Here is a classic Powdered Sugar–Coated Cookie recipe — often called Snowball Cookies, Mexican Wedding Cookies, or Russian Tea Cakes. They’re buttery, tender, nutty, and rolled in powdered sugar so they look like little snowballs.
❄️ Powdered Sugar–Coated Snowball Cookies
Ingredients (makes about 24 cookies)
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup powdered sugar (plus extra for rolling)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts (optional but classic)
Instructions
1. Make the dough
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- In a mixing bowl, beat butter and ½ cup powdered sugar until light and fluffy.
- Mix in vanilla.
- Add flour and salt; stir until a dough forms.
- Stir in chopped nuts if using.
- Chill dough 10–15 minutes (helps them hold shape).
2. Shape
- Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place on an ungreased or parchment-lined baking sheet.
- They don’t spread much, so you can place them relatively close.
3. Bake
- Bake 10–12 minutes, until the bottoms are lightly golden.
- The tops will stay pale — that’s perfect.
4. Roll in powdered sugar
- While still warm, roll each cookie in powdered sugar.
- Let cool completely.
- Roll again for that thick, snowy coating.
Serve
Soft, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth cookies that stay fresh for days and freeze wonderfully.
Variations
- No-nut version: Just omit nuts; add 1–2 tbsp extra flour if dough is too soft.
- Almond snowballs: Use almond extract + finely chopped almonds.
- Chocolate chip snowballs: Add mini chocolate chips instead of nuts.
- Lemon snowballs: Add lemon zest to dough and a bit to the powdered sugar.
If you want, I can give you chocolate snowball cookies, hot cocoa snowballs, or red velvet snowball cookies too!
