Melt in Your Mouth Snowball Cookies

4.80 from 5 votes
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These are hands-down the most perfect snowball cookies! This snowball cookie recipe is a melt-in-your-mouth cookie with a buttery texture and crunch from the pecans. They are super flavorful and moist and topped with powdered sugar.

Snowball cookie recipe with powdered sugar.

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I love holiday baking and making all the Christmas cookies! These snowball cookies are are buttery cookies, with pecans, and coated in powdered sugar. They are the most charming Christmas cookie and perfect for the holidays.

  • These cookies are super simple to make.
  • They’re not dry! I’ve had plenty of dry snowball cookies at bakeries, and it’s such a disappointment. These do not have a hard texture.
  • These cookies are soft and melt in your mouth!

What Are Snowball Cookies?

They’re beloved across the globe, with slight variations depending on the region and mood. But wherever you go, these white shortbread confections look fabulous and very on-theme at weddings and wintry Christmas celebrations.

They are also melt-in-the-mouth and super simple to make and send to loved ones.

Ingredients in snowball cookies.

Butter: Use unsalted butter at room temperature for a rich and creamy base. It provides the cookies with a tender texture and a deliciously buttery flavor, enhancing the overall richness of the cookies.

All-Purpose Flour: This versatile flour is the foundation of the cookie dough, contributing to its structure and softness. The flour blends seamlessly with the other ingredients, allowing for a delicate crumb.

Pecans: Finely chopped pecans add a delightful crunch and a nutty flavor that complements the sweetness of the cookies. They contribute to the overall texture and provide a warm, earthy note.

Powdered Sugar: Also known as confectioners’ sugar, this finely ground sugar gives the cookies their signature sweetness and a melt-in-your-mouth texture. It’s also used for dusting the finished cookies, creating a beautiful snowy appearance.

Salt: A pinch of salt balances the sweetness of the powdered sugar and enhances the flavors of the other ingredients. It brings out the richness of the butter and adds depth to the overall taste.

Snowball cookie dough with pecans.

How to Make Snowball Cookies

In an electric mixer, cream butter and powdered sugar.

Add in the vanilla and continue mixing.

Add the flour and salt and mix on low.

Next, add in the chopped pecans and mix on low just until combined.

Make 1 1/4″ cookie balls.

Place the cookie balls on a prepared baking sheet.

Roll the cookies in powdered sugar.

snowball cookie rolled in powdered sugar

How to Store Snowball Pecan Cookies

Store in a cool, dry part of your kitchen, and these cookies should last up to a week in an airtight container.

How to Freeze Snowball Pecan Cookies

As their name suggests, snowball cookies do great frozen. You can freeze baked or unbaked cookies, and you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference between the two. 

Lay a zip-top bag down and place the cookies in the bag without letting them touch. Gently transfer to a container before freezing. The day before you’re ready to eat them, thaw and either bake or refresh with powdered sugar.

pecan snowball cookie with bite taken out

Why Are My Snowball Cookies Dry?

Dry snowball cookies are usually the result of over baking. You can also get dry cookies if you’re not precisely measuring your ingredients.

Pecans or Walnuts?

You can’t go wrong with pecans, but you also have leeway with this. Walnuts are a good option (if a bit bitter), as are cashews, hazelnuts, and macadamias. You could even use pine nuts if you’d like. If you go the almond route, some almond extract can give your snowball cookie an unconventional but decadent taste. Toast the nuts before doing one of the following: 

  • Chopping them into teeny tiny pieces
  • Popping them in a food processor without completely pulverizing them 
  • Placing them in a plastic bag and crushing them with a rolling pin

What to Serve with Snowball Cookies

Try these cookies with some of our favorite holiday drink recipes!

The Best Homemade Eggnog

Homemade Hot Chocolate

They would also look adorable as an extra treat on a hot cocoa bar.

Soft and buttery snowball cookies with pecans and covered in powdered sugar.

Try some of our beloved, tried, and true cookie recipes below. They’re all delicious, festive, and amazing for the holidays.

Let me know if you make this snowball cookie recipe by leaving a comment and review below! Also, check out more of our delicious desserts.

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snowball cookie recipe
4.80 from 5 votes

Snowball Cookies

By: Eden
These are hands-down the most perfect snowball cookies! Our snowball cookie recipe creates melt-in-your-mouth cookies. They are super buttery, flavorful, moist, and topped with a layer of powdered sugar.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
5 minutes
Total: 25 minutes
Servings: 24 cookies
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Ingredients 

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temp.
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup pecans, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar, for rolling the cookies

Instructions 

  • In an electric mixer, cream butter and 1/2 cup powdered sugar .
  • Add in the vanilla and continue mixing.
  • Add the flour and salt and mix on low.
  • Add in the chopped pecans and mix on low just until combined.
    pecan cookie dough to make snowball cookies
  • Make 1 1/4" cookie balls.
    snowball cookie dough with pecans
  • Place the cookie balls on a prepared baking sheet.
  • Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven for 10 minutes.
  • Pour 1/2 cup powdered sugar into a bowl.
    snowball cookie rolled in powdered sugar
  • When the cookies come out of the oven, give them a minute to cool, then roll each cookie into the powdered sugar to coat the entire cookie.
  • You can also sift more sugar over the cookies.
    snowball cookie recipe

Notes

You can make this dough ahead of time and leave it in the refrigerator overnight. 
If the powdered sugar isn’t sticking to the baked cookies, it’s fine. Just roll and then sift more over the top. 
Use walnuts instead of pecans if you prefer. 

Nutrition

Calories: 155kcal, Carbohydrates: 14g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 20mg, Sodium: 116mg, Potassium: 31mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 239IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 7mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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About Eden

I’m Eden Passante and I develop, create, style and photograph every recipe and party on Sugar and Charm. I’m the author of Entertaining with Charm and have a Bachelor’s Degree in Home Economics and I’m here to help you create simple and easy recipes for entertaining and how to add charm to any gathering!

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