Description
Sweet, powdery chocolate snowball cookies bring winter magic to holiday dessert tables. Delicate Mexican wedding cookie descendants crumble with rich cocoa charm, inviting chocolate lovers to savor each delightful, sugar-dusted bite.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients:
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (230 g) unsalted butter, softened
- ¼ cup (25 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
Flavor and Binding Ingredients:
- ½ cup (60 g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (90 g) finely chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
Coating Ingredients:
- 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar
Instructions
- Calibrate oven temperature to 350F (175C) and prepare baking surfaces with parchment paper or silicone mats.
- Blend softened butter and powdered sugar in a mixing bowl, creating a smooth, creamy consistency through thorough mixing.
- Incorporate vanilla extract and salt into the butter mixture, ensuring even distribution.
- Gradually fold flour, cocoa powder, and chopped nuts into the mixture, gently working until a cohesive dough forms.
- Portion the dough into tablespoon-sized segments, carefully rolling each into uniform spherical shapes.
- Arrange cookie balls on prepared baking surfaces, maintaining approximately one-inch spacing between each.
- Transfer baking sheets to preheated oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, watching for set texture without achieving browning.
- Remove cookies from oven and allow initial cooling on baking sheets for five minutes.
- While cookies remain slightly warm, delicately coat each in powdered sugar, ensuring complete coverage.
- Transfer sugar-coated cookies to wire cooling rack, permitting complete temperature reduction.
- Once fully cooled, perform a second powdered sugar coating to create a pristine, snow-like exterior.
Notes
- Butter temperature matters: Use room-temperature butter for smoother, easier mixing that creates a perfectly tender cookie texture.
- Nut flexibility: Swap chopped pecans or walnuts based on preference, or omit entirely for a nut-free version that’s equally delicious.
- Cocoa powder selection: Choose high-quality Dutch-processed cocoa for deeper, richer chocolate flavor and more intense color.
- Storage secret: Keep cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week, separating layers with parchment paper to prevent sticking and preserve their delicate powdered sugar coating.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 24
- Calories: 406
- Sugar: 30 g
- Sodium: 212 mg
- Fat: 32 g
- Saturated Fat: 19 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 31 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 83 mg