Snowball Cookies {Holiday Recipe}

The very first thing that comes to mind when I begin to think about Christmas is the vast variety of cookies my mom used to bake when we were kids. She used to bake for EVERYONE and I am not exaggerating; all of our teachers, school bus drivers, mailmen, sports coaches, neighbors, etc.  and wrap them all nicely in a cute mug or tin box for me and my sister to hand deliver. Our kitchen was literally filled every kind of cookie you could imagine. I can remember like it was yesterday how sweet the house smelled and how every Tupperware and storage container my mom owned would be stacked on top of the fridge, filled the most delicious cookies.

There was one recipe that was the most MOUTHWATERING of all; Snowball Cookies! It had been handed down from generation to generation. As simple as a seven ingredient recipe may sound, it is a tedious recipe that takes patience; but, that’s what made it so memorable because everyone was gathered around the table helping while visiting. There are so many funny stories about our family making these cookies each year, that they all make me laugh just recalling them.

In order to understand why this recipe brings me so much joy and laughter you must first understand the tediousness part the recipe. First you must cream 2 cups of room temperature butter, 3/4 cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Then you add 6 teaspoons of vanilla, 4 cups of Wondra flour and 4 cups of chopped pecans. And there you have your dough. Sound simple enough? Well it is not very sticky and that brings me to tedious part; number one; you then roll the dough into small balls similar to the size of a donut hole, grape or gum drop, which takes FOREVER (but, trust me, is so worth it). Then bake them at 250 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. IMMEDIATELY after they come out of the oven (and your kitchen is smelling like the best cookie scented candle money can buy) roll each individual cookie in a bowl full of sifted powdered sugar (4 cups to be exact). This is tedious and tricky part number two because they are extremely delicate and crumble easily, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Snowball Cookies

So now that you understand how to make them, on with a story or two! We used to live in Saint Louis, Missouri and my grandparents had retired to St. Pete Beach, Florida. They would come back home for the holidays about a week before Christmas and stay at our house. Once my sister and I were old enough to help we gathered around the table chatting and assisting with the baking. Mom and Grandma would be reminiscing and always tell the same story about how back in the day when Grandma was baking these and my mom was just a kid, Papa would come into the kitchen and offer to help make things go a little faster. He would take a huge handful of dough, roll it into a ball the size of a SOFTBALL and plop it onto the baking sheet! This story always made us laugh and jokingly invite Papa from the couch over to the kitchen table and in true tradition he would take a huge handful of dough, roll it into a ball the size of a softball and plop it onto the baking sheet, every year.

Carrying on in tradition, last year my husband and I bought our first home together, welcomed our first baby into the world and were excitedly hosting Christmas at our house. For the very first time, I was making our family Snowball recipe. I was enthusiastic and eager but also nervous that they would not match up to the mouthwatering ones I had grown up with my entire life. After pulling them out of the oven and without having begun to share the story about my Papa, my husband came over and offered a helping hand. Sure enough his first inclination was to take a huge handful of dough, roll it into a ball the size of a softball and plop it onto the baking sheet! I laughed so hard I cried.

Now this year was the first year my daughter is semi old enough to comprehend Christmas and I wanted to start the Snowball tradition early with her. My mom came over to visit for the weekend and we had a blast reminiscing about all the years we have been baking these cookies and hopefully all the years to come as we continue passing the recipe on through the generations. My daughter took handfuls of dough and either ate it or dropped it as sprinkles all over the baking sheet. Luckily she has a few more years before she needs to get the hang of it. Making Snowball cookies with both my mom and daughter this year is a memory I’ll cherish for forever.