Pecan Snowballs are one of my favorite Christmas cookies, and they hold a special place on my cookie tray each year. The toasted pecans add a rich, nutty flavor that complements the buttery shortbread perfectly. Even though we don’t get many white Christmases here in East Texas, these snowball-like cookies always remind me of the holiday season.
This week, I've decided to share all my favorite holiday cookie recipes, ensuring you can create your own festive cookie tray before Christmas. Baking cookies is so much fun, and I can’t wait to share my favorites with you, starting with these Pecan Snowballs.
How to Make Pecan Snowballs
The key to making these Pecan Snowballs truly special is toasting the pecans. While this step is optional, toasting the nuts before adding them to the dough intensifies their flavor and elevates the cookies.
How to toast pecans
To toast pecans, simply spread them out evenly on a baking sheet and bake them at 350°F for 6-8 minutes, or until you start to smell their nutty aroma. After removing them from the oven, transfer the pecans to a cutting board to cool quickly and stop them from cooking further.
How To Make THe Cookie DOugh
This is a really simple cookie dough that comes together in minutes. The most important step to this recipe is making sure the butter is at room temperature before beginning.
- Cream together butter, sugar and salt. Cream until the butter is light and fluffy, this should take a few minutes.
- Mix in the flour, pecans and vanilla. Mix until fully incorporated. This will take a few seconds. The mixture will start off crumbly, keep mixing and it will come together.
- Scoop the cookie dough out with a 1-ounce portion scoop, or by heaping tablespoon, and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 11-13 minutes. Do not over bake.
Roll in Powdered Sugar
Once the cookies are baked, allow them to cool just enough to handle, then roll them in powdered sugar. Doing this while the cookies are still warm helps the sugar adhere, creating a thin, icing-like layer.
After the cookies have cooled completely, roll them in powdered sugar again to give them a fuller coating, which enhances their snowball-like appearance.
See the difference below. The second coating really makes a difference.
VARiations
- Use different nuts. Any nut can be used in this recipe. I love snowball cookies with almonds in them. Pistachio snowballs are a favorite as well.
- Drizzle uncovered cookies with melted chocolate or even dip them.
- Add mini chocolate chips to the cookie dough.
- Zest from various citrus fruits can be added to the cookie dough
- Add ¼ cup of cocoa powder to the cookie dough to make chocolate snowballs.
MORE COOKIE RECIPES
White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
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📖 Recipe
Pecan Snowballs
These Pecan Snowballs are the perfect holiday treat! Light, buttery shortbread filled with toasted pecans and dusted with powdered sugar, they’re a must-have on your cookie tray. Easy to make in under an hour, these melt-in-your-mouth cookies are perfect for Christmas.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup toasted pecans finely chopped
- 1 cup powdered sugar to coat the cookies
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 350° F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a mixer fitted with a paddle, cream together butter, ½ cup of powdered sugar and salt. Cream until the butter is light and fluffy, this should take a few minutes.
- Mix in the flour, pecans and vanilla. Mix until fully incorporated. The mixture will start off crumbly, keep mixing and it will come together.
- Scoop the cookie dough out with a 1-ounce portion scoop, or a heaping tablespoon, and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 11-13 minutes.
- Once the cookies have cooled just enough to handle, roll each cookie in the 1 cup of powdered sugar and place on a cooling rack.
- Once the cookies have cooled completely, roll them a second time in the powdered sugar. Enjoy!
Becky S. says
These are so buttery and soft. The toasted pecans really stand out. Great recipe!