Almond Snowball Cookies (melt-in-your-mouth)
Melt-in-your-mouth butter cookies with ground almonds. Also known as wedding cookies and almond powdered sugar cookies, they are a holiday classic and perfect for gifting. They keep well and can be frozen.
Servings 25 cookies
Calories 146kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 4 tablespoons powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract optional
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ¾ cup ground almonds toasted if you want to (see Notes below)
- ¾ cup powdered sugar extra, for coating the cookies
Instructions
- In a large bowl, beat 1 cup unsalted butter and 4 tablespoons powdered sugar until creamy and smooth. Add ½ teaspoon almond extract and beat well.
- Add 2 cups all purpose flour, 1 cup at a time and then ¾ cup ground almonds. Mix just until smooth.
- Gather into a ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or until firm enough to make balls of dough. It might take longer.
- Preheat oven to 350º (180°C).
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Roll portions of cold dough between your palms to form balls. Place 1-inch apart on lined baking tray.
- Bake for about 15 minutes, or until they are a bit golden and cracked.
- Let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. While still warm, roll in ¾ cup powdered sugar and coat completely. Let cool down completely on a wire rack.
- These cookies freeze well unbaked. When you need them, just line them up on a parchment-lined or greased baking tray, thaw, and bake.
Notes
Almonds: I buy nonpareil because they are easily available and the best if you want to remove the skins. But you can use Marcona or any other you like.
Powdered sugar: the amount is small but necessary for these cookies' melt-in-your-mouth quality. Using granulated sugar will not give the same results.
Test run: I always recommend baking a few cookies first to check the temperature and baking time. All ovens are different, and the dough's temperature is also a variable, so you might need more or less time.
Toasting the nuts: lightly toasting the almonds adds a lot to the flavor of the cookie. But they're still great with natural almonds. To toast them: put whole almonds on a baking sheet and bake in a 300° to 325°F (150° to 165°C) oven for about 15 minutes, until the skin starts to crack and the aroma is nutty. Watch them closely so they don't burn. The time might vary depending on the oven.
Nutrition
Calories: 146kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 45mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 227IU