Southern Pecan Butterballs

These little cookies are near and dear to my heart.

They are a cookie that my Mom and I just love.

They actually go by a lot of names depending on where you are from:

Mexican Wedding Cookies

Danish Wedding Cookies

Russian Tea Cakes

Snowballs

It's all basically the same thing although some folks will change the kinds of nuts that are used in it.

I ate these a lot as a kid.

It's a very simple recipe.  And to me, those are the best.

I love humble recipes like this.

You wouldn't think that something with so few ingredients could be so darn tasty. 
These are very much like shortbread cookies.

And I don't know many people that don't love shortbread.

And let's be honest, it's really not a party until you have powdered sugar on your shirt, am I right?

I recently had the opportunity to work with The Pampered Chef and test out some fun baking equipment.

And boy - did I have fun!

I'm pretty sure I heard a few angels singing when I opened that box.
Or maybe it was my high-pitched squeals of delight. Same thing, right?

This is a baker's dream set, let me tell ya.

I own quite a few Pampered Chef items already and I hosted a Pampered Chef party last
year so it's a brand that I'm very familiar with.

At the end of this post, I'll list the items that I used in making these butterballs in case you see something
 you like and a link to where you can find them.

Also, don't go away, there's a giveaway at the end!  I'm so excited for one of you to win!

Ingredients:

1 cup butter flavored vegetable shortening

1 cup powdered sugar (plus more for coating)

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. table salt

1 1/2 cups pecan chips

 Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Note: I wouldn't use nonstick cooking spray on the baking pans for these cookies. 
 It will cause the cookies to get a bit too brown on the bottoms.
If you don't have parchment paper,  just use an ungreased baking sheet.

In a medium bowl, combine shortening, powdered sugar and vanilla.

Mix until smooth. You'll want to use your stand mixer or a handheld electric mixer for this.
Start on a low setting so the powdered sugar doesn't fly up on ya. 

Been there. 
Done that. 
Learned my lesson.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.

Note: I'm using the Pampered Chef adjustable measuring spoons. 
I gotta say these were pretty darn cool.
Look, it even measures as little as 1/8 teaspoon!

Give it all a stir with a large fork.

Then gently begin adding the flour mixture to the shortening mixture.
Add just a little at a time so the flour doesn't fly everywhere. Stir until combined.
 See my note above about the powdered sugar - yep, been there, done that.

For those of you with a stand mixer, you know it's important to scrape down the sides of the
 bowl so all of your ingredients get evenly incorporated.

I already had a bag of chopped pecans so I didn't go out and buy a bag of pecan chips.
So I just took these pecans and pounded them out with my heavy meat tenderizer.
You don't want huge chunks of pecans in the cookies. You want nice small chips.

Note: Many nut varieties can be pricey. So buy in bulk when you can.
You can always store leftover nuts in an airtight container
 in your fridge or freezer to help keep them fresh.

Stir pecans into batter.

If you've never worked with this kind of batter before, it's not going to look like your typical cookie batter.
It'll be kinda loose. But don't worry, it comes together nicely!

Roll dough into walnut-sized balls.
These little spring-loaded cookie scoopers are so handy.
They really help you to get all the cookies about the same size and it makes the process go much faster.

Place them about 1 1/2 inches apart on your cookie sheet.

I will then re-roll the cookies in my hand so I get a nice smooth cookie dough ball.

Bake for about 15 minutes until the edges just begin to brown slightly.
Note: If you have a conventional oven, it really is best to only bake one cookie sheet at a time.
Baking more than one at a time will often cause uneven baking.

While the cookies are baking, get a bowl of powdered sugar ready for dipping.
Let cookies cool for just a couple of minutes.

While still warm, roll the cookies in the powdered sugar.

Place them on a platter (or just roll out a sheet of wax paper like I do) and let cookies finish cooling.
Once they are cool, roll cookies a second time into the powdered sugar.
The second dipping ensures even and smooth coating.

Don't they look so festive on this Shimmering Glass Round Platter?
Perfect for Christmas, weddings, birthdays, work parties, or just because...

Enjoy!

Printable Recipe Here

****GIVEAWAY****

The Pampered Chef wants one of you to have a complete Baking Bundle just like I got!

This set includes:
8 1/4 cup leakproof glass container
Shimmering Glass Round Platter
Cookie Press
Parchment Paper
Double-Strength Madagascar Vanilla
Tangerine Scraper
Silicone Oven Mitt
Creative Cutters Set
Decorator Bottle Set
Cookie Sheet
Small & Medium Stainless Steel Cookie Scoops
Small Batter Bowl
Adjustable Measuring Spoons

Shew! That's a lot, ain't it! That is over a $200.00 value right there!
Y'all have worked hard making the holidays special for our loved ones, now it's time to 
have something special for yourself!

HOW TO ENTER:
1. Tell me what you would love to make with this baking bundle. Leave a comment below.
2. "Like" The Pampered Chef on Facebook (leave a separate comment on here telling me you did so).
3.Follow The Pampered Chef on Pinterest (leave a separate comment on here telling me you did so).

That's 3 chances to win! 
Don't forget to leave me a good e-mail address so I can contact you if you win!

Giveaway ends Dec. 20th at midnight EST
****GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED****
The winner of this giveaway was Angela (no last name given).
Angela, I have sent an email to the email address you provided.
Please look in your inbox & spam folder.
Thank you so much to all who entered.
I always love reading each & every comment!!

Items used in this post: 
(click on below items to take you to product info.)
Shimmering Glass Round Platter
Parchment Paper
Madagascar Vanilla
Tangerine Scraper
Silicone Oven Mitt
Medium Sheet Pan
Small Cookie Scoop
Small Batter Bowl
Adjustable Measuring Spoons
Meat Tenderizer


Special thank you to Pampered Chef for sponsoring this post and the giveaway.