The snowball cookies are one of the simplest shortbread cookies you can make for Christmas. The recipe is super easy, you just need 5 ingredients, an electric mixer, and a bowl. In a few minutes, you’ll create a delicious shortbread rich with butter and nuts without eggs.
The Christmas cookies are a true explosion of flavor: butter, aromas, and nuts are the main ingredients to prepare a perfect Christmas cookie box to give as a gift.
The traditional recipe for these cookies doesn’t call for eggs or baking powder, they’re so rich with butter, sugar, and hazelnuts that they melt in your mouth. In the United States, they often use toasted pecans; I substituted them with hazelnuts, but you can also use almonds and walnuts. They’re so “melt-in-your-mouth” that they can’t be missing from the Christmas cookie box along with ricciarelli, gingerbread men, and almond pastries.
I love Christmas and especially enjoy giving friends and family traditional sweets, candies, and homemade cookies. Here are some perfect recipes for your gift baskets:
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 18 cookies
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: American
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
- Energy 115.96 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 12.80 (g) of which sugars 6.88 (g)
- Proteins 1.32 (g)
- Fat 6.88 (g) of which saturated 3.44 (g)of which unsaturated 3.33 (g)
- Fibers 0.43 (g)
- Sodium 43.88 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 20 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/3 cup powdered vanilla sugar
- 1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts (chopped or other nuts of your choice)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
- 3/4 cup powdered vanilla sugar (for coating)
Tools
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Baking Sheet
- 1 Electric Mixer
Steps
Take the butter out of the fridge 30 minutes before using it and let it sit at room temperature.
Chop the hazelnuts with a knife; they should be fine but not like flour, if there are a few larger pieces the cookies will be even better.
Place the butter in a bowl with 1/3 cup of powdered sugar and beat it with the mixer until light and fluffy.
While continuing to beat the mixture, add the vanilla extract, salt, and flour in three batches. Fold in the chopped hazelnuts (or other nuts of your choice) with a spoon or spatula.
The dough is ready; cover it with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to firm up for 1 hour.
After resting, form 20g spheres and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. This batch will make 18 small cookies.
Put the baking sheet in the fridge until the oven is at temperature.
Bake the cookies in a preheated static oven at 340°F for 13/15 minutes; they should be lightly golden.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the cookies cool for 7/8 minutes, then roll them in powdered sugar; they will become slightly sticky, which is normal.
Transfer them to a rack to cool completely, then roll them again in powdered sugar.
The snowball cookies are ready to enjoy.
Tips
Storage
Snowball cookies can be stored in a tin box for a week.
******************************
For tips on making the recipes, contact me on FACEBOOK and if you like, follow me on INSTAGRAM
Send me your photos, I will be happy to publish them on my social media
