Go Back
+ servings

Christmas Snowball Cookies

These old-fashioned traditional holiday cookies are so simple, but they somehow seem to say “Christmas!”
Servings 30 cookies
Prep Time 30 minutes
Bake Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup 2 sticks or 8 oz. unsalted butter room temperature
  • 8 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon bourbon
  • 2 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 cup finely chopped toasted pecans or walnuts
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

Toasting the Pecans

  • Preheat oven to 350⁰ F.  Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
  • Spread pecans out on the baking sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes, shaking occasionally to allow even toasting. Keep an eye on these. I cannot tell you how many batches of pecans, walnuts, and almonds I’ve burned over the years by getting distracted!
  • When browned and becoming aromatic, remove from the oven and cool.
  • Finely chop in a food processor and set aside until you are ready to make the cookies!

Making the Cookie Dough

  • Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 325⁰F.
  • In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and granulated sugar with an electric mixer until well-blended.
  • Add vanilla and bourbon and mix well. Stir in flour and salt and beat until well mixed. Beat in ground pecans. If your dough is too soft to roll into balls right away, just refrigerate for about 10-15 minutes before making the balls.

Baking the Cookies

  • Scoop dough out by the spoonful to make individual balls, approximately 1½ inches in diameter. 
  • Place balls two inches apart on the prepared baking sheet and bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until bottoms are golden brown and the cookies feel done to the touch. For this cookie, it’s best to err on the side of slightly overdone than underdone, since they should be melt-in-your-mouth crispy. 

Bathing the Cookies in Powdered Sugar

  • Remove from oven, cool for about 5 minutes, and then roll in powdered sugar. Place cookies on a baking rack and allow to cool completely. Once cooled, roll again in powdered sugar for a super snowy look!

Notes

These cookies can easily store for a week in an air-tight container.