These cranberry pecan snowball cookies are the perfect addition to any holiday table. Soft, butter cookie dough is loaded with chopped pecans and craisins and then rolled in powdered sugar for a festive treat you can’t resist.
When the holidays roll around, we go into baking overdrive. We make dessert recipes of all kinds throughout the season, but cookies are one of the biggest players in our rotation.
We love serving festive, handheld treats like peppermint cookies and mini snickerdoodle cookies to family and friends during the holidays, and now we’re adding these soft, buttery, nutty cranberry pecan snowball cookies to the mix. They’re a huge hit already!
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Limited Ingredients: It takes fewer than 10 ingredients to make these cookies.
- So Easy: Just mix, bake, and roll in powdered sugar. That’s all there is to it!
- So Soft and Buttery: These cookies are soft and luxurious.
- Classic Holiday Flavor: Chopped pecans, craisins, and a coating of powdered sugar create a classic holiday flavor profile.
- Perfect for Prep: These cookies can be frozen for up to 2 months, so it’s easy to make extra for later.
Key Ingredients
You’ll find a complete list of ingredients and their exact amounts in the recipe card at the end of the post.
- Butter: A full cup of butter gives these cookies a rich, luxurious texture and buttery flavor.
- Sugar: We use only a little in the dough, since the powdered sugar coating adds even more sweetness.
- Choopped Pecans: Chopped pecans add earthy flavor and crunch, making them a staple holiday ingredient.
- Craisins: Chopped craisins add tart flavor that’s balanced by the sweetness of the cookies.
- Powdered Sugar: The cookies are rolled in powdered sugar for sweetness and a lovely presentation.
Variations
- Oatmeal Cookies: Use oatmeal cookie dough to create nutty oatmeal cranberry cookies.
- Craisins: Use dried cranberries instead.
- Pecans: Pecans, walnuts, and macadamia nuts all work well in these cookies.
- Gluten Free: Use a high-quality 1:1 gluten-free flour in equal amounts for a gluten-free version.
- Dairy Free: Plant-based butter can be used to make a dairy-free version of these cookies.
How to Make Cranberry Pecan Snowball Cookies
- Beat the wet ingredients and granulated sugar until smooth and creamy.
- Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Then, mix it into the wet ingredients until just combined.
- Gently fold in the craisins and pecans.
- Scoop or roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place them on an ungreased cookie sheet 1 inch apart.
- Bake until the bottoms are lightly browned. Then, roll them in the powdered sugar while warm.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely and enjoy.
Expert Tips
- Mix your wet and dry dough ingredients until just combined for the most tender cookies.
- Fold your cranberries and nuts into the dough to avoid activating the gluten and keep the cookies nice and soft.
- At about 15 minutes, gently raise a cookie. If the bottoms are lightly browned, remove the cookies immediately to avoid overbaking.
- Roll the cookies in the powdered sugar when you can safely handle them. The heat of the cookies is what keeps the powdered sugar in place. You might need to roll them again if the sugar melts.
Cranberry Pecan Snowball Cookies FAQs
Snowball cookies crumble from being too dry. To avoid this, add the flour a little at a time, gently mixing until the dough is soft and pliable, but not too dense.
Good, old-fashioned unsalted butter is the way to go for snowball cookies. It gives them a rich, buttery flavor you just can’t duplicate with other fats.
If you overmix your cookie dough, you’ll activate the gluten in the flour, creating tough, dense cookies. Mix the dough until just combined.
More Delicious Holiday Treats
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Cranberry Pecan Snowball Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups pecans, chopped into small pieces
- ½ cup craisins, chopped into small pieces
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- In a small bowl, add powdered sugar. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, beat butter, sugar, and vanilla until smooth and creamy.
- Gradually beat flour and salt into the mixture and beat until combined.
- Add pecans and craisins. Stir.
- Using a 1-inch cookie scoop, or roll dough into 1 inch balls, place balls on an ungreased cookie sheet, 1 inch apart.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes just until the bottoms are lightly browned.
- Remove from the oven and roll 4-5 cookies at a time into the powdered sugar until each cookie is well coated. *They might need to be rolled again into the powdered sugar.
- Place cookies on a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Mix your wet and dry dough ingredients until just combined for the most tender cookies.
- Fold your cranberries and nuts into the dough to avoid activating the gluten and keep the cookies nice and soft.
- At about 15 minutes, gently raise a cookie. If the bottoms are lightly browned, remove the cookies immediately to avoid overbaking.
- Roll the cookies in the powdered sugar when you can safely handle them. The heat of the cookies is what keeps the powdered sugar in place.
These are so good! I love the texture, and they taste like the holidays. Really great.
These are so perfect for the holidays! I love the sweet dough with the tart cranberries.
I made these last night for dessert to test them out. I CANNOT wait for everyone to have them this Christmas!
These are so good with coffee. Love it.
Snowball cookies are a total holiday staple for us, but I love the addition of cranberries here! The little bit of tart fruitiness must pair so well with the sweet, powdered sugar coating.
I baked these yesterday and they were delicious. The cranberries and pecans add the perfect little twist!
I loove snowball cookies! I never would have thought of adding cranberries but they were such a perfect and festive touch! So yummy!
These cranberry pecan, snowball cookies were so delicious! They were easy to make and fun to take to our office party. Can’t wait to meet them again!