Snowball cookies, aka Mexican tea cookies, aka the most underrated holiday treat, are here to save your dessert table from mediocrity. These cookies are simple, classic, and completely irresistible. Buttery, nutty, and coated in so much powdered sugar you’ll look like you were in a flour fight, they’re the cookies everyone secretly hopes you’ll bring to the party.

A partially eaten cookie on a stack of more snowball cookies.

These snowball cookies are buttery, nutty, and rolled into perfect little balls with a thick, snowy powdered sugar coating that’s just so festive.

Toasty pecans = next-level flavor: Toasting the pecans before grinding them gives these cookies a deep, nutty flavor that’s worth the extra step. No shortcuts here, friends.

Powdered sugar perfection: Double-coating the cookies in powdered sugar creates that perfect, snowy finish. A little mess is a small price to pay for cookies this good.

Minimal effort, maximum payoff: The food processor does all the heavy lifting, so you can spend less time mixing and more time eating. Win-win.

Holiday-approved (and beyond): Whether you call them snowballs or Mexican tea cookies, these are the kind of treats that work for Christmas, tea parties, or just because it’s Tuesday and you deserve something amazing.

Ingredients used to make snowball cookies with pecans.

The Ingredients

Pantry: Flour, powdered sugar, pecans, vanilla extract.
Pantry seasonings: Cinnamon, salt.
Dairy: Butter.

If you like these cookies, try our Italian wedding cookies which are made with almonds, or chocolate dipped shortbread cookies.

Variations for Snowball Cookies

Chocolate-Dipped Snowballs: Stir in ½ cup of mini chocolate chips to the dough, and after baking, dip the bottoms of the cookies in melted dark chocolate. This variation is also delicious with coconut flakes added to the dough.

Citrus Spice Snowballs: Add 1 teaspoon of orange zest and ¼ teaspoon of ground cardamom to the dough. You can also add a pinch of cardamom to the confectioners sugar.

Espresso Pecan Snowballs: Mix in 1 teaspoon of instant espresso powder with the flour for a subtle coffee flavored pecan snowball cookie.

Have fun with the ingredients. You can use different nuts like almonds or walnuts or even add a hint of spice like nutmeg.

Pulsing the cookie dough in the food processor.

Blending flour into the snowball cookie dough.

Tips for Success

Toast the pecans. Toasting brings out the rich, nutty flavor that makes these cookies so much better. Just don’t forget to let them cool before grinding.
Aim for a fine, cornmeal-like texture when grinding the pecans. Go too far, and you’ll end up with nut butter….delicious, but not what we’re going for here.
Use the food processor to grind the nuts and mix the dough. No need to dirty another dish.
Refrigerating the dough for at least 6 hours is key to keeping the cookies from spreading too much during baking.
For easier scooping, shape the dough into round balls while it’s still soft, then chill them in the fridge before baking. It’s so much easier than wrestling with firm, chilled dough!
For that classic snowy look, roll the cookies in powdered sugar while they’re warm and again after they’ve cooled completely. The second coat gives them that picture-perfect finish.
The first sugar coating sticks best while the cookies are still warm, so don’t let them cool before the first coat.

Storage

Room temperature: Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. To keep them from sticking together, place parchment paper between the layers.

Freezing: These cookies freeze beautifully! Place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze until solid, then transfer to a freezer-safe bag or container. They’ll keep for up to 3 months.

Mexican Tea Cookies

These cookies are also called Mexican tea cookies because they share similarities with traditional Mexican polvorones, which are crumbly shortbread-style cookies often made with ground nuts and coated in powdered sugar

These snowball cookies are the perfect combination of buttery, nutty goodness and holiday cheer wrapped up in a powdered sugar coating. They’re easy to make, delightfully messy (in the best way), and guaranteed to win over anyone lucky enough to snag one. This recipe is a surefire way to bring a little extra joy to your cookie jar.

Three snowball cookies on a plate with a cup of coffee.

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A stack of snowball cookies covered in powdered sugar.

Mexican Tea Cookies (Snowball Cookies)

Buttery and nutty like shortbread, these snowball cookies, also known as Mexican tea cookies, are rolled into little balls and coated in a thick layer of powdered sugar. Sweet, simple, and irresistible!

5 from 12 votes

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Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 15

Total Time: 25

Servings: dozen

Calories: 130kcal

Author: Dahn Boquist

Ingredients

1 cup 114 g pecans
8 ounces 1 cup butter, softened
1 cup 124 g powdered sugar
2-½ cups flour 300 grams
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ teaspoons salt

Sugar Coating

2-½ cups 312 g powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 350°. Place the pecans on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes until their color has deepened. Stir half way through the baking time to ensure they are toasted evenly. Remove from oven and cool completely.
Place the pecans in a food processor fitted with the metal blade and pulse until they are finely ground to the consistency of corn meal. Do not over process them or you will have nut butter.
Add the butter, and powdered sugar to the food processor. Pulse a few times then add the flour vanilla and salt. Run the food processor until the dough comes together in a clump.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6 hours. Optionally, scoop the dough with a teaspoon and shape into small balls, then stick the shaped cookie dough in the fridge to chill.
Pre-heat the oven to 375°. Grease two baking sheets or line them with parchment paper. Combine the 2 ½ cups of powdered sugar with the cinnamon in a large bowl or pie plate and set aside.
Roll level teaspoons of dough into small balls and place them about an inch apart on the baking sheets. Bake 12 to 15 minutes until a pale golden color.
Transfer the hot cookies directly to the powdered sugar mixture and roll them to cover completely with the sugar. Set aside to cool completely (the powdered sugar will melt into the hot cookies and look goopy). After completely cooled, roll the cookies once more in the powdered sugar.

Notes

For a nice thick coating of sugar, dip the cookies in powdered sugar twice. First roll the hot, freshly baked cookies into the powdered sugar right away. This first coat will look wet and goopy but let them sit and cool off completely. Once they are completely cooled, roll them in the powdered sugar again. This second coating of powdered sugar will give them a beautiful white coat and a thick layer of sugar

Nutrition

Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook

5 from 12 votes (12 ratings without comment)

Toni

Friday 30th of August 2019

I found they didn't stick together so I had to add more butter and it was hard to make little balls. They were good but had to make sure I added the extra butter to hold the dough together

Dahn Boquist

Thanks for the comment Toni. If you use too much flour or don't process the nuts enough then the dough will be less "sticky". Try "fluffing" your flour before you measure it in the measuring cup or you could use a scale for the most accurate measurement.