Also known as Italian Wedding Cookies or Snowballs, I am not really sure what their real name is but I do know they have a lot of butter in them and I like them.
They seem to sort of melt in your mouth when you eat them, as a cookie made primarily with butter should, but then they have this little crunch from the nuts that just…mmmm…. They are perfection dipped in powdered sugar. This is one of my favorite Christmas cookie and I feel like people forget about them, they are so simple and plain but they are simply scrumptious.
The recipe I was following recommends using European butter since it has a higher butterfat content and makes for a more buttery flavor in the cookie. I only had plain old American butter on hand and didn’t feel like running to the grocery store for the good stuff. They still turned out amazing.
To be honest I find I only really notice a difference in the butter when I am making something like buttercream or putting it on toast so I figured it wasn’t really necessary, but if you try it with European let me know how you like it!
- 1½ cups of unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup of powdered sugar
- 1½ cups of ground almonds
- 5 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups of sifted all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon of salt
- ⅓ cup of powdered sugar for rolling
- Preheat the oven to 325˚
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and then slowly add the powdered sugar and salt. Beat until light and fluffy.
- Add the almonds and vanilla extract.
- Next add the flour and beat until well combined.
- Shape into balls using your hands or a round dough scoop. I like to use a scoop so all the cookies come out the same.
- Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and bake until done, about 15-20 minutes.
- Let them cool on the sheet about 6-7 minutes so they are just cool enough to handle and then roll each cookie in powdered sugar. If you want until they are completely cool the sugar won't stick to them.
Thanks for the recipe: http://www.thetastefullife.com
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