheets of cookies at once because the sheet baking on the bottom tends to not turn out quite as well as the other sheet.
- If you're baking at 400F, the cookies will bake for about 7 to 10 minutes. At 375F, they'll bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Tips - Because this is quite a hot oven cookies, keep a very close eye on the cookies, especially the bottoms, and bake just until they are barely golden browned and the tops are set. The cookies will continue to firm up as the cool and the bottoms will also darken a bit more, so if in doubt, I recommend pulling them out sooner rather than later. Watch your cookies, in your oven, and not the clock when determining doneness since all ovens, baking sheets, climates, etc. vary so much.
- Allow the cookies to cool for about 10 minutes on the baking sheet before rolling them in confectioners' sugar.
- Add a generous amount (at least 1 cup) of confectioners' sugar to a small bowl, and roll each baked cookie though the sugar. Repeat, assembly line style, until they are all rolled.
- Optional but recommended, roll all the cookies through additional confectioners' sugar a second time. Tips - I do this because in the first round of sugar rolling, the sugar tends to melt into the warm cookies a bit and while delicious, it doesn't give the visual cues of a really snow-covered snowball. For this reason, I roll twice. First round of rolling is for sweetness, second round also adds sweetness but adds the visual effect, too.
- Cookies will keep airtight at room temp for up to 10 days. Obviously cookies are best totally fresh, but as cookies go, snowballs are good keepers, making them great for cookie exchanges or as make-ahead cookies.** Baked snowball cookies will keep airtight in the freezer for up to 4 monhts.
Notes
- Use pecans or walnuts finely chopped for texture; toasting nuts before use enhances flavor.
- Chill dough balls for at least 30 minutes to prevent spreading during baking; dough can be refrigerated up to 3 days before baking.
- If dough is refrigerated for days, allow it to come to room temperature about 20 minutes before baking for even cooking.
- Do not over-process nuts if using a food processor; small pieces preserve texture better than fine powder.
Nutrition Information
Show Details
Serving
1
Calories
172kcal
(9%)
Carbohydrates
18g
(6%)
Protein
2g
(4%)
Fat
11g
(17%)
Saturated Fat
5g
(25%)
Polyunsaturated Fat
5g
(29%)
Cholesterol
15mg
(5%)
Sodium
84mg
(4%)
Fiber
1g
(4%)
Sugar
5g
(10%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 24Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 172 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Serving | 1 | |
| Calories | 172kcal | 9% |
| Carbohydrates | 18g | 6% |
| Protein | 2g | 4% |
| Fat | 11g | 17% |
| Saturated Fat | 5g | 25% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 5g | 29% |
| Cholesterol | 15mg | 5% |
| Sodium | 84mg | 4% |
| Fiber | 1g | 4% |
| Sugar | 5g | 10% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.9
60 reviews
Excellent
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