Pecan Snowball Cookies
Pecan snowball cookies are tender, buttery rounds filled with finely chopped toasted nuts and covered in confectioners’ sugar. They contain no egg; careful measuring and a short chilling period keep the delicate dough easy to shape. A second sugar coating after the cookies cool creates the familiar snowy finish.
Recipe details
- Yield: 30 cookies
- Prep: 25 minutes
- Chill: 30 minutes
- Bake: 12 to 15 minutes per pan at 350°F
- Equipment: sheet pans, parchment, mixer, bowls, cookie scoop, cooling rack
Ingredients
- 1 cup pecan halves
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus 1 cup for coating
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
Method
- Heat oven to 350°F. Toast pecans on a sheet pan for 6 to 8 minutes, until fragrant. Cool completely, then chop very finely. Leave the oven on and line two pans with parchment.
- Beat butter and 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar for about 2 minutes, until creamy. Mix in vanilla and salt.
- Add flour on low speed just until crumbly clumps form. Fold in pecans. Press a spoonful in your hand; it should hold together. Cover and chill 30 minutes.
- Shape level tablespoons into compact 1-inch balls. Arrange 2 inches apart and bake for 12 to 15 minutes. The bottoms should be pale gold while tops remain light.
- Cool for 5 minutes. Roll warm cookies gently in confectioners’ sugar and place on a rack. Roll again after they cool completely.
Cues and troubleshooting
Finely chopped nuts allow clean shaping; large pieces make the dough crack. Flour packed into the cup produces dry cookies, so spoon it into the measure and level it. If dough will not hold, let it warm for five minutes and knead one portion once or twice. If cookies spread, the butter was likely too warm; chill the shaped balls for 15 minutes.
Substitutions
Walnuts can replace pecans. Almond extract may replace half the vanilla, but its flavor is stronger. For nut allergies, choose another cookie rather than simply omitting pecans, because they supply considerable structure and fat. Do not eat raw flour-based dough; flour is a raw ingredient and becomes safe through baking.
Storage
Store cooled cookies airtight at room temperature for five days, separating layers with parchment. Freeze for up to two months and refresh the sugar after thawing. The unbaked balls can also be frozen, transferred to a container, and baked from frozen with one or two extra minutes. Keep confectioners’ sugar away from moisture to prevent a sticky coating.
For evenly sized cookies, divide the dough by weight or use the same level tablespoon for every ball. Rotate pans from front to back if the oven browns unevenly. Cool the pan before loading another batch so the butter does not begin melting early.
