Description
Christmas Mice Snowball Cookies are buttery, crisp, nutty cookies shaped like fluffy white mice. These nostalgic holiday treats feature a powdered sugar coating that melts in your mouth, perfect for festive celebrations and sharing with loved ones.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookies
- 1 cup pecans
- 1 cup unsalted butter (softened)
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour (270g)
- ¼ cup almond slices
Decoration
- 1 cup powdered sugar (for dusting)
- 30 pieces candy ropes (cherry licorice)
Instructions
- Toast Pecans: Preheat the oven to 355°F (180°C). Place the pecans on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes until they smell toasty. Be careful not to burn them. Remove from the oven, let cool, then crush or chop into small pieces.
- Make Creamy Mix: In a large bowl or stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine softened butter, ½ cup powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and sea salt. Mix until creamy, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Form Dough: Add the all-purpose flour and cooled crushed pecans to the butter mixture. Mix on low speed until a dough forms.
- Shape Cookies: Scoop 1 ½ tablespoon portions using a cookie scoop. Roll each into balls and pinch one side to form a nose shape. Insert almond slices on top to create ears.
- Bake Cookies: Place the shaped cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet spaced 1 inch apart. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden.
- Decorate: Immediately after removing from the oven, carefully dust cookies with powdered sugar. Use a toothpick to create a small hole for the tail, then insert pieces of candy rope tails while the cookies are still hot to ensure they stick.
- Cool and Serve: Let the cookies cool completely on a wire rack. They will continue to crisp up in the center as they cool. Serve once fully cooled.
Notes
- Ensure pecans do not burn when toasting as they cook quickly.
- The cookie dough can be chilled briefly if too soft to shape easily.
- Use softened butter at room temperature to achieve a creamy batter.
- Dust cookies immediately out of the oven with powdered sugar for best coating adherence.
- Handle candy rope tails carefully while inserting to avoid breaking.
- Cookies become crisper as they cool; do not skip cooling for best texture.
- Almond slices add a fun mouse ear detail and can be substituted with other nuts if desired.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 140 kcal
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 40 mg
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 14 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 16 mg
