Pecan Snowballs Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Cream the butter with 1/2 cup of the confectioners' sugar and the vanilla. Mix in the flour, pecans, and salt. Roll about 1 tablespoon or so of dough into balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake in preheated oven until bottoms are golden, about 15 minutes. Do not allow these cookies to get too brown: it's better to undercook them than to overcook them. While cookies are still hot, roll them in confectioners' sugar. Once they have cooled, roll them in confectioners' sugar once more.

Steps:

• HEAT oven to 350 degrees F. Place pecans, 1/2 cup powdered sugar and salt in bowl of food processor fitted with metal blade. Pulse machine on and off to break up nuts, then process until nuts are finely ground. Add butter a few pieces at a time, pulsing on and off to incorporate, then process until mixture is smooth; pulse in vanilla. Add flour and pulse machine on and off until incorporated, scraping the dough down once or twice. Process until the dough begins to form a ball.
• REMOVE dough from machine, form into a very flat disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or until firm enough to roll into balls. Dough may be refrigerated overnight.**
• LINE two rimmed jelly-roll pans with parchment paper. Roll dough between lightly floured palms into 1-inch balls and place on prepared cookie sheets 2-inches apart. Make an indentation with your thumb or finger in center of each cookie to make a deep well, going about three-quarters of the way down into the cookie. If cracks form, simply press any cracks together.
• BAKE 13 to 15 minutes or until light golden brown on the bottoms and around the edges. Place cookie sheets on cooling racks; sift remaining 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar over warm cookies. Immediately fill the indentations with jelly and allow to cool completely.
• *To toast pecans: Place pecans in dry nonstick skillet; cook over medium heat, shaking pan until nuts are lightly browned.
• **You may freeze dough up to 1 month; defrost in refrigerator overnight before proceeding
• Cookies may be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks; these are best stored in single layers separated by waxed or parchment paper.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F Sift dry ingredients into a bowl. Blend in butter and vanilla. Add nuts. Shape into 1/2-inch balls.
• Dust tops with confectioners'sugar.
• Place on a greased baking sheet 1-1/2 inches apart.
• Bake 15-20 minutes.
• Cool on racks and dust with more confectioners' sugar while still warm.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F Spread the pecans on a rimmed baking sheet and toast for 8 minutes. Let cool and roughly chop.
• With an electric mixer, beat the butter and 1 cup of the sugar until fluffy. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts and salt. Gradually add the flour, mixing until just incorporated. Mix in the pecans.
• Shape the dough into tablespoon-size balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Transfer half the balls to a second parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until lightly golden, 18 to 22 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes.
• Place 1/2 cup of the sugar in a large bowl. Toss the warm cookies in the sugar and return to the baking sheet. Sift the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar over the cookies before serving (I skipped this step).