This delightful melt-in-your-mouth cookie recipe has been in my family for decades. We call them Snowballs, but they’re also known as Mexican Wedding Cakes or Greek Kourabiedes. I make them every year for Christmas, but they would also be perfect for Easter, Mother’s Day, birthday parties, tea parties, weddings, bridal showers, and baby showers.
Pecans are my favorite nuts to use in this recipe, but you can use almost any nuts you have on hand. The original snowy white version is a classic but you can take them up a notch with pretty pastels and fruit flavors. You can use crushed, freeze-dried fruit for color and subtle flavor. Spirulina is a nutritious, vibrant powder you can use to make beautiful blue cookies. You can also dress up your snowballs with edible glitter or luster dust used for cake decorating. There are endless ways to be creative with these cute cookies!
Pastel Snowball Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 cup (227g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar, sifted and divided plus more for desired pastel powdered sugar color
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 cups (255g) all purpose flour, sifted
- ½ cup (64g) finely chopped pecans
Pink powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup (40g) powdered sugar, sifted
- ½ cup (14g) freeze-dried strawberries or raspberries see note below*
Blue powered sugar
- ⅓ cup (40g) powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 ½ teaspoons blue spirulina powder
Lavender powered sugar
- ⅓ cup (40g) powdered sugar, sifted
- ½ cup (14g) freeze-dried blueberries see note below*
- ¼ teaspoon violet edible petal dust optional
Instructions
Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF (165ºC). Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter, with an electric mixer at medium speed, until smooth and creamy. Add 1/2 cup (60g)of powdered sugar, the vanilla and salt. Beat until pale and fluffy.
- In a separate medium-sized bowl, combine the flour and pecans. Gradually add the flour and pecan mixture to the butter mixture, beating on low speed until combined.
- Shape the dough into scant 1-inch balls. Place the balls about 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets. Bake until light golden brown, about 17-20 minutes.
- Place the remaining 1/2 cup (60g) of powdered sugar in a plastic bag. With a spatula, transfer three warm cookies into the bag. Shake gently to coat the cookies with powdered sugar. Transfer them to a cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining cookies.
- Cool the cookies completely then proceed to the instructions for pastel powdered sugar, depending on which color you have selected.
Pink powdered sugar
- Process the freeze-dried strawberries or raspberries into a fine powder in a mini food processor.
- Whisk the freeze-dried berry powder with 1/3 cup (40g) powered sugar together in a small bowl.
- Transfer the powered sugar mixture to a plastic bag. Place three cookies in the bag and shake gently until coated with the powdered sugar mixture. Transfer the cookies back to the rack and repeat with remaining cookies.
Blue powered sugar
- Whisk 1/3 cup (40g) powdered sugar and the spriulina powder in a small bowl.
- Transfer the powered sugar mixture to a plastic bag. Place three cookies in the bag and shake gently until coated with the powdered sugar mixture. Transfer the cookies back to the rack and repeat with the remaining cookies.
Lavender powered sugar
- Process the freeze-dried blueberries into a fine powder in a mini food processor.
- Whisk the freeze-dried blueberry powder with 1/3 cup (40g) powered sugar together in a small bowl. Whisk in petal dust for a more vibrant color, if desired.
- Transfer the powered sugar mixture to a plastic bag. Place three cookies in the bag and shake gently until coated with the powdered sugar mixture. Transfer the cookies back to the rack and repeat with the remaining cookies.