Baking season is finally here! If you love the holiday season and Christmas cookies as much as I do, then you look forward to this all year. There are many cookies that I think of when I think of the holiday season but snowball cookies, or Mexican Wedding Cakes, as I grow up knowing them are my absolute favorite! These cookies can also be called Russian Tea Cakes but whatever you call them, they are delicious!! The tender crispy and slightly salty cookie covered in a layer of powdered sugar it’s some thing that I look forward to every single year.
These cookies are extremely easy to make but you do need one piece of specialized equipment. To make these as easy as possible you will need a Food Processor. Using the food processor makes these cookies come together in a matter of seconds rather than doing it by hand. You also get an extremely tender crumb and great, even distribution of your nuts and butter.
Making the cookies a simple. You are going to take your pecan halves place them in your food processor and pulse until they are small pieces. They don’t need to be perfect just chopped up a bit. Next you’re going to add your butter, chopped up into small pieces, your flour, sugar, vanilla, and salt. After all the ingredients are added you’re going to pulse your food processor until everything comes together and looks like the consistency of sand. The mixture will look dry but it should come together with your hands. If you pinch the mixture together and it’s not quite sticking yet that means you need to pulse it a few more times to release more of that butter and those oils from the pecans, that’s the only moisture that’s in the cookie and that’s what holds it together. Once your cookie batter is that nice consistency and sticks together when you squeeze it in your hand you’re ready to make your cookie balls. I like to use a Cookie Scoop pack it as full as possible, scoop it into my hand and then finish shaping by hand they should look like little ping-pong balls. Lay them out on a lined sheet pan, they can be pretty close together because they shouldn’t spread and you’re ready to bake!
You want to bake your cookies until they are just set, no browning at all. This should take anywhere from 9-14 minutes depending on your oven. Let them cool for just a couple minutes until they are able to be handled, then roll in more powdered sugar to give them their signature coating. You want to make sure to do this step while the cookies are still warm so the powdered sugar melts slightly and adheres to the cookie. Once they are coated, you are ready to enjoy!
Snowball Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup salted butter cut into cubes
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup plus 1 tbsp flour
- 1 cup pecan halves
- pinch salt
- ½ cup powdered sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F
- In your food processor, place your pecan halves and pulse until they are roughly chopped.
- Add in your cubed butter, flour, salt, vanilla and ¼ cup powdered sugar. Pulse to combine until the mixture resembles wet sand. The mixture will look dry but should come together when you squeeze it in your hand. If it is too crumbly, continue to pulse until the dough comes together when pinched.
- Using a cookie scoop, scoop the mixture and pack it in to the scoop. Release the dough into your hand and roll into a tight ball. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Place on a lined baking sheet, they can be close together because the dough should not spread during baking.
- Bake your cookies for 9-14 minutes until the dough is just set, before it begins to brown.
- Let your cookies cool for a couple minutes until you can handle them, then roll each cookie in the remaining powdered sugar. This step needs to be completed while the cookies are still warm. Enjoy!
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