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?
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
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Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
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.
For those of you with a stand mixer, remember 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. After baking, 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.
Perfect for Christmas, weddings, birthdays, work parties, or just because…
Enjoy!
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Southern Pecan Butterballs
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Total Time
35 mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 24
Calories: 180 kcal
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
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
- Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, combine shortening, powdered sugar and vanilla. Mix until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. 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.
- Stir pecan chips into batter.
- Roll dough into walnut-sized balls. Place them about 1 1/2 inches apart onto prepared cookie sheet.
- Bake for about 15 minutes until the edges just begin to brown slightly. Bake only one cookie sheet at a time.
- 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.
Nutrition Facts
Southern Pecan Butterballs
Amount Per Serving
Calories 180 Calories from Fat 117
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 13g 20%
Saturated Fat 2g 10%
Sodium 39mg 2%
Potassium 39mg 1%
Total Carbohydrates 13g 4%
Sugars 5g
Protein 1g 2%
Vitamin A 0.1%
Vitamin C 0.1%
Calcium 0.6%
Iron 3.6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Can real butter be used in place of the butter flavored shortning?
Yes, you can use butter in place of the vegetable shorting. I have been making these cookies for years using butter.
I think I could handle making them…question I have is,if making for Christmas….how far in advance can I make them without the powdered sugar coating dissolve? Any special hints as to making them weeks in advance and freeze before rolling them, or will the defrosting not work when trying because of the moistness?? Thanking you in advance 😉 mema 1942
YOU CAN BAKE UP TO A COUPLE MONTHS AND FREEZE IN ZIP LOCK BAGS….ROLL THEM IN THE POWERED SUGER AFTER THEY COME OUT OF OVEN…. COOL AND PUT IN BAGS… BAKE THEN PUT IN THE POWERED SUGAR AFTER THEY COOL OFF JUST A LITTLE…STILL WARM….PUT IN FREEZER…THEN WHEN READY THAT THEM OUT TO DEFROST AND ENJOY…
I don’t know about this version, but the version I make (with butter and less sugar in the actual dough) can be frozen up to a year, if you wrap it right. I have to hide “my portion” from my hubby, or he will “sleep eat” them. I usually cover a jellyroll pan with foil, then parchment, then the powdered sugar, roll the cookies in the sugar at the back of the pan, place them to the front to cool, repeat, reroll in the sugar after they are cool. I then package them up. The ones I want to freeze I will wrap up inside the parchement, and foil (with the remaining powdered sugar still around the cookies) and then place this into a gallon freezer bag, and then another bag. I know this seems like a lot, but they last me a year this way, hidden behind the broccoli and spinach in the freezer, lol!
Can I use real butter instead of butter flavored shortening?
Thank you.
Yep! I really do recommend that you try the shortening first. Then you can make the judgement of which of the two you like better 🙂
I use 50/50 and prefer that. Using all butter, the cookie seems to not hold together as well
Can these been frozen before baking and baked flater? If so, for how long? I have wedding shower I need to make desserts for 70 people.
NEVER TRIED FLAT…ALWAY ROUND….YOU COULD TRY A FEW AND SEE….THEY WILL MELT IN YOUR MOUTH….CAN BAKE AHEAD OF TIME AND FREEZE….
Our family calls these Mexican Wedding Cakes from years and years ago !
Yes, me too. Love these and they are a sweet Christmas memory for my family.
Many names for these. PECAN sandies, tassies
These taste amazing. they melt in my mouth, just the way I remember my mother’s tasting.
I have never made them. My only question is should they crumble when you take a bite? They didn’t completely crumble but did break into about 3 pieces. Thank you!!
Hi Trina! Yay! So happy you loved them. They do crumble slightly. Almost like a shortbread. Hope that helps! 🙂
I’m on a keto diet. Can I use almond flour to substitute the white flour? I have Xylitol powdered sugar ,so this would be perfect if I can sub the flour also.
Did I do something wrong? Made these and they came out pretty crunchy/slightly hard. I’ve never had this cookie before but when I see people say melt in your mouth I picture a soft cookie. This was definitely a firmer cookie for me. Any tips on what I might have done to not get the melt in your mouth cookie?
Hi Nicki, they are not a soft cookie. They are more like a shortbread so they should be slightly crumbly.
Thanks for the quick reply! They definitely taste delicious, just didn’t realize the firmness. 🙂
Is that a Solula cookie scooper or a Kitchen Aid? I have a recipe that uses butter and granulated sugar in the batter instead of shortening and powdered sugar. Love them. Sometime I’ll have to try your recipe!
Can i use salted butter instead?
Hi! what do you do if the dough is too loose to roll into a ball?