Old Fashioned Snowball Cookies
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These Old Fashioned Snowball Cookies are buttery shortbread with chopped pecans, rolled in powdered sugar while they're still warm. They melt in your mouth, and they're always on my Christmas cookie tray with my 40 Easy Christmas Cookie Recipes.
You might know them as Mexican wedding cookies, Russian tea cakes or Italian wedding cookies. If you love melt-in-your-mouth cookies, try my Meltaway Cookies and Chocolate Fudge Crinkle Cookies too.
Quick Look: Old Fashioned Snowball Cookies
- ⏱️ Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 🕒 Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes (includes 1 hour to chill)
- 👨👩👧👦 Servings: About 40 cookies
- 📊 Calories: 104 kcal per cookie
- 🥣 Ingredients: Butter, powdered sugar, all-purpose flour, chopped pecans, vanilla, salt
- ⭐ Difficulty: Easy. One bowl and a hand mixer.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Six Ingredients. Butter, powdered sugar, flour, pecans, vanilla and salt.
Melt in Your Mouth. They're buttery and nutty with a soft, crumbly bite.
Big Batch. One batch makes about 40 cookies, and they freeze for up to 6 months.
Fill out the cookie tray with my Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies and 8 Easy Christmas Oreo Cookies.
Ingredients Needed
- Butter: Use unsalted butter at room temperature. Set it out 1 to 2 hours ahead.
- Powdered sugar: A little goes in the dough, and the rest is for rolling.
- Pecans: Chop them small. Walnuts, hazelnuts or macadamia nuts work too.
- Flour: All-purpose flour is all you need.
How to Make Snowball Cookies
- Step 1: Add the soft butter, vanilla and a few spoonfuls of powdered sugar to a large bowl.
- Step 2: Beat with a hand mixer until it's creamy and smooth.
- Step 3: Mix in the flour and salt, then the pecans, just until combined. Cover and chill at least 1 hour.
- Step 4: Roll the dough into 1-inch balls, set them on a greased baking sheet and bake at 350°F until the bottoms are golden.
- Step 5: Roll the warm cookies in powdered sugar right out of the oven.
- Step 6: Set them on a cooling rack and let them cool completely. Roll them again if you want a thicker coat.
Recipe Tips
- Set the butter out 1 to 2 hours ahead so it's soft enough to cream.
- Don't overmix. Overmixed dough makes dry cookies.
- Use a small cookie scoop or melon baller so the cookies are all the same size.
- Handle the dough as little as you can when you roll the balls.
- For a thicker coat, sift more powdered sugar over the cooled cookies.
Recipe FAQ's
Yes. Snowball cookies also go by Russian tea cakes, Mexican wedding cookies and Italian wedding cookies. It's the same buttery nut cookie rolled in powdered sugar.
Yes. Chill it for at least 1 hour so the cookies hold their shape when they bake.
Yes. Walnuts, hazelnuts and macadamia nuts all work in place of the pecans.
Keep them in a paper bag at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Yes. Put them in a freezer bag for up to 6 months. Thaw them in the fridge, then let them come to room temperature before serving.
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Old Fashioned Snowball Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla
- 2 cups and 4 heaping tablespoons of powdered sugar divided
- 2 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- 1 cup pecans chopped
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Instructions
- Bring butter to room temperature on the counter. Plan on setting out your butter 1-2 hours before making the recipe.
- In a large bowl, cream together butter, vanilla, and 4 heaping tablespoons of powdered sugar with a hand mixer on low speed.
- Next, add the flour and salt and mix until combined.
- Finally, add chopped nuts and mix just until combined. Try not to over mix.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour for the best results.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and remove the dough from the refrigerator.
- Roll into 1 inch balls and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Using a small cookie scoop helps to keep the cookies uniform in size.
- Try to handle the dough as minimally as possible for the best results.
- Bake at 350 degrees until the bottom of the cookie is golden brown for about 14-15 minutes.
- While cookies are baking, prepare a shallow bowl or baking dish with 2 cups of powdered sugar.
- When cookies are done, immediately roll warm cookies in the powdered sugar. Ensure your cookie is fully covered with powdered sugar and set aside to cool. Using a sifter, dust the cookies with additional powdered sugar.
- Serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
There are a number of names for these cookies. Mexican wedding cakes, Russian tea cakes, and Italian wedding cookies. Often it will depend on the region you live in and the slight variation that each region makes to the cookie. You may use just about any chopped nut for this recipe. Walnuts are a favorite too. To chop nuts, place them in the food processor and pulse them a couple of times until the nuts are finely chopped with a few larger chunks here and there. If you pulse them too much the nuts will become like flour. Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour. Overmixing these cookies will lead to a dry cookie. Be mindful not to overmix.
Glad you enjoyed it Jacqueline, it's my favorite 🙂
Great cookie!
Super easy recipe.
Light one bite cookie.
Hmmm...that usually means not enough butter or they were baked too long. If you would like to send me an email I can help you troubleshoot and see what went wrong 🙂
About a third of mine fell apart while I was dredging them is powdered sugar. What did I do wrong?
will try this xmas