This is the cookie that I look forward to the most during Christmas. Now that I live away from my family, my mother always packs a few extra for me when she sends my holiday care package. Growing up I believe we called these pecan snowballs but I’ve decided to add my twist and make Pistachio snowball cookies. I live for a shortbread texture cookie that just melts in your mouth and the pistachios add a nice bite and flavor to these cookies. I also just recently discovered how easy these are to make plus there are only a few ingredients.
These make the perfect holiday gifts because we all love receiving homemade cookies around the holiday time and the ship very well. Also, even though the recipe calls for pistachios you can use whatever nuts you like. Pecans and walnuts are great and even feel free to mix the nuts. Some people even drizzle a little chocolate on top which is absolutely delicious. What I think you will enjoy the most about this recipe is how simple and approachable the ingredients are. No eggs, baking soda, or baking powder; just simple ingredients that bake up one of most delicious and tender cookies.
How to make Pistachio Snowball Cookies
Step 1
Finely chop the pistachios into very small pieces and set aside. Using an electric mixer or standing mixer, beat the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy then add in the vanilla extract. Gradually add in the salt, flour, and pistachios, continue to mix on medium high speed until a thick dough forms and remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl to grab any pockets of butter sticking to the bowl. Note: The mixture will look crumbly at first but keep mixing until the dough forms. Once the dough has formed, let it chill in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes.
Step 2
When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll the dough into 1 inch balls, place them on your baking sheet, and bake for 10-12 minutes.
Step 3
Add your powdered sugar to a bowl and once the cookies have cooled for 5 minutes roll them in the powdered sugar, then once the cookies have completely cooled roll them again. Enjoy!
Pistachio Snowball Cookies
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 52 minutes
- Yield: 2 Dozen 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
A classic holiday cookie; melt in your mouth pistachio snowball cookies.
Ingredients
- 1 cup pistachios
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 cups flour
- 1 and 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Finely chop the pistachios into very small pieces and set aside.
- Using an electric mixer or standing mixer, beat the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy then add in the vanilla extract. Gradually add in the salt, flour, and pistachios, continue to mix on medium high speed until a thick dough forms and remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl to grab any pockets of butter sticking to the bowl. Note: The mixture will look crumbly at first but keep mixing until the dough forms.
- Once the dough has formed, let it chill in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes.
- When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll the dough into 1 inch balls, place them on your baking sheet, and bake for 10-12 minutes.
- Add your powdered sugar in a bowl and once the cookies have cooled for 5 minutes roll them in the powdered sugar, then once the cookies have completely cooled roll them again. Enjoy!
Notes
You can use any kind of nut substitution you prefer.
I usually make snowball cookies with almonds, but pistachios sound fantastic and I can’t wait to try this recipe!
I noticed you have a feature to easily change the batch size, which is really handy. Would it possible to also add metric conversions? I live abroad so baking reminds me of home, but measuring cups are hard to find here. There are some sites with conversions, but these vary from site to site which is confusing. I usually end up experimenting, but this is time consuming and frustrating, not to mention expensive and wasteful.
In any case, your blog design is clean and easy to follow, and I love your recipe ideas!
Hi Sara, Snowballs with almonds sound delicious! What I use when following other recipes with different metrics is the calculator site, which provides cooking recipe conversions. It’s always very helpful and the recipes come out great. In the future when I update my site I will look into implementing that feature. I hope that helps!
Can butter flavored shortening be used for this recipe instead of butter?
Hi Brina, I have never used butter flavored shortening in this recipe so I can’t confirm that It will provide the same results 🙂