I discovered the magic of these Soft & Fluffy Snowballs during a holiday baking frenzy, searching for a cookie that was simple, elegant, and melted in your mouth. The first batch filled my kitchen with the warm, buttery scent of shortbread meeting the sweet, comforting aroma of vanilla and toasted nuts. Pulling the first tray from the oven, I watched as they transformed from pale dough balls into perfect, golden domes. The moment I rolled them in powdered sugar while still warm, creating that iconic snowy look, I knew I had found something special. That first bite was pure bliss—a tender, crumbly exterior giving way to an impossibly soft, melt-in-your-mouth center that tasted like a sweet, buttery cloud.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
You are going to love this recipe because it delivers the most delightfully tender, melt-in-your-mouth cookie with a method that’s wonderfully straightforward and forgiving. It’s the perfect project for a cozy afternoon, yielding cookies that look like delicate winter snowballs but are surprisingly sturdy for gifting. From my experience, these are the cookies that disappear fastest from a holiday platter, adored by both kids for their sweetness and adults for their sophisticated, delicate texture. They’re buttery, not too sweet, and utterly irresistible.
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (trust me, don’t skip this!)
- 2/3 cup milk (whole or 2%)
- 2 cups finely chopped pecans or walnuts
- 2-3 cups powdered sugar, for rolling
Let’s talk ingredients, because precision and quality matter here. For the butter, it must be truly softened—leave it out for a good hour. It should dent easily when pressed but not be oily or melted. Room-temperature butter creams perfectly with the sugar, creating the airy base for our fluffiness. The almond extract is my secret weapon. It might seem optional, but it adds a subtle, bakery-like depth that makes these taste professional. For the nuts, toast them first! I spread raw chopped pecans on a baking sheet and toast at 350°F for 5-7 minutes until fragrant. Let them cool completely before using. This step intensifies their flavor and adds a crucial crunch that contrasts the soft cookie.(See the next page below to continue…)