Snowball Cookies (aka Mexican Wedding Cakes or Russian Tea Cakes), are little balls of yummy buttery shortbread with pecans, coated with powdered sugar.
Traditions… I love them! This recipe for Snowball Cookies is one of those dearly loved holiday traditions in our family. Little balls of buttery shortbread, bursting with pecans (or walnuts) and rolled in sweet powdered sugar are the perfect Christmas treat to eat or give to family and friends!
My Mom made these delicious snowballs cookies for us when we were growing up. To continue the tradition, I’ve been making them with her recipe for over 40 years at Christmas for our family, and as gifts for friends and neighbors.
Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page
Other Names For Snowball Cookies
I’ve heard these snowball cookies referred to as Mexican Wedding Cookies, Russian Tea Cakes, Shortbread Bites, etc. Seems like everyone has a recipe and a name for them. Whatever they are called, these cookies really are little bites of “shortbread goodness”.
The snowball cookies look like little snowballs because they are round and coated with powdered sugar once baked! They seem to just melt in your mouth (just like snow), and are very easy to make.
If You Enjoy Shortbread Cookies, You Will LOVE Snowball Cookies
Snowball cookies go perfectly with a cup of coffee or tea! These decadent treats are not just for Christmas, because they can be enjoyed ANY time of year. If you enjoy shortbread, you will LOVE these cookies! Rich and buttery, with a hint of sweetness from the powdered sugar, these are one of my favorite Christmas treats!
Here’s a photo of some of the snowball cookies ready to eat… yum! I hope you will give them a try, because they are lip-smackin’ delicious!!
Time To Roll The Snowball Cookies In Powdered Sugar
The dough for snowball cookies is easy to make. Once made, the cookie dough is chilled, rolled into balls, baked, and then rolled in powdered sugar. That’s really all there is to it! And snowball cookies sure are delicious, so I bet ya can’t eat just one of ’em! YUM.
I love to eat a couple of these buttery snowball cookies with a good strong cup of coffee to sip on! Ahhhh- they are so good, and are a perfect small bite of goodness! Hope you will consider making a nice big batch of snowball cookies. They are absolutely delicious, no matter what time of year you make them! Have a GREAT day!
Looking For More Cookie Recipes?
All of my cookie recipes can be found in the Recipe Index at the top of the page. Some of our favorites include:
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons
- Giant Sugar Cookies
- Cranberry Orange Pinwheel Cookies
- Chocolate Oaties
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↓↓ PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW ↓↓
- 1 cup butter (2 cubes, room temperature)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons water
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup nuts (walnuts or pecans), chopped
- 1 cup confectioner's sugar (powdered) to roll the baked cookies in when done
- Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together for several minutes until thoroughly mixed. Add the water and vanilla, and mix together. Slowly add the flour (the dough will become very thick). Stir in the nuts.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-3 hours in refrigerator.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Remove dough from refrigerator. Spoon out and roll dough in your hands to make 1" round cookie dough balls.
- Bake snowballs on un-greased baking sheets for 15-20 minutes at 325 degrees, or until just slightly browned. Remove cookies from oven; let cool just a minute, then carefully roll each cookie in a bowl of powdered sugar, to cover. Cool on a wire rack. Once cool, coat them a second time with the powdered sugar, if desired. That's it!
The prep time indicated is not active prep time. The cookies take only a few minutes to prepare, then dough must be refrigerated (inactive prep time) for a couple hours.
Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!