Snowball Cookies | Mexican Wedding Cookies | Russian Tea Cakes

Today I am here with Snowball Cookies Recipe. This cookie has so many different names - Mexican wedding cookies, Russian tea cakes, Pecan butter balls, Pecan Cookie Balls etc., and many more. But whatever may be the name, it is a delicious melt in the mouth, shortbread cookie loaded with pecans and are rolled in powdered sugar. As it is covered by powdered sugar, it gives a look as if it is covered with snow, may be that is why it is called snowball cookies. It looks very attractive and also it is very easy to make. I wanted to bake these cookies for longtime and finally could bake it today. It came out very well and kids loved it very much.

Recipe adapted from Land O Lakes

Snowball Cookies

Rich and buttery snowball cookies loaded with finely chopped pecans and are covered with powdered sugar. These are easy to make, "melt in the mouth" shortbread cookies. These cookies are egg free and are also called Mexican wedding cookies, Russian tea cakes.
Prep time (including chilling time 30 mins): 45 mins  Baking time: 20 mins  Total time: 1 hour 05 mins
Yield: about 24 cookies

Ingredients :

• Butter : 1/2 cup
• Powdered Sugar : 1/4 cup + more (as needed for dusting the cookies)
• Vanilla extract : 1 teaspoon
• All purpose flour : 1 cup
• Salt : 1/8 teaspoon
• Finely chopped pecans : 1/2 cup

Instructions :

In a bowl, beat butter well till it is fluffy. Then add powdered sugar and beat well. Also add Vanilla extract and beat well.
Now add salt and all purpose flour little by little and mix well.
Then add the finely chopped nuts and mix well. The dough will be quite crumbly, but when mixed using hands they will come together.
Cover it and refrigerate it for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 325 F / 170 C / 150 C (fan) / Gas Mark 3. Prepare the cookie sheet by lining with parchment paper.
Take a Tablespoon of dough and roll it into balls and place it in the prepared cookie sheet. Repeat the process for the rest of the dough. The cookies wont spread, so not much gap is needed.
Bake for 20 - 22 minutes till the bottom of the cookies turn slightly golden.
Remove from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes and roll it in powdered sugar and arrange them in the cooling rack to cool completely.
Once they are completely cooled roll them once again in powdered sugar.
Store them in air tight container and they stay fresh for about 3-4 days in room temperature.

Notes :

• Instead of pecans, you can use walnuts or almonds too.
• When you use unsalted butter, you can use 1/8 teaspoon of salt. But if you are using salted butter, do not add salt.
• I used Tablespoon measure, so all the cookies are of same size. You can use any other measure or cookie scoop to get a uniform sized cookies. But depending on the size of the cookie, the baking time will vary.
• Don't roll the cookies in powdered sugar when they are hot, the sugar will melt and it is going to be sticky. So wait for 5 minutes, then roll it once in powdered sugar, then cool the cookies completely, roll them in powdered sugar again.

Recipe developed, baked and clicked by Divya Prakash