Snowball Cookies
These rich, buttery snowball cookies are a heavenly addition to your holiday cookie trays! Sometimes called “Mexican Wedding Cookies” or “Russian Tea Cakes”, this recipe has a shortbread base and is loaded with pecans (or walnuts!), creating a nutty, crunchy cookie, and loads of powdered sugar, for the perfect melt-in-your-mouth bite! These have long been a favorite of mine, and I hope you’ll enjoy them, too!
With versions all around the world, this combination of a shortbread-style cookie covered in powdered sugar is a must-try! Though many call these snowball cookies, they are also known as (among other things) Mexican Wedding Cookies, Russian Tea Cakes, and Danish Wedding Cookies. Some are round while others are crescent shaped.
Though there is a lot of uncertainty about their true origin, it does seem that this style came from Eastern Europe. The delicious nutty, rich, cookie was a hit and has been a favorite all over the globe. I am so excited to share this recipe for you. Not only are these delicious, they are really fun for winter holidays and cookie plates. Especially because you will look covered in sugar-snow after a really good one!
Step-By-Step instructions for snowball cookies
There is a more detailed recipe below, as well as tips for baking, but this is an overview of the process!
- Mix flour and one cup of the chopped pecans, and salt; set aside
- Process remaining nuts for 10 seconds until they have the texture of coarse cornmeal. Stir them into the flour mixture.
- Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add vanilla and scrape sides. Slowly add in the flour and pecan mixture, and beat until dough is cohesive.
- Roll a heaping spoonful in your palms, and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. You can place them fairly close together as they don’t spread much!
- Bake until tops are golden and bottoms are lightly browned, usually between 17-19 minutes, rotating halfway through.
- Remove and cool the cookies completely before the dredging process (below!).
How to dredge your cookies in powdered sugar
- Once the snowball cookies have been fully cooled, add powdered sugar to a large storage bag.
- Add three to four cookies to the bag and shake. You want the cookies to be fully coated, but be sure to tap off any excess. Repeat for the whole batch.
- Leave these at least overnight and give the cookies a second coat the next day. Powdered sugar keeps the cookies nice and soft, so we want to be sure they are totally coated!
- Let the cookies sit for another 30 minutes and they’re ready to eat!
Baking tips for snowball cookies
- I love the mixture of textures between the chopped and ground nuts. I find that pecans are best for this but some people choose walnuts. Pistachios, almonds, cashews, and pine nuts also make really fun alternatives!
- If your dough is too warm when scooped, it will likely spread out when baking. If the dough feels soft, chill it for 30 minutes or so before you shape the cookies.
- You may also lose shape for these cookies if you don’t allow them to set between dredging.
- If your cookies are overbaked, they will be dry (which is devastating!). Make sure to use the proper oven racks (noted in the recipe), and remove the cookies as soon as you see the top begin to golden.
Alternative ingredients for snowball cookies
- Butter can easily be replaced by vegan alternatives in this recipe, but note that they may be a bit softer.
- Are you a nut-free house? No problem! You can completely omit them, or just add a bit of extra vanilla!
- Adding chopped fruit or finely chopped chocolate can make a really fun option if you want to try something new.
- For an even nuttier flavor, add some almond extract!
- My favorite Lemon Burst Cookies are a fun summer alternative to these holiday cookie classics.
Storage and gifting
- Storage: These can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. They make lovely holiday gifts; you can place them in a decorative tin or cellophane bag.
- Freezing Instructions (Dough): Place the rolled balls on a baking sheet and place in the freezer until completely frozen, about 2 hours. Transfer to a freezer-safe resealable bag for up to 1 month. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then bake as directed.
- Freezing Instructions (Baked Cookies): Once baked, cooled, and dredged in powdered sugar, the cookies can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Be sure to place wax or parchment paper between layers. They can be thawed in the refrigerator or freezer; I always give them another powdered sugar shake to freshen them up.
I am ready for a baking day! Join me with more of my favorite cookies!
- Classic Thumbprint Cookies
- Soft & Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies
- Shortbread Cookies
- Cut-Out Sugar Cookies
If you make these snowball cookies and love them, I would so appreciate it if you would take a moment to leave a rating below. Thank you so much! ❤️️ Happy baking!
Snowball Cookies
A recipe for Snowball Cookies, shortbread-style cookies loaded with nuts and rolled in powdered sugar. They're also known as Mexican Wedding Cookies and Russian Tea Cookies.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 cups (228 g) finely chopped pecans, divided
- ¾ teaspoon (0.75 teaspoon) salt
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
- ⅓ cup (66 g) granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) vanilla extract
- 1½ cups (170 g) powdered sugar, for rolling cookies after baking
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Mix the flour, 1 cup of the chopped pecans, and the salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
- Place the remaining chopped nuts in a food processor and process until they are the texture of coarse cornmeal, 10 to 15 seconds; stir into the flour mixture and set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla, then scrape the sides of the bowl. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until the dough just begins to come together but still looks scrappy, about 15 seconds. Scrape the sides of the bowl again and continue beating at low speed until the dough is cohesive, about 10 more seconds.
- Roll a heaping tablespoon of dough between the palms of your hands and place on the prepared baking sheets. The cookies will only spread a little bit, so you can place them fairly close together. Bake until the tops are pale golden and the bottoms are just beginning to brown, 17 to 19 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time.
- Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
- Place the powdered sugar in a large zip-top bag. Working with 3 or 4 cookies at a time, place them in the bag of sugar and gently toss to coat them thoroughly. Gently shake off any excess. Allow the cookies to sit for at least an hour, or up to overnight, and then repeat the process. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Butter: You can substitute a vegan alternative, but the cookies may have a softer texture.
- Pecans: You can substitute other nuts (walnuts, almonds, and cashews are great alternatives!) or omit them (if you omit, add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract).
- Dough: If the dough feels warm when you roll it, refrigerate for about 30 minutes and then proceed).
- Storage: These can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. They make lovely holiday gifts; you can place them in a decorative tin or cellophane bag.
- Freezing Instructions (Dough): Place the rolled balls on a baking sheet and place in the freezer until completely frozen, about 2 hours. Transfer to a freezer-safe resealable bag for up to 1 month. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then bake as directed.
- Freezing Instructions (Baked Cookies): Once baked, cooled, and dredged in powdered sugar, the cookies can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Be sure to place wax or parchment paper between layers. They can be thawed in the refrigerator or freezer; I always give them another powdered sugar shake to freshen them up.
Calories: 104kcal, Carbohydrates: 9g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 10mg, Sodium: 37mg, Potassium: 25mg, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 120IU, Vitamin C: 0.1mg, Calcium: 5mg, Iron: 0.4mg
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Photography by Lauren Grant.
These turned out perfectly. They are delicious and easy to make. I definitely recommend. Directions easy to follow too.
Hi! I spent years trying to find a recipe for these cookies. My mom made these for Christmas when I was little, and I never got her recipe. This one is about as close to hers that I have found, thank you! Mine were a little crumbly, maybe I baked them too long, but I handled them carefully, they were delicious, and my family and I enjoyed them. Thank you so much!
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I make these every year! They’re the best.
Yummy!! A must for Christmas cookie time..🫓
Michelle! These are seriously the best snowball cookie recipe I have ever had! They are beautiful, flaky/ crispy and almost creamy. Very easy to make. My family loves them.
They are along with several other of your cookie recipes a staple favorite and always and forever Christmas cookie.
Thank you
Love this recipe…what makes it special is that half of the nuts are ground! Next level deliciousness!!! I also appreciate that they call for granulated sugar instead of powdered sugar…and not too much of it which allows the buttery flavor to shine.
Great recipe to post! I make these every year. Easy and delicious. If the dough appears to be too crumbly and it is not forming into balls very well…I’ll add a T or two of cream or milk to it to bring it all together. It works every time.
pussy888
Great recipe to post! I make these every year. Easy and delicious. If the dough appears to be too crumbly and it is not forming into balls very well…I’ll add a T or two of cream or milk to it to bring it all together. It works every time.
Hi Michelle. I make these every Christmas but almost almost every recipe for Mexican Wedding cookies calls for powdered sugar not granulated sugar in the dough. Have you always used regular sugar? Just curious.
Thanks.
These are one of my daughter’s favorite cookies. We add mini chocolate chips to the dough for a touch of chocolate.
Happy Holidays, Michelle.
Thanks for the nut suggestions. It never occurred to me to use another nut like almonds…or even leaving nuts out (duh on my part) lol.
These are my favorite holiday cookies!! I’ve been making them since I was a little girl and it’s just not Christmas for me without a batch or 2 or 3 of these!! I will have to try grounding up the nuts too like you do in your recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Whatever nuts you decide to use….I highly suggest roasting them a bit in the oven! I’ve made these with Pecans, Almonds and Walnuts on separate occasions and they all came out so much better with the roasted nuts. I’ve shared this recipe over the years with friends and famity who chose not to roast the nuts and after tasting them…. we all agreed that is one step not to miss! It enhances the flavor tremendously!
I agree, I always toast the nuts first!
I put a Hershey kiss in the middle of them and call them “Surprise Snowballs”.
Yes i like Sandies very much with lots of pecans.
AMAZING!!!
I’m tots trying this out!
Made these snowball cookies at our company Christmas party Dec 2016. They were a great hit…..were eaten up very quickly. Thank you for the recipe!
I’ve made these cookies so many times (yet NEVER ONCE with pecans unfortunately!) and each and every time I fall in love with the texture and the cloud-like feeling in your mouth. These LITERALLY melt in your mouth. They’re absolutely gorgeous. Tried them with cashew nuts, with almonds. Astounding. Thank you for the recipe.
Cookies are a little too dry for my taste.
Of all the Christmas cookies and treats I made this year, these were the biggest hit. Thank you!
I have also seen these made with walnuts. What’s the difference and which is better?
Hi Theresa, The difference is just the flavor and it’s really personal preference which you think might be better. I prefer pecans, personally, but walnuts would be good, too!
I have never used regular sugar for Mexican wedding cookies “dough” but always use powder sugar. Have you tried to powder sugar instead?
Thanks
Hi Kake, I have made some recipes with powdered sugar as well!
Approximately how many cookies does this recipe make? Thanks!
Hi Becky, See “yield” in the recipe box above – about 48 cookies.
I’ve made these for more than 4 decades, and just a few years back, found that if I use 1/2 cup of Powdered Sugar as a replacement for the 1/3 cup of Sugar in the cookie dough recipe, that the cookies will MELT IN YOUR MOUTH! OMG… what a difference it makes! Try it, you’ll LOVE IT!!!
excellent recipe! I’ve made these the last two years, always a hit. I make the dough and roll the balls, then freeze, without baking. When ready, I thaw in fridge and bake. Better than freezing already baked. Also, roll in powder sugar while cookie still warm, let cool, and Roll again in power sugar.
Came across these on Pinterest. My husband loves these cookies so I gave them a shot this afternoon. I had to substitute the nuts for half almonds and half cashews (it’s what i had on hand) and I used 1 tsp of almond extract with 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract (almond just smells so good…) They are delicious and a great flaky cookie my husband is going to love!
Absolutely delicious! We just made these last night and ate them all up this morning. We didn’t use the nuts, but they still tasted the same. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! Definitely saving it for the future. (:
i am making mine without nuts used almond extract because of the nut warning will see how they turn out
Instead of using salt, can I just use salted butter for both the salt and butter?
Hi Kacy, You could, however the cookies may end up being a little over or under salted (each brand of butter uses different amounts of salt, which is why using unsalted butter + a specific amount of salt is preferred).
I always use the Land O’ Lakes recipe which can be found in their old Christmas recipe books, found at the check-out counter. It’s probably on their website. My mom and grandma called them Russian Tea Cakes and make them with pecans, which I prefer as well. I grind my pecans finely, near to a flour consistency and this makes them very sandy in texture. I also make them double sized and need to make 4 batches as they are so popular — my best friend gets a whole recipe!
My husband made these for me last week (these are definitily one of my all-time favorite cookies and I don’t care that it’s the middle of May) and I could’ve eaten them all. Yummy!!!
how long can the dough last in the fridge before actually rolling and baking? also after baking how many days do they last fresh?
Hi Ceci, I would say 1-2 days in the fridge. After baking, as long as they’re in an airtight container they can be kept for 1-2 weeks.
I made snowball cookies for the first time and they flattened like pancakes vs staying round. I chilled the dough first. Any suggestions?
Hi Gretchen, Oh that’s so strange! There’s nothing in here that should make the dough spread, especially if you chilled the dough. I would make sure you are using an oven thermometer.
I found this recepie in a newspaper and they were called MOTHBALLS
SCRUMPTIOUS
I make these every year. They’re one of my favorites! However, I roll them in red or green colored sugar and then bake them. Very festive and makes a great gift.
My goodness, I was thinking “MY” Snowball cookies were unique! I see that a LOT of people love them. I got my recipe from a Phoenix, AZ newspaper in the early ’60’s. This recipe has traveled all over the world as our children wanted the recipe at Christmas time too. They are a little unique though as you brown the butter first, pour it into a mixing bowl and put in fridge to solidify. Before mixing in other ingredients, let it warm up/soften. I’m going to be different this year and use your recipe!
I made these yesterday and they are amazing!!!! Love, love, love!
Confused by the switching on racks during baking. Can u clarify?
The baking sheets go on two different racks in the oven… halfway through baking, you switch positions, so the one that was on the bottom is now on the top, and vice versa. When you do that, spin the sheets 180 degrees so that the cookies that were near the front of the oven are now near the back.
I am going to make these this year. Every year I say I will but your pictures look wonderful! Thanks!
My mother and I made these cookies every year at Christmas when I was young. She only liked hard COOKIES. She is 92 this year.
I can’t wait to make these!!!!!
I make these cookies every year for the Christmas holiday. I’ve made them with almonds and with pecans. A yummy cookie for your holiday cookie plate.
They look yummy! I love pecans.
I’m going to be making these.I haven’t had these in years.Thanks for the recipe.I’m going to make them without the pecans,though.This looks like a really good recipe.
These are a must on my Christmas cookie list. I also make the peppermint bark with the chunks of red/green peppermint. It has to be sifted. So I mix the siftings in my powdered sugar and it gives the cookies more of a holiday look and a slight taste of peppermint. Keep up the good work. Love your site. Happy Holidays to all!!!
My recipe is called Sand Tarts. Started making them when I was in high school. They were my dads favorite. I am almost 64 now so my family now likes them too.
Great recipe, but you have the wrong amount of ounces marked for the butter. 1 cup is 16 ounces, not 8.
Kayla, Actually 1 cup of butter IS 8 ounces.
Hi! I love this recipe. I actually made mine with toasted hazelnuts and almonds, and they were really good. Yours look perfect though. :)
Tricia,
I tried your recipe, and it was DELISH!!!! You are right, the dusted sugar really takes away from the taste of the pecans, and even the consistency is better without the dusted sugar– your Pecan Sandies are the best!!!! Thanks for sharing, and Merry Christmas!
-Blondie
I sell Christmas Cookies and this is one of the better sellers !!! If you want to make them even better, toast the nuts in the oven for 15 minutes at 350 then cool. My friends husband told her that mine were better than her’s and she wanted to know what I did different. Also if you want a different variation I also make a Cherry Walnut Snowball with 1/3 cup chopped marachino cherries, 1 tsp almond extract instead of vanilla and walnuts instead of pecans and a little red food color that make them a nice pink color so you can tell the difference!!
I thought I would try this since I have made Pecan Sandies for a while, and thought maybe your recipe with the dusted sugar was better. This is a first- I think my recipe might be better- I really think the dusted sugar, while a nice visual, takes away from the taste. I thought I would provide you with my recipe, and let you do a taste test, and let me know if you agree:
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Pecan Sandies Recipe
——————————-
——————————-
*1 cup butter
*1/2 cup granulated sugar
*2 tsp water
*2 tsp vanilla
*2 cups flour sifted
*1 cup chopped pecans
————————————————————-
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Cream 1 cup butter and 1/2 cup sugar.
3. Add 2 teaspoons water and 2 teaspoons vanilla.
4. Add 2 cups sifted flour and 1 cup chopped pecans.
5. Chill 3-4 hours.
6. Form balls place an ungreased cookie sheet. You can bake them as balls but I prefer flattening them out to a more traditional cookie shape.
7. Bake at 325 degrees for about 20 minutes.
This pecan sandies recipe makes about 36 cookies.
I made these today and they didn’t stick together well. I know they are supposed to be sort of crumbly, but these are almost impossible to eat. I don’t know what I did wrong…
one of my favorite cookies also…definitely with pecans!
I made these the other night and they were great. I planned to use almonds but I was a little low on them so I used almonds for the ground nuts and half almonds half macadamia nut for the finely chopped nuts, they came out so good I think I’ll keep making them with this combination of nuts from now on. I was also out of parchment so I just greased my cookie sheet and they came out fine.
These look so tasty! Snowball cookies always remind me of the holidays. I love the melt-in-your-mouth flavor of the pecans powdered sugar!
We call them Russian Tea Ball cookies and were my favorite as a child. My recipe calls for slightly different amounts of flour, salt and nuts and I use sifted conf. sugar (1/2 cup) rather than regular sugar.
We roll these into logs and call them pecan fingers. We add a T of ice water to the batter in the end; makes it a great consistency for rolling.
I like my Snowball cookies with a touch of lemmon. I grate lemon zest and splash in a bit of lemon extract and I like the lemon ones with almonds. The traditional one I like with pecans.
These are one of my “must make” cookies each year. So messy, but so good.
I love snowball cookies. I shared a very similar recipe on my blog. They are always a hit.
THIS IS MY CHILDHOOD.
My husband was raving about some cookies that one of his co-worker’s brought. I kept saying they sounded like snowball cookies and he looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language. At last! I can make them, since he loves them so much. These are such a classic, that I haven’t had in years.
We always called them Russian Tea Cookies (funny about all the different names!) growing up and they’re one my mom made every year. They’re not a favorite of mine, but they definitely remind me of Christmases past!
LOVE making snowballs but mine are never round. Yours look perfect. I rolled mine in peppermint this year.
Sound heavenly. Love nuts!! :)
Yum!
One of my top 10 Christmas cookies!
My mother used to roll them into little logs-about the length and circumference of her little finger and curve them in a crescent shape. We called them “rat tails.” The shape made them very fragile when they were hot and being rolled in the powdered sugar. We got to eat the broken ones right away. The “good ones” were saved for company.
There was an adapted recipe for these in the December Penzey’s catalog called, “Christmas Morning Cookies”- the woman who submitted it added copious amounts of almond extract and a dried cherry right on top. I used pecans in mine and can’t remember if she used almonds- anyway, they were beautiful with that cherry on top, and as delicious as ever!
My family has made these for decades at Christmas – a must have! We call them “pecan sandies” but it seems like almost every culture has a variation on this cookie, which just goes to show how universally appealing they are. We always make the log shape and roll them in powdered sugar while still warm which creates a melted effect and then a very light 2nd dusting of powdered sugar after completely cool to pretty them up. The log shape is much easier to eat than the ball shape. On second thought, maybe that’s not a good thing!
Do you have to use nuts?
Hi Ashley, I think they make for a fabulous cookie, but you certainly don’t have to. You may need to add a little extra flour, though, to compensate for the ground nuts.
Yummy!
We call them polvorones, I usually make them with almons, and can fill it with a little of guava or a hershey kiss, but my favorite is with hazelnut and a little hershey kiss inside, is just divine.
I make these every year! Mine are a little different, though, and have shortening in them instead of butter. My hubby loves them!
We’ve always used walnuts in a lot of our holiday baking because my parents have a walnut tree that starts producing around fall/winter time. These look delicious! You really can’t go wrong with anything coated in powdered sugar :)
We have a type of cookie in Malaysia similar to this which we call ‘Biskut Arab’ or Arab biscuits. Also called ‘Kuih Makmur’, I think. The ingredients are a little different but they still have nuts and a coat of icing sugar. My Dad’s favourites :)
Yum! I love these cookies…I like mine with a lot of nuts (pecans). I never thought of grinding the nuts…I will have to try this recipe out. Thanks BEB
I love Mexican Wedding Cakes! I didn’t really appreciate how good they were until I got a little older. And I still remember the time my Mom and I were having a marathon baking session just a few days before Christmas, trying to get everything baked on time, and Mom forgot to put the flour in the cookies. They were lovely flat butter cookies. :)
These cookies became my favorite courtesy of my mother-in-law. She calls them crescent cookies and shapes them in a crescent moon shape and uses walnuts. Funny since I was never a big walnut person, but because she chopped the walnuts so finely I didn’t mind them. This was her mother’s recipe who was a baker from Scotland.
I grew up with these in the 50’s and my mother also called them cresants. She rolled them in the palm of her hands and made a long strip and curved them around like a cresant shape and then baked them. That must have been the thing in the 50’s. No one I have mentioned them to has ever hear of them being called cresants. Now I found someone. So I did not imagie it.
these look great! can you make them without nuts? or does that ruin the cookie?
Hi Chay, I have not made them without nuts, but I think you could try.
Try them with mini choclate chips– they are delicious that way too.
I cannot wait to surprise my Mom with these!
I’m not clear if you are saying to start with 2 cup of pecan halves and finely chop them or do you want to end up with 2 cups after the pecan halves have been chopped. If it’s the latter, what quantity of pecan halves do you start with to end up with the 2 cups finely chopped?
“2 cups of finely chopped pecans” (as opposed to 2 cups of pecan halves, finely chopped.”) So you measure them after they are finely chopped.
Thanks. That’s what I thought but wanted to clarify to be certain.
Hi Laurie, You want to end up with 2 cups of finely chopped pecans. I don’t pre-measure, I just take a big handful, chop it up, see how much I have, then grab a little more at at time until I get what I need.
Thanks! I make these cookies every year but this year I’m going to try your version.
Snowball cookies are a family tradition for us! Love them!
I don’t suppose I can persuade you to send these to Alphabakes? We’ve got a prize this month and the letter is S, so these would be perfect! Details are here:
http://www.themorethanoccasionalbaker.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/alphabakes-december-2012.html
Oooh, snowballs! My kids favorite!
Ohhh, what a wonderful cookie!!
Wow!! I love these cookies (I am sure that the powdered sugar has a lot to do with it, too… lol). I can’t wait to try this recipe – I hope I don’t make too much of a mess!!!
One of my favorites, but I do not use nuts.
These are irresistible every single Christmas!!
I love these cookies and make them every Christmas. They’re so easy and delishious!!! I usually do half walnuts and half pecans. When I first started making them the recipe I used said to use either walnuts OR pecans, but I couldn’t decide, so I did it my way and have been ever since. They’re so good!
I’ve always referred to these as Russian tea cookies. My mom made these when I was a kid and they are by far my favorite cookie around the holidays.
I had just commented on here yesterday about these being my favorite! So glad you posted the recipe!! I will def be making these this weekend!
These are my FAVORITE christmas cookie! we roll them in sugar while they are still hot…just a few minutes out of the oven so they don’t fall apart. That way they can hold more sugar
These were the only cookies I remember my mother baking at Christmas time. I stopped baking them for a while because my daughter doesn’t like nuts, silly child, but I will have to bake them again this year.
We’ve always called these pecan balls and they have long been a Christmas staple in our house! My mom remembers the days before she had a food processor and had to manually chop all of the nuts. These stay good a surprisingly long amount of time too.
Love them, my favorite.
We call them RTBs or Russian Tea Balls. We use walnut meal in ours. It’s a favorite for Christmas every year. Our recipe uses powdered sugar in the cookies and rolled in them after. We typically freeze them after they are done and re-roll them in powdered sugar once we are serving them.
I just saw a recipe for this cookie with mini chocolate chips!!
It was from Toll house – sounds fabulous!!!
Thanks for the recipe. I was going to look up this recipe today but now I don’t have to! Do you know if the dough freezes well?
Hi Jennifer, I haven’t frozen this dough, but I imagine that it would. I would probably roll the cookies into balls, and then freeze them that way, so you just need to pop them on the cookie sheets and bake (maybe adding an additional minute or two to the baking time).
The dough freezes fine but definitely ball them first, as Michelle suggested. I made the mistake of freezing it as one big blob one time and it took too long to thaw enough to be able to shape the balls.
It’s been a long time since I had one of these. What surprises me is the 3/4 teaspoon of salt. I am wondering if my mother used salt too, I would have to call her and while on that, ask her, if she’s willing to bake some for Christmas. :).
Yummy cookies that remind me of Christmas time.
We use pecans and call them “Pacoons” in my family. They are my mom’s favorite cookie so I have to make sure I make them at Christmas (and she gets a batch for her birthday). Oh, and she doesn’t share!
I adore these cookies and it brings back such wonderful memories of my grandmother.
These look Great!
Love these cookies–I make them with walnuts sometimes, and they are good too!
These cookies look delicious! It’s always so nice to make things that you had while growing up, it brings a real sense of nostalgia to Christmas.
I love these cookies! One of my favorites.
I love Sandies too – with lots of pecans!
I also love these cookies. I make mine with walnuts and vanilla extract. Have had them with almond and they are just as yummy. I’ve heard them called “nut balls” and “butter balls” also. They are good as chocolate snowballs! Happy Holidays!!! :)
Love these cookies, too..made mine last week :)
Thank you for the recipe. When you asked for favorite cookie yesterday this was the cookie I described. Now I just may have to make some.
I love snowballs – we always have to have them at Christmas. When my grandma used to make them, she tinted some red and green to be more festive : )
We used to help our mom in making these. I just love them :)
We always put pecans in ours and called them Sandies. These are special to me because my grandmother always made them. She has alzheimer’s now. I follow the example she set and bake way too many cookies at Christmas time- that compulsion skipped my mother and landed directly on me!
These were a required staple for our Christmas cookie platter when I was growing up; in fact I’ve been thinking the last few days I need to get around to baking a batch myself this year. We always called them “pecan logs” or “pecan fingers” because we shaped them into small, thin “logs” instead of balls/rounds. We also dust them in powdered sugar while they’re still pretty warm, after cooling for only about 10 minutes. They’re one of my absolute favorite cookies, but then I love any and all shortbread type cookies.
I really like these (except for the getting covered in powdered sugar when you eat one part) but rarely had them growing up or even as an adult. I might have to try your recipe!
Marla
I make about 5 dozen of these every Friday for the guys when we go shooting–of course I don’t shoot but its fun to listen to a bunch of old men bitch and argue about shots they made or missed
In regards to getting the powdered sugar all over you I put mine in a large seal bag–drop a few well cooled cookies in the bag and shake–no spill no mess
Oh, yum! I grew up with these, too. The were always made from the Betty Crocker cookbook with either pecans or walnuts. The almond version you mentioned sounds perfect, I may just have to give that a try!
We always called these Russian tea cakes in my house. I made these last week, they are one of my favorite Christmas cookies! I read last week that traditional Russian tea cakes are made with hazelnuts while Mexican wedding cakes are usually made with pecans and add cinnamon to the powdered sugar dusting. No matter how you make them though they are delicious, especially with a cup of coffee.
I love these cookies too. Thanks, I will try the recipe soon.