Snowball Christmas Cookies also are known as Mexican Wedding Cookies or Russian Tea Cakes are a buttery cookie filled with pecans or other nuts and rolled in powdered sugar.
Buttery Christmas Cookies
These cookies only have 7 ingredients to them but they have lots of flavor. These cookies taste a lot like butter cookies but they're tender and have pecan chips in them.
You can use chopped pecans or walnuts for this recipe but I prefer to use pecan chips because they're much smaller.
If you are using chopped pecans or walnuts you can also use a food processor to break down the nuts if you prefer.
To get these cookies moist make sure to use softened butter and beat it together with the granulated sugar well. You want these ingredients to be light and fluffy.
When adding the flour, beat it in slowly, and don't overbeat the mixture. This will cause the mixture to become dry.
Once the pecans or walnuts are being added, I use a spoon to add them to avoid any extra beating of the cookie dough.
RELATED: Butter Pecan Cake
Ingredients in Snowball Cookies
- unsalted butter
- granulated sugar
- vanilla extract
- all-purpose flour
- pecan chips
- powdered sugar
- salt
How to Make Snowball Cookies
The dough for these Snowball Christmas Cookies is rolled into 1-inch thickness and added to a nonstick and ungreased cookie sheet before being added to the oven. I prefer to use silicone baking mats because the cookies slide right off the cookie sheet. They're also easier to clean up.
Snowball Christmas cookies are baked for about 15 minutes. They are left in the oven until they become slightly browned.
Before rolling these cookies in their first coat of powdered sugar, allow them to cool for 5 minutes before handling. The cookies are to be coated again after they are completely cool.
RELATED: Soft and Chewy Gingersnap Cookies
Delicious Mexican Wedding Cookies
Whether you call them Snowball Christmas Cookies, Russian Tea Cakes, or Mexican Wedding Cookies - they are delicious! They have a wonderful melt-in-your-mouth texture you would expect with a butter cookie but have a nice texture from the pecan chips.
These cookies are perfect for the Holiday season and bring a little "snow" to the table.
📖 Recipe
Snowball Christmas Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter - softened
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour - spooned and leveled
- ½ cup pecan chips
- 1 ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F
- Beat together the softened butter, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract.
- Beat in the salt and the flour, careful not to overbeat.
- Stir in the pecan chips.
- Roll the dough into 1 inch balls.
- Place onto an ungreased cookie sheet or a silicone lined cookie sheet.
- Bake in the oven for about 15-17 minutes. They will be light brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool 5 minutes before rolling them into powdered sugar.
- Once the cookies are cool, roll them once again in the remaining powdered sugar.
- Store in an airtight container.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate based on third-party calculations. Actual values may vary due to ingredients, measurements, and serving sizes.
© Mama Needs Cake
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Dana is an experienced recipe creator who crafts easy and delicious recipes for all levels of home cooks.
Her recipes range from classic comfort foods to healthy and nutritious meals, and she is always on the lookout for new and exciting ways to bring flavor and variety to the table.
Tatiana says
Never tried these cookies before! They look so yummy in the photos. Do you think it would work to roll them in powdered milk instead of using powdered sugar?
Tatiana says
Never tried these cookies before! They look so yummy in the photos. Do you think it would work to roll them in powdered milk instead of using powdered sugar?
Dana says
Hi Tatiana, I honestly have not used powdered milk in place of powdered sugar before but as long as the powdered milk has a sweetness to it I think it should be fine!