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Homemade snowball cookies coated in powdered sugar on a white plate.
Hannah Cooking

Classic Snowball Cookies

These classic snowball cookies are buttery, tender, and coated in powdered sugar for the perfect melt-in-your-mouth holiday treat. An easy 5-ingredient cookie that works for Christmas cookie trays and year-round baking.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Chill Time (Optional) 20 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings: 24 cookies
Course: Christmas cookies, Dessert, Holiday Baking
Cuisine: American, Italian, Mexican, Russian
Calories: 110
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the Cookie Dough
  • 1 cup Butter, softened 2 sticks
  • ½ cup Powdered sugar For dough
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon Almond extract Optional
  • 2 cups All-purpose flour
  • ¼ teaspoon Salt
  • 1 cup Pecans, finely chopped Toasted for best flavor
For Coating
  • 2 cups Powdered sugar For rolling
  • Extra powdered sugar Second coating

Equipment

  • 1 Electric mixer For creaming butter and sugar
  • 1 Baking Sheet Lined with parchment
  • 1 Mixing bowl Large
  • 1 Cookie Scoop For even cookie sizes
  • 1 Wire cooling rack For cooling before final sugar roll
  • 1 Food processor Optional, for finely chopping pecans

Method
 

  1. Bake pecans 5–7 minutes until fragrant; cool completely, then finely chop.
  2. Beat softened butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy; add extracts.
  3. Mix in flour and salt just until combined; fold in pecans gently.
  4. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place on lined baking sheet.
  5. Bake at 350°F for 12–15 minutes until bottoms are lightly golden.
  6. Cool 5 minutes, then roll warm cookies in powdered sugar.
  7. Cool completely, then roll again in fresh powdered sugar.
    Homemade snowball cookies coated in powdered sugar on a white plate.

Notes

Nutrition facts are estimated and may vary based on specific ingredients and portion sizes used