Pecan Snowdrops, more commonly known as Mexican Wedding Cookies, are my favorite Christmas time cookie. They are nutty, buttery, sugary, and bite size! They are as easy to make as they are to eat. I use a great Christmas cookie book, fittingly called The Christmas Cookie Book, by Lou Seibert Pappas. It breaks down different types of cookies into chapters from timeless traditional, family favorites, cookies for gift giving and mailing, and elegant party cookies. These cookies fall under the gift giving and mailing chapter since they can ben stored in an airtight container for 2 weeks, that is if they last that long!
Price and I made a BIG batch (4x the typical recipe) on Friday night for a Cookies Exchange we hosted through our Meetup group. It was a lot of fun, a good break from the madness of finals, and we met a bunch of great people who brought some really great cookies.
Pecan Snowdrops
Makes about 3 dozen
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup butter, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup finely chopped pecans or toasted, skinned hazelnuts (finely chop the nuts or run the through a food processor)
- Powdered sugar for Dusting
Process
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease baking sheets or use nonstick or parchment-lined baking sheets.
- Using a stand mixer or a large bowl and a handheld electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla, salt, flour and nuts and mix well. Roll the dough into ¾ inch balls between your palms, and place on prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 ½ inches apart.
- One sheet at a time, bake the cookies for 15 to 18 minutes, or until light brown. Transfer to rack to cool slightly. Place the still-warm cookies on a sheet of parchment paper or aluminum foil and heavily dust with powdered sugar shaken through a sieve. Let cool completely.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks