Snowball cookies, or pecan puffs, are classic Christmas cookies that are as easy to make as they are delicious! They’re the perfect festive cookies to give as gifts or bring to holiday parties!
These snowball cookies always remind me of my Aunt Debby. She made them every year for Christmas and used to give each child in our family our own little box of them with a Christmas ornament attached. I still have all of my “Aunt Debby” ornaments that came with me when I left for college and still hang them on my tree every year.
But the snowball cookies were what I always looked forward to each year. The little pecan puffs are covered in fluffy powdered sugar, reminiscent of a snowball, which is where they get their name. Inevitably, the powdered sugar always gets everywhere when you eat them, no matter how hard you try not to, but that’s part of the fun!
Honestly, I don’t know why they only appear around Christmas. They are so easy to make and have very few ingredients. And it’s not like they contain peppermint or pumpkin or some other flavor reserved only for a certain holiday. But for some reason it feels wrong to make them any other time of year. And it makes it that much more special when Christmas rolls around and we do make them. Maybe it’s because for our family, they were always Aunt Debby’s Christmas Cookies and I think we like to keep the tradition.
I hope you love these as much as I do, and hopefully they will become a part of your own holiday tradition!
Snowball cookies, or pecan puffs, are classic Christmas cookies that are as easy to make as they are delicious! They're the perfect festive cookies to give as gifts or bring to holiday parties!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup pecans
- 1 cup minus 3 tbsp white whole wheat flour (or all-purpose)*
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300° F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
- In a food processor, grind pecans. Remove pecans and set aside.
- Use same food processor to combine butter and sugar. Blend until creamy. Add vanilla and blend until smooth.
- Add in pecans and flour and pulse until combined. Roll dough into balls (about 1 tbsp each) and place onto prepared cookie sheet.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove and roll each cookie in powdered sugar while they are hot.
Notes
*If you are using all-purpose flour, use 1 cup minus 2 tbsp.
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So much love for these !!
Me too! 🙂