Irresistible Snowball Cookies enhanced with earthy rye flour and toasted pecans are melt-in-your-mouth, delicious! Easy to make, they stay fresh for days and make the perfect gift. Known also as Mexican Wedding Cookies and Russian Tea Cakes.
We are beauty continuously being carved. At times, painful. Yet, each cut reveals deeper awareness of our inner magnificence. We get to the heart of matter, realizing we are more than this physicality.
Ulonda Faye
Snowballs are a rich shortbread-style cookie with no eggs or leavening agent. The cookie dough is lightly sweetened, filled with toasted pecans then coated with powdered sugar while still warm creating a glaze. After the cookies cool they are tossed again in the powdered sugar. The sweet coating marries perfectly with the rustic nutty cookie.
Adding a little rye flour just heightens the earthy flavor. But you can easily swap it out for wheat or all-purpose flour.
Table of Contents
Ingredients For Snowball Cookies
Ingredient Notes
Rye Flour- earthy flavor really compliments the sweet buttery cookies. Whole Wheat flour or all white will work too.
Pecans- toasting the nuts deepens the flavor of the cookies. The cookies are packed with a larger amount of nuts than is traditional, be sure to chop them small creating fine crumbs and also larger pieces for texture. Feel free to use walnuts, hazelnuts or almonds.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How To Make Snowball Cookies
STEP ONE- Toast the chopped pecans in the oven at 325F for 5-10 minutes, keep a close eye they will go fast. Cool completely.
Store in an airtight container. Cookies will keep for about 5 days at room temperature. They freeze perfectly.
STEP TWO- Combine the butter and sugar, beating until lightened and creamy. Add vanilla and salt.
STEP THREE- Add completely cooled toasted pecans, rye flour and all-purpose flour.
It is important for the pecans to be cool so the butter does not melt which would change the texture of the cookie and it won’t bake properly.
STEP FOUR- The dough will be coarse and crumbly but will stick when you press it together.
STEP FIVE- Press roughly a tablespoon of dough (20 grams) in your hand squeezing and rolling into a 1-inch ball shape. Place about an inch apart on cookie sheets.
STEP SIX- Bake in a preheated oven at 325F for 20-25 minutes.
STEP SEVEN- While cookies are still warm, toss in a bowl of powdered sugar, covering the entire cookie. The cookies should still be warm so the powdered sugar will stick and create a glaze on the cookies.
Cool completely then toss in powdered sugar again.
Recipe FAQS
I bet using a cup-for-cup gluten-free flour blend would work! We have not tried it yet, let us know if you do!
They are all basically the same dough from different origins. Some have variations with different nuts and flavorings added.
The butter may have gotten too soft. Make sure your butter is just room temperature, the butter should sit at room temperature for about 1 hour. You don’t want it too soft. It should still be cool to the touch but indent easily when you press it with your finger.
When toasting the nuts, cool them completely before adding to the batter so they don’t melt the butter.
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Snowball Cookies
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 38 cookies
- Category: cookies
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (185 grams) pecans, chopped and toasted (chop them small creating fine crumbs and also larger pieces for texture. Feel free to use walnuts, hazelnuts or almonds.)
- 1 cup (227 grams or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature (see notes)
- 1/3 cup (66 grams) sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4–1/2 teaspoon salt (a little more salt goes well with the nuts)
- 1 1/2 cups (188 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (51 grams) rye flour or wheat flour or all-purpose flour
- 1/2–1 cup (60-120 grams) powdered sugar
Instructions
- Toast the chopped pecans in the oven at 325F for 5-10 minutes, keep a close eye they will go fast. Cool completely.
- Combine the butter and sugar, beating until lightened and creamy. Add vanilla and salt.
- Add completely cooled toasted pecans, rye flour and all purpose flour. The dough will be coarse and crumbly but will stick when you press together. Press roughly a tablespoon of dough (20 grams) in your hand squeezing and rolling into a 1 inch ball shape. Place about an inch apart on cookie sheets.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 325F for 20-25 minutes.
- While cookies are still warm, toss in a bowl of powdered sugar, covering the entire cookie. The cookies should still be warm, this will create a glaze on the cookies. Cool completely then toss in powdered sugar again.
Store in an airtight container. Cookies will keep about 5 days. They freeze perfectly.
Notes
Butter should sit out at room temperature for about 1-2 hours. You don’t want it too soft. It should still be cool to the touch but indent easily when you press it with your finger.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 73
- Sugar: 3.4 g
- Sodium: 10.5 mg
- Fat: 4.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 8.3 g
- Fiber: 0.4 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 6.2 mg
I love the addition of rye flour adding a bit of unique crunch to the shortbread – and such an easy easy recipe – i wound up doubling and gifting the cookies. this will be a go to cookie for us. great with a hot cup of coffee. thank you
These are my favorites. So glad you enjoyed Maureen!
Since last year, this is our top choice of cookies! This is so delicious!!!! Thank you!!
Nice to hear this Johanne. Yay for cookie season!
My mother made a version of these cookies. These are absolutely delicious. I love the rye flour in them, it really takes it to the next level. Thank you for sharing your talents with us, and for a wonderful trip down memory lane. Your recipes are always delicious. I’ve never been disappointed. 😋
Thanks so much Glenda!
These are so delicious. Since I had almond flour I used that instead of regular flour. First time using the rye flour and it was yummy and gave the cookies a rustic look. I will be making these cookies again.
We’re so glad you enjoyed these Michele!
I made these once and they were so yummy … making them again and I notice that the recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups AP flour which is 180g, but the recipe says 237g. Which is right? (Going with the 180g so fingers crossed!)
Oh dear! Yes the 180g is correct. Recipe is updated. Thanks!
These sound delicious. Do you think they could be made with gluten free flour?
Seems like it would work! Let us know if you give it a try.
My mom made these at Christmas, she called them pecan balls.
Now it’s my turn to bake them, they are absolutely decadent
I love those sweet memories passed on through food!
Omg, one of the best cookie recipes I even made! It does melt in your mouth !!! 💕
They are my favorites!:)
Incredibly delicious, and we all enjoyed them. Could they also be made with olive oil? We would like to make them often, but it is quite a bit of butter:) Thank you.
The butter creates a consistency and texture that you won’t get with olive oil. You may be able to play about with coconut oil?
So good. Made yesterday. Thank you for the recipe.
Happy you liked these Marisa!
I think these cookies are a favorite in many countries and cultures. My Jewish grandmother in-law made them in a crescent shape, and my Italian mother called them pecan butterball cookies. They never lasted long. The addition of rye flour is interesting. I will give that a try. Thanks for your creative ways of thinking “outside of the box”!
Nice Joseph, love that connection with many cultures. Let us know what you think!