Snowball Cookies are rich, buttery cookies that are full of chopped pecans and twice rolled in sugar for a powdery coating. Also known as Russian Tea Cakes and Mexican Wedding Cookies (among others), these are classic holiday cookies. But, they are easy enough to make whenever you are craving a nutty treat. And, they look like little snowballs, which works for me since we get a lot of snow here! For another popular and fun holiday cookie, check out my Sugar Cookies Recipe.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Butter: Be sure the unsalted butter is at room temperature before making the cookies. I prefer using unsalted butter to have more control over the salt added. If using salted butter, you may want to lessen the salt in the recipe.
Pecans: To finely chop the pecans, you could use a food processor or chop by hand. Or, try walnuts or almonds if preferred!
How to Store Snowball Cookies
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. Add them to your Christmas Dessert Charcuterie Board when ready to enjoy!
Can I Freeze Snowball Cookies?
Yes, snowball cookies are a wonderful way to get a head start on your holiday treats! They can be frozen in freezer-safe containers for up to 6 months. Remember to use a freezer-safe container and add a label and date. Check out my freezing, baking, and storing cookies for more helpful hints!
Snowball Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks / 227 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1½ cups (187.5 g) confectioners' sugar, divided
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (105 g) pecans, finely chopped
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, cream the butter with ½ cup of the confectioners' sugar and vanilla.
- Starting on low speed, add the flour, pecans, and salt. Increase speed to medium until all ingredients are incorporated. The mixture will look like coarse sand.
- Using a 1-tablespoon scoop, drop balls of dough onto a lined baking sheet. Use your hands to roll each into balls. Place them onto the lined baking sheet, leaving about an inch between each cookie.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until light golden brown. (You don't want them too brown.)
- Remove cookies from the oven and while still hot, roll each in the remaining cup of confectioners' sugar. Set coated cookies back on the lined baking sheets to cool.
- Once cool, roll the snowball cookies in the confectioners' sugar a second time. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Video
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
Great recipe. The cookies are delicious. I used a bigger scoop so for next time I should probably use a melon baller for smaller cookies.
I’ve made this recipe multiple times. I like to cool them on the tray for 5 minutes. Then I can more easily put a few in a ziplock bag & shake them with the powdered sugar.
Can this delicious cookie be made with a Hershey Kiss inside the cookie, not on the top.
Sure
Do you measure the nuts first and then chop them up?Or do you measure the nuts already chopped?
Hi Barbara – great question! It is 1 cup of finely chopped pecans. Meaning you will want to chop, then measure. Hope that helps!
Is there a recipe for high altitude of this pecan snowball?
This should help:
https://iambaker.net/high-altitude-baking-tips/
Thank you for the snowball cookie recipe.
I made them and they were a big hit. They are absolutely delicious and melt in your mouth. I highly recommend this recipe. 🙏❤️
How many should one batch yield?
Hi Emily – it says 30 in the recipe card. 🙂
I made these last year and they were delicious. They were all gone before I knew it. This year I want to try to add mini chocolate chips to the mix to give a little extra deliciousness. Would that mess them up or be ok?
Hi there! What a fun idea and yes, that will work nicely. It shouldn’t mess up the recipe!
I made the snowball cookies and everyone loved it. For added tast I added about 1/4 cup of orange juice without pulp also added a 1/2 cup more of flour. Also used 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and 1/2 of almond. The taste was amazing! Just a suggestion.
Amazing, thanks Patty!
So delicious! Is it possible to freeze them without ruining them?
Hi! Yes, absolutely, they freeze wonderfully. You can freeze them baked or unbaked. If freezing baked cookies, give them one more roll in powdered sugar after thawing so they look fresh again.