Snowball cookies are a number of the best Christmas cookies you can make—you want simply 5 elements and 1 mixing bowl. These snowballs are a traditional on the Christmas cookie tray, and elective toasted pecans add the loveliest taste and texture! With none sophisticated steps or elements, you may be assured this straightforward snowball cookie recipe is foolproof.
These sugar-dusted crumbly shortbread cookies have been round for ages, and there’s simply one thing so irresistible about them. They’re uniquely buttery and dense with a melt-in-your-mouth texture—it’s onerous to cease at simply 1!
What Are Snowball Cookies?
Snowball cookies are half butter, half flour, and half confectioners’ sugar. Typically they embrace chopped nuts, as nicely (attempt them with toasted pecans!). The confectioners’ sugar not solely goes into the cookie dough, but in addition coats the surface of the cookie for that iconic snow-dusted exterior. There aren’t any eggs or leavening brokers in conventional snowball cookie recipes.
What do you name these cookies? They’ve many names, and are often made with nuts or nut flour as an add-in. Names embrace Russian tea muffins, Mexican marriage ceremony cookies, butterballs, snowdrops, and extra. If fashioned into crescent shapes, they are often referred to as Viennese crescents or Greek kourabiedes.
These straightforward cookies are a steadfast staple on my cookie platter—alongside different classics like gingerbread cookies, peanut butter blossoms, and chocolate crinkle cookies.
Right here’s Why You’ll Love Them
- Soften-in-your-mouth texture
- Buttery, dense, and candy
- Extremely straightforward to make
- 1-bowl recipe
- Simply 5 elements
- Go away them plain, or add chopped nuts or colourful sprinkles
- Solely half-hour of dough-chilling time
- A traditional Christmas cookie everybody ought to attempt!
Snowball Cookie Substances (& Why You Want Them!)
With so few elements, every one has a vital job to do:
- Butter: Creamed butter types the bottom of those shortbread-style cookies.
- Confectioners’ Sugar: A bit within the dough, after which roll the baked cookies in the remainder.
- Vanilla Extract: Provides taste, particularly if utilizing do-it-yourself vanilla extract!
- Flour: That is the construction of the cookie.
- Salt: To stability out the candy. Word that it may be elective if utilizing salted butter, like we do within the video tutorial beneath.
- Elective: Finely chopped toasted pecans for scrumptious taste.
The ratio of butter to sugar to flour within the cookie dough varies between snowball cookie recipes, however I discover 1 cup butter, 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, and a pair of and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour to be the candy spot. Once more, you’ll want further confectioners’ sugar for the coating.
Anticipate a Crumbly Dough
The cookie dough comes collectively in simply 1 bowl. Will probably be tremendous thick, to the purpose the place you don’t assume it’s going to come collectively. Flip your mixer up and watch the buttery goodness type earlier than your eyes.
The dough will come collectively, I promise:
Chill the dough for simply half-hour to assist that creamed butter solidify, which helps assure your rounded cookies keep… nicely, rounded! With out chilling, your cookies might unfold flat.
Use a Tablespoon measure to portion the chilled dough, after which roll into balls:
Bake the cookies after which we’ll roll in confectioners’ sugar… one of the best a part of this iconic cookie!
How Do You Make the Confectioners’ Sugar Stick?
After the cookies bake, roll every one in confectioners’ sugar. The trick to the stick (ha!) is to roll them twice. Give the cookies their first coating when they’re barely heat. Because the cookies cool, the confectioners’ sugar will soften into them. (It tastes superb.) After the cookies have cooled, coat them in confectioners’ sugar yet one more time, and so they’ll be as fantastically snowy as the ultimate scene of a Hallmark Christmas film.
3 Success Ideas
- Use correct room temperature butter. Like when making Christmas sugar cookies or butter cookies, in case your butter is just too tender once you begin, it gained’t type a sturdy base to your cookie dough. The cookies will over-spread and style greasy & dense.
- Be sure to use confectioners’ sugar (aka powdered sugar or icing sugar) within the cookie dough. Granulated sugar causes the cookies to over-spread and so they’ll lose their “snowball” form.
- Coat the cookies with confectioners’ sugar twice, as soon as when heat and once more when cool, as a result of the primary layer melts like a… nicely, a heat snowball! 😉
Strive My Pecan Snowball Cookies
Wish to make one of the best snowball cookies? Add some toasted pecans. Toasting pecans within the oven elevates their taste, and you’ll actually inform a distinction! Bake the nuts for 8–10 minutes, after which give them a really high quality chop earlier than mixing into the cookie dough. I often use a meals processor to pulse the nice and cozy toasted nuts a couple of occasions.
You can too use finely chopped (and toasted, if desired) walnuts, almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts, or macadamia nuts.
Even Extra Variations
As a substitute of nuts, attempt including sprinkles. Common jimmie-type sprinkles are the only option. And if you’d like another variations, attempt my cranberry spice cookies, pistachio cookies, and lemon coconut shortbread cookies! I also have a recipe for chai spice snowball cookies in my e book, Sally’s Cookie Habit.
Although the identify varies, one factor’s sure: these snowball cookies at all times disappear rapidly. There’s a purpose they’re loved in so many international locations world wide!
Extra Traditional Christmas Cookie Recipes
Description
This cookie dough is made out of simply 5 elements in 1 mixing bowl and solely wants half-hour of chill time earlier than baking. With none sophisticated steps or elements, you may be assured this straightforward snowball cookie recipe is foolproof. Toasted pecans are elective, however add the loveliest taste!
- In a big bowl utilizing a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute on medium pace till utterly clean and creamy. Add 3/4 cup (90g) confectioners’ sugar and beat on medium excessive pace till mixed and creamy. Scrape down the edges and backside of the bowl as wanted. Subsequent, beat within the vanilla extract on medium-high pace till mixed. Swap to low pace and slowly add the flour and salt. The dough will look dry and chances are you’ll not assume the flour will totally mix. As soon as the entire flour is added, flip the mixer as much as excessive pace. The dough will come collectively. Lastly, beat within the chopped pecans, if utilizing.
- Cowl the cookie dough tightly and chill within the fridge for at the very least half-hour and as much as 3 days. (If chilling for 3+ hours, be sure you let the cookie dough sit at room temperature for at the very least half-hour earlier than rolling into balls. The cookie dough can be very stiff after being within the fridge that lengthy.)
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2 massive baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Put aside. Pour the confectioners’ sugar wanted for the coating right into a shallow bowl.
- Scoop or roll 1 Tablespoon of cookie dough per cookie. Roll right into a ball and place on the baking sheets, at the very least 2 inches aside. Bake the cookies till golden brown on the underside edges and simply barely browned on high, about quarter-hour.
- Coating: Enable the cookies to chill for five minutes on the baking sheet, then very gently roll them within the confectioners’ sugar to coat utterly. Place the cookies on wire racks to chill utterly. The confectioners’ sugar will soften a bit and get sticky; that’s okay. As soon as the cookies have utterly cooled, roll in confectioners’ sugar once more. That is when the sugar will actually stick.
- Cookies keep contemporary lined at room temperature for as much as 1 week.
Notes
- Make Forward & Freezing Directions: Baked cookies freeze nicely as much as 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough freezes nicely as much as 3 months. Thaw in a single day within the fridge then permit to return to room temperature, then proceed with step 3.
- Salt: The video makes use of salted butter, so I skip the salt. Be at liberty to make use of salted butter and skip the added salt within the recipe.
- To Toast the Pecans: Unfold chopped pecans on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 8–10 minutes at 300°F (150°C). Allow them to barely cool. Then, give them a very high quality chop with a pointy knife or pulse a couple of occasions in a meals processor. You need small items of nuts. Be at liberty to skip the toasting step and simply use finely chopped pecans.
- Sprinkles or Different Nuts: You can too use finely chopped (and toasted, if desired) walnuts, almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts, or macadamia nuts. Toast in keeping with the identical instructions as pecans in Word above. As a substitute of nuts, you possibly can beat in 1/2 cup sprinkles.
Key phrases: snowball cookies
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