I love making these buttery, nutty cookies during the holidays. This snowball cookies recipe (also called pecan meltaways) is simple enough to make ahead and freeze, too!
Instructions
1
Cream butter and sugar
2
In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Editor's Tip: You definitely want softened butter for this step! Forgot to take it out of the refrigerator? This is how to soften butter in a pinch.
3
Add remaining ingredients
4
Beat in the vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the flour and salt. Gradually add the flour to the creamed mixture and mix well. Next, stir the pecans into the dough. If you have whole pecans, chop them first. Refrigerate the dough until chilled. Don't skip this step—chilling cookie dough is essential for avoiding thin, flat cookies. Editor's Tip: One easy method for chopping nuts is to put them in a bowl and put pressure on them using a measuring cup or smaller bowl. You'll wind up with coarsely chopped nuts. For smaller pieces, move them to a cutting board and finish with a knife, placing your non-cutting hand over the top of the blade and carefully rocking the blade back and forth.
5
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until set.
6
Roll in confectioners' sugar
7
Roll the warm cookies in additional confectioners' sugar, then cool completely on wire racks. Roll the cooled cookies again in confectioners' sugar.
