Easy to make Snowball Cookies that will melt in your mouth. These classic Christmas Cookies are made with pecans and then rolled in powdered sugar for a light, tender cookie everyone is going to love!
Snowball Cookies Recipe
Ok, I’m not here to proclaim that Snowball Cookies are my favorite Christmas cookie (it’s so hard to pick just 1!) but these are high up there on my cookie list.
These buttery, melt-in-your-mouth cookies are not only delicious, but they’re so easy to make! To show you how easy they are to make, I made a quick recipe video that you walks you through the steps! My 3 year old daughter helped me make these cookies!
What Are Russian Tea Cakes?
What do you call these cookies? I’ve heard a variety of different terms for classic Snowball cookies. Some call them Russian Tea Cakes or Mexican Wedding Cakes, and I’ve even heard some call them butter balls.
Russian Tea Cakes (or snowball cookies) are commonly baked around the holiday season. They are a form of Jumble which was a popular cookie pastry made in the Middle Ages. Jumbles were popular during that time because they traveled and kept so well, thanks to their hard nature being made with nuts or seeds.
Although in the Middle Ages they were known to keep these cookies around for a year without becoming stale, I dare you to keep them around for a week without eating them all up!
Ingredients
You only need 6 basic ingredients for this recipe. You probably already have everything in your kitchen!
- Butter (softened)
- Confectioners’ Powdered Sugar
- Vanilla Extract
- All-Purpose Flour
- Salt
- Finely Chopped Pecans
Other nuts can be used in this recipe (like walnuts), but I prefer using pecans for these cookies. You want to make sure they are finely chopped, so they don’t overwhelm the cookies. Simply take a handful and throw them in your food processor. A few pulses later you’ll have the exact consistency that you want.
How Do You Make Snowball Cookies?
Start this snowball cookie recipe by creaming together the butter, sugar and vanilla extract, together in a mixing bowl.
In another bowl, mix the flour and salt together. Combine the flour mixture with the butter mixture and stir well to fully incorporate the ingredients. Add the finely chopped pecans and stir so they are equally distributed. I do this with a spoon.
Chill dough for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Roll cookie dough into balls and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet or silicone baking mats. When rolling the cookies, keep the balls on the smaller side, about 1 inch. This will help them hold their shape when they are baking.
Bake for around 10 minutes or until cookies are light brown on the bottom.
Remove from oven. While cookies are still warm roll each cookie in powdered sugar.
I hope you enjoy these Snowball Cookies as much as my family loves them!
Why are my snowball cookies falling apart?
Your cookies are probably falling apart because you didn’t chill the dough long enough. The cookie dough needs to chill for a minimum of 30 minutes. I always like to chill for a little longer.
Why do you want to chill the dough? These cookies have flour in them, so chilling the dough permits the gluten strands in the flour to cause a rubbery texture in the final cookie. Also, having the dough chilled makes it much easier to roll up all the dough into balls when it’s time to bake them.
They also might be falling apart because they are too dry. Try adding a tablespoon of two of milk to the batter and mix with your hands.
How do you store snowball cookies?
These cookies keep well, stored in an airtight container at room temperature for about a week. The cookie dough can be made in advance and frozen for up to one month.
Other Favorite Holiday Cookies To Try:
Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies
Chocolate Peanut Butter Blossoms
Christmas Cookies you can bake with kids
Christmas Cut Out Sugar Cookies
Peanut Butter Blossoms
Chow Mein Cookies
Easy Sugar Cookies
Chocolate Pretzel Cookies
Gingerbread Men (and Women) Cookies
Nutella Butter Cookies
Pin for later:
Snowball Cookies
PrintIngredients
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1/4 cup confectioners powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
- additional powdered sugar to roll cookies in
Instructions
- Cream together butter, powdered sugar and vanilla together in large bowl.
- In another bowl mix together flour and salt.
- Add flour mixture into butter bowl and mix until crumbly and well combined.
- Add chopped pecans and stir with a spoon so they are equally distributed.
- Chill dough for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Roll dough in 1 inch balls and place on lightly greased cookie sheet or silicone baking mats.
- Bake 9 to 10 minutes, or until bottoms are light brown. Remove from oven.
- Add about 1/4 cup of powdered sugar in a shallow bowl. While still warm, roll each cookie in powdered sugar. Now my favorite part – eat them! Store cookies in an airtight container.
Marloe says
The only problem I had is there are no measurements! How much butter? How much sugar? How much vanilla? Can you please text me the amount of measurements? Thank you!
Pamela says
Hi Marloe, all the measurements are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Peggy says
I cannot have nuts due to a medical condition. Could I use toffee pieces instead of nuts?
Pamela says
I would use crushed pretzels instead of toffee as they will hold the cookie together better.
Grace says
Love this recipe thank you
Mirjana says
I made the recipe for 18 cookies but was able to get 26 out of the dough using a small ice cream scoop. Very tasty! Sprinkled the powder sugar rather than rolling them. Look very neat and professional this way. Thanks!
LisaH says
For stars because the recipe is so small. If you’re making for Christmas, triple the recipe. I doubled it and it only made 44 cookies. Balls are appropriately 1-11/2″ in size.
Pamela says
Hey Lisa, the recipe makes 18 cookies as stated in the recipe card. There’s a handy “serves” button that you can tap or hover over to change the serving size, which automatically adjusts the ingredient amounts. Hope that helps.
B says
I’m freezing rolled un-baked cookie dough. Do I roll in confectioners sugar before freezing?
Pamela says
Hey B, I actually do it twice if I’m freezing. I will roll in sugar before freezing, and then once defrosted, I’ll lightly roll in sugar again to make them look good. Hope this helps!
Jana says
Can you freeze these once rolled in icing sugar? 😬
Pamela says
Hey Jana, yes you can! 🙂
Mirjana says
I made the recipe for 18 cookies but was able to get 26 out of the dough using a small ice cream scoop. Very tasty! Sprinkled the powder sugar rather than rolling them. Look very neat and professional this way. Thanks!