Posted Nov 29, 2020, Updated Mar 16, 2024 These Snowball Cookies are an old family recipe I’ve been enjoying my entire life. My mom made them every Christmas, and one bite transports me back to my childhood and the eager anticipation of Christmas morning. In my house we called these butterball cookies! They are easy to make with just 6 ingredients. They’re buttery, nutty, melt-in your mouth delicious and the perfect Christmas cookie.
Snowball Cookies: Ingredients & Substitutions
Let’s chat about the ingredients in this snowball cookie recipe, as well as possible substitutions.
Salted butter. Unsalted butter can be used in place of salted, no problems. Powdered sugar. I do not recommend making substitutions for powdered sugar. You can make your own if you don’t have any. All-purpose flour. I recommend unbleached, all-purpose flour for the best results. Fine sea salt. Regular, iodized table salt can be substituted. Pecans. You can substitute walnuts or almonds for the pecans. You can also leave them out and increase the flour by 1/4 cup, if desired.
How to Make Snowball Cookies
This pecan snowball cookies recipe is easy to make in a standing mixer or with a hand-held mixer. Check out the step-by-step instructions below and don’t forget to watch the video. In a small bowl, combine flour and sea salt, set aside. In the bowl of a standing mixer, or in a large bowl with a hand-held mixer, beat butter until fluffy (about 1 minute). Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract and beat for 1 minute. Add flour/salt mixture and beat on low speed, then increasing to medium-high until the mixture consists of large, coarse crumbs. Then, add pecans and stir until evenly distributed.
Chill
Transfer the snowball cookie dough to an airtight container and chill for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
Portion & Roll
When you’re ready to bake the pecan snowball cookies, preheat the oven and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the snowball cookie dough from the refrigerator and use a measuring spoon to measure out 1 tablespoon portions of dough. Roll each portion of dough into a ball and place them evenly spaced on the prepared baking sheets.
Bake & Cool
Bake the rolled butterball cookies in the preheated oven for 10-13 minutes, or until the bottoms are golden-brown and tops are set. The dough should not spread, it should remain a ball shape. Remove the baked snowball cookies from the oven and let cool on the baking pan for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, transfer the snowball cookies to a wire cooling rack to cool for 15 additional minutes.
Coat in Powdered Suagr
After 15 minutes, place powdered sugar in a shallow bowl and coat each cookie in powdered sugar while they are still very slightly warm, then return them to the cooling rack to cool completely, then enjoy! I do like to sneak one when they’re slightly warm.
Store
Store these snowball cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Freeze
You can freeze baked pecan snowball cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 month. You can also freeze the dough balls and bake them fresh (preferred). If you make and love our recipes, it would mean so much to me if you would leave a comment and rating! And don’t forget to follow along with us on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Youtube – be sure to tag @joyfoodsunshine and use the hashtag #joyfoodsunshine so we can see your creations!
