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.
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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
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Photography by Lauren Grant.
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.