Peppermint Snowball Cookies
Buttery pecan snowball cookies packed with crushed peppermint, rolled twice in powdered sugar, and finished with a milk chocolate drizzle and Christmas sprinkles. An easy, festive cookie for holiday trays and gifts.
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter unsalted, softened
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
- 2 cups pecans finely ground in a food processor
- ¼ cup peppermint chips crushed candy canes, or 2 regular candy canes finely crushed
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar for rolling
- 1 cup chocolate chips milk chocolate, for drizzling (optional)
- 1 tablespoon red and green sprinkles optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and sugar with a mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and peppermint extracts.
- Add the flour and mix on low speed until just combined. Stir in the ground pecans and crushed peppermint. The dough will be thick and crumbly but should hold together when squeezed.
- Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place them about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the bottoms are lightly golden and the tops are set but still pale.
- Let the cookies cool on the pan for about 5 minutes, then roll each warm cookie in powdered sugar and transfer to a wire rack. Once the cookies have cooled completely, roll them in powdered sugar a second time.
- Place the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe glass bowl. Microwave for 1 minute, stir, then continue microwaving in 30-second bursts, stirring after each, until smooth.
- Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cookies and immediately top with the sprinkles. Refrigerate for about 10 minutes to set the chocolate.
Notes
Crushing the peppermint: seal 2 regular candy canes in a zip-top bag and tap with a rolling pin until the pieces are the size of coarse sand. Large chunks melt and leave sticky holes.
Double coating: roll the cookies in powdered sugar while still warm (about 5 minutes out of the oven), then again once they're completely cool for a thick, snowy finish.
Storage: keep in an airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days or in the fridge up to 2 weeks. Freeze after the first sugar coating for up to 3 months; thaw, then re-roll and drizzle.
Nutrition
Calories: 168kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 1gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 14mgSodium: 42mgPotassium: 46mgFiber: 1gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 161IUCalcium: 13mg
Nutrition details are an estimate, per serving.
