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round pecan snowball cookies coated in white powdered sugar on a simple plate, with one broken cookie revealing a fine nut-speckled crumb
Andre Lewis

Pecan Snowball Cookies

The first sugar coating goes on warm cookies so it can cling; the second goes on after cooling so it stays snowy. A single hot coating usually melts into a patchy glaze. Chop the pecans finely enough that the dough holds together when rolled, but stop before they turn into nut butter. These are crumbly by design, so let them finish cooling before moving the whole batch into a tin.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 28 minutes
Total Time 53 minutes
Servings: 30
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup unsalted butter softened
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar for dough
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp fine salt
  • 1 cup finely chopped pecans
  • 1 cup powdered sugar for coating

Method
 

  1. Heat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment. Beat butter and dough sugar until creamy, then mix in vanilla.
  2. Mix in flour and salt just until combined, then fold in the finely chopped pecans. Divide the dough into 30 compact balls.
  3. Place 1 inch apart and bake one sheet at a time for 13 to 14 minutes, until the bottoms turn pale gold and the tops look dry.
  4. Cool for 5 minutes, then gently roll the warm cookies in the coating sugar. Set on a rack and cool completely.
  5. Roll once more in the remaining powdered sugar, tapping off loose excess before storing.