Candy Cane Snowball Cookies

These shortbread-like cookies are complemented with a sweet candy and crushed peppermint coating. My best friend made these for me one Christmas, and they were instantly added to my ‘yearly Christmas cookie’ list.

Original recipe makes 5 dozen cookies

Ingredients

2 cups butter
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup crushed hard peppermint candies, or more as needed
8 ounces white confectioners’ coating, chopped

  • PREP

    20 mins

  • COOK

    20 mins

  • READY IN

    4 hrs 10 mins

Directions

  1. Beat butter and confectioners’ sugar in a bowl until creamy; stir vanilla extract into butter mixture. Gradually beat flour into mixture to make a smooth dough. Stir pecans into dough; refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, 3 to 4 hours.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  3. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
  4. Bake cookies in the preheated oven until lightly browned, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove to cool on wire racks.
  5. Place crushed peppermints into a shallow bowl. Microwave confectioners’ coating in a microwave-safe bowl for 30 seconds; stir. Continue heating in 15-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until coating is warm and smooth. Dip tops of cooled cookies in coating, then press into crushed candy. Set cookies aside to let coating set.

Nutrition

Calories: 127 kcal
Carbohydrates: 11.4 g
Cholesterol: 17 mg
Fat: 8.7 g
Fiber: 0.4 g
Protein: 1.2 g
Sodium: 48 mg