Pecan Snowball Cookies (Recipe Inspired by ONE DAY IN DECEMBER)

I’m so excited to be making Pecan Snowball Cookies as my book-inspired recipe for One Day in December. I mean, you can’t get a better culinary concoction for a wintry romance than a snowball, right??

When Laurie sees love interest Jack through a bus window on a wintry day in London, the frigid air is swirling with snowflakes. It’s magical, it’s inspired, and although Laurie and Jack don’t actually meet in that moment, they do have some other pivotal scenes that take place in snow.

Not to ruin the romantc mood, but… have you ever seen snow in a city?? Sure, it’s magical and glittery while softly falling through the air, but the minute it hits the grimy, commuter-trodden streets, it turns dirtyAF.

And that’s why I think my Pecan Snowball Cookies are the perfect recipe for One Day in December: although the cookies are rolled in powdered sugar, you can still see the chocolate shortbread peeking through. Like a dirty lil’ snowball, one well worthy of being found in a snowy city.

So, yeah. I’m essentially presenting you with Dirty Snowball Cookies. Ta-daaaaaaa!

For the sake of our appetites (and for actually getting Google search hits on this post), let’s nix the “dirty” part and call them Pecan Snowball Cookies, okay? ‘KAY.

This recipe is actually taken straight from my grandmother’s recipe box. She just called them “Snowballs,” and she would include them in Christmas cookie tins she doled out to family and friends each year.

Grandma usually baked seven or eight different kinds of Christms cookies, but Pecan Snowball Cookies were always one of my favorites. (Unlike the fruit bread cookies. Just sayin’.)

My grandma passed away several years ago, at the ripe old age of 97, and she had stopped baking anything way before that point. Like her banana bread, her snowball cookies were another Grandma dessert I didn’t think I would be able to taste again.

Then, one day (in December! No, just kidding. Wouldn’t that have been perfect??) I was rifling through her recipe box, and in very faded Grandma handwriting, the word “Snowballs” caught my eye. Her recipe card was a little worse for lots of wear, but I could still make out the ingredients and instructions.

I think I actually cried a little the first time I bit into a Pecan Snowball Cookie that I had baked, knowing that I had successfully revived a beloved family recipe.

Pecan Snowball Cookies are really just chocolate shortbread cookies stuffed with finely chopped pecans.

Like most shortbreads, the crumb can seem a little dry at first, but the coarse texture soon melts away into velvety, chocolatey goodness, punctuated by the delicate crunch of the pecans. I love the nubby texture of these cookies, and the fact that they crumble a little bit when you bite into them.

Full disclosure: Don’t be alarmed by the fact that the raw cookie dough balls will look a little like turds. Sorry, but they will. There’s a reason I didn’t include photos of the un-baked cookies. I’m just giving you fair warning. And reassuring you that it’s okay. Those lil’ turds will bake up into the most delightful, buttery morsels of chocolate, sugar, and nuts you’ve ever tasted.

And, if for some reason something goes awry, just remember: you’re going to be covering them in confectioner’s sugar. Just like fresh snowfall, a lil’ dusting of white powder makes everything look wonderful.

You can sift the powdered sugar onto the Pecan Snowball Cookies for a more delicate effect, or you can do like I do: dip the cookies lightly in the sugar, then smush the powder around the top and bottom of the cookie for a slightly smudged effect.

I actually like serving a combo of sugared and un-sugared Pecan Snowball Cookies. Some people like the pure, simple taste of the cocoa powder and nuts, while others love the extra hit of sweetness.

Pecan Snowball Cookies are a great cookie to have on hand year-round — they keep wonderfully in the freezer — but their flavor always brings me back to childhood Christmases, gazing into that cookie tin and wondering which sugary treats I was going to devour first. (Again, not the fruitcake cookies.)

And, while Pecan Snowball Cookies are definitely appropriate for snowy weather and Christmas time, they can be anytime you want a sweet treat to get you through the day.

Pecan Snowball Cookies

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 13 minutes mins

Total Time 23 minutes mins

Servings 4 dozen cookies

Ingredients

  

• 1 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 2 cups pecans, finely chopped
• 1 cup confectioner's sugar (for rolling)

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350F and line four baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
• Whisk together the flour, salt, and cocoa powder in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• Using a handmixer or stand mixer, beat the butter until smooth, then slowly add the granulated sugar while mixing on medium until light and fluffy.
• Add the vanilla extract and mix until thoroughly combined.
• Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in small batches, beating well between additions and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Dough will be thick, almost like frosting.
• Add the chopped pecans and briefly beat so nuts are interspersed throughout dough.
• Use a measuring teaspoon to scoop out heaping teaspoons of dough, then roll dough into a ball and place on prepared baking sheets.
• Bake at 350F for 13-15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.
• Once cookies have cooled completely, sprinkle or roll the them in the confectioner's sugar to create a snowy effect!

Notes

I was able to fit 12 cookies on each baking sheet. The cookies will puff up a bit when they bake, but they won't spread.

If dough gets too sticky to roll, place it in the fridge for a few minutes to harden up.