Ingredients
Scale
For the Cookies:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar (plus more for rolling)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup pecans or walnuts, very finely chopped
For Coating:
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (for rolling the finished cookies)
Instructions
- Prepare the nuts: If you haven’t already, finely chop your pecans or walnuts. You want them almost to a meal consistency but not completely ground. A food processor works well – just pulse 8-10 times. Set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar: In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and 1/2 cup powdered sugar together with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add vanilla: Mix in the vanilla extract until well combined.
- Add dry ingredients: Add the flour and salt to the butter mixture. Mix on low speed just until combined and no flour streaks remain. Don’t overmix.
- Fold in nuts: Add the finely chopped nuts and mix on low speed or fold in by hand with a wooden spoon until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- Chill the dough: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. This makes the dough easier to handle and helps cookies maintain their shape during baking. (You can skip this step if you’re short on time, but chilled dough is easier to work with.)
- Preheat oven: While the dough chills, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Shape the cookies: Using your hands or a small cookie scoop, roll the dough into 1-inch balls (about 1 tablespoon of dough each). Place them on prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. They don’t spread much, so you can fit quite a few on each sheet.
- Bake: Bake for 12-15 minutes until the bottoms are very lightly golden but the tops still look pale. Don’t overbake – these cookies should stay pale. They’ll firm up as they cool.
- First sugar coating: Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes until you can handle them without burning yourself but while they’re still warm. Place about 1/2 cup of powdered sugar in a small bowl. Gently roll each warm cookie in the powdered sugar to coat completely. Place on a cooling rack.
- Cool completely: Let the cookies cool completely on the rack, about 30 minutes.
- Second sugar coating: Once cookies are completely cool, roll them in powdered sugar again for a thick, snowy coating. This second coating is what gives them that beautiful snowball appearance.
- Serve or store: Arrange on a serving platter or store in an airtight container. These cookies taste even better the next day once the flavors have melded together.
Notes
- For the finest nut texture, pulse whole nuts in a food processor until they’re finely chopped but not turned into nut butter.
- Don’t skip the double coating of powdered sugar – the first coating while warm helps it stick, and the second coating gives that beautiful snowy finish.
- These cookies should be pale when baked. If they’re browning, your oven is too hot.
- The dough can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated, or frozen for up to 3 months.
- If the dough seems too crumbly to hold together, add 1-2 tablespoons of softened butter.
- For uniform cookies, use a small cookie scoop or tablespoon measure.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes (plus 30 minutes chilling time)
- Cook Time: 12-15 minutes per batch
- Category: Desert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Mexican, American, Russian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 85
- Sugar: 5g
- Sodium: 15mg
- Fat: 6g
- Saturated Fat: 3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2.5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 8g
- Fiber: 0.5g
- Protein: 1g
- Cholesterol: 10mg