Aunt Lila's Snowball Cookies

Snowball cookies go by a lot of names: Russian tea cakes, Mexican wedding cookies, butterballs. Whatever you call them, they are the same buttery, nutty, crumbly little bites rolled in powdered sugar until they look like they just tumbled out of a snowdrift.

Aunt Lila’s version keeps it simple. Half a pound of butter, two full cups of ground nuts, flour, a little sugar, and vanilla. No eggs, no leavening, no fuss. That egg-free dough is what gives snowballs their signature sandy, melt-on-your-tongue texture. Eggs would add structure and chew, which is exactly what you do not want here.

Rolling them in powdered sugar while still warm is the key step. The heat makes the sugar stick and partially melt into the surface, creating a thin, sweet crust. A second roll after they cool gives you that thick, snowy coating.

Pro Tips

• Ground the nuts very fine, almost to a flour consistency. Large pieces make the dough crumbly and the cookies fall apart.
• Do not overwork the dough when adding the flour. Mix just until it comes together. Too much handling develops gluten and makes the cookies tough.
• Roll into evenly sized balls, about 1 inch, for consistent baking. Bigger cookies need more time and may brown on the outside before the center sets.
• Use real butter, not margarine. The flavor comes almost entirely from butter and nuts, so quality matters.

Variations

• Use ground pecans for a classic Southern version or ground almonds for a more European take.
• Add ½ teaspoon of almond extract alongside the vanilla for a deeper, nuttier flavor.
• Roll in cocoa-spiked powdered sugar (2 tablespoons cocoa per cup of sugar) for a chocolate snowball.