One of my favorite things about the holidays is baking with my kids. We spend a whole Saturday baking different treats and then we distribute them to our friends and neighbors. It’s the greatest holiday tradition!
Measuring Flour
Having too much or too little flour will ruin your baking recipe. To make sure you get the correct amount, start by whisking the flour in the container it’s stored in. Then use a spoon to scoop the flour from its container into a dry measuring cup. Use the flat edge of a spatula to level it off.
Beat the butter and sugar. When they are light and fluffy, add the vanilla bean paste and vanilla extract and mix again to combine. Add in the flour and pecans. Beat until just combined. Scoop into balls. Use a cookie scoop to scoop the dough and roll them with clean hands into balls. I share my favorite cookie scoop below. Place on a lined baking sheet. Bake the cookies. They are done when the edges start to turn brown. Roll in powdered sugar. Allow the cookies to cool for two minutes and then roll them in powdered sugar. Allow to cool completely and then roll in powdered sugar again.
Chopping Nuts
You want the pecans in these cookies to be relatively small for the best cookies. This can definitely be done with a sharp knife, but it maybe easier to do it with a food processor. Be careful not to over-process the nuts. You want them to be small pieces, but not a paste.
Tips and Tricks
Use room-temperature butter. Your butter should be soft enough that you can easily dent it with your finger, but not so soft that it goes all the way through. To do this quickly, cut it into one-inch pieces and leave it on the counter for 30 minutes. Or fill a tall drinking glass with water, microwave it for 30 seconds, empty the water, and put the glass over the butter standing on end for 10 minutes. Don’t over-mix. This is critical so that the gluten (what is in flour) doesn’t get overworked. Once you add in the flour, you want to beat it just until combined. Over working gluten leads to cookies that are chewy in a really undesirable way. Roll twice in powdered sugar. Rolling the snowball cookies in powdered sugar twice gives them a nice powdery “snowy” appearance. To get the powdered sugar to stick the best, roll the cookies once after they have cooled for about two minutes. Allow them to cool completely on a cooling rack and then roll in powdered sugar again.
Chopped pecans: I made these both with chopped pecans and without. If you are making these for someone with a nut allergy, you can just leave them out and keep the recipe exactly the same. Switch up the nut: If you like, you can swap out the nuts for something else. Chopped walnuts, almonds, pistachios, or cashews would all be delicious in these. Add chocolate chips: You can swap out the pecans and replace them with one cup of mini chocolate chips. Vanilla bean paste: When I first made this recipe, I wanted them to have an enhanced vanilla taste. The easiest way to do this is to use vanilla bean paste. You could keep everything the same in this recipe and add a teaspoon of vanilla bean paste for a great pop of vanilla flavor.
You can also freeze these. Place them in a single layer on wax paper and put them in the freezer for a few hours. Then transfer to an airtight container for up to three months. These cookies make a great gift around the holidays!
Soft Cut Sugar Cookies are my go-to holiday cookies. They are a family recipe that we have been using for decades and they are bound to become a tradition in your house too. Spritz Cookies are an another classic holiday recipe. Following my step by step instructions will result in the perfect cookies. Ricotta Cookies are absolutely delicious and so easy to make. You will love these so much!
