Italian Butter Ball Cookie Recipe
Italian Butter Ball Cookies – one of my favorite Christmas cookies – one I make each year and one I remember my mother and Noni making each year. This one is on the cookie trays and tables. It speaks tradition, favorite recipe, holidays, celebration, family, friends and all of the memories, attached. The little hands and fingers that once rolled the cookies in confectioners’ sugar through the years, the gifted tins to friends, the smells that permeated my home…all of it. I bring it all with me each year as I bake. Each year…each memory…each loved one…I hope you all enjoy my recipe for Butter Ball Cookies below, taken from my cookbook, MaMa Mia Cucina, and make memories of your own in your kitchens.
This cookie has many names – otherwise known as Russian Tea Cakes, Snowballs, or whatever name you favor and savor. While there are many different types of recipes for this wonderful stand-alone little ‘sweet treat’, it is one of our favorite traditional holiday cookies. They are easy to prepare, they freeze well, your children can help in the preparation, and if they are placed on a decorative plate, or a cellophane-lined cookie tin, they make a great gift. So, call the family to the kitchen, and ROLL ON…!
Ingredients you will need for this recipe:
- Butter
- Confectioners’ sugar
- Flour
- Pecans, ground finely
- Vanilla
- Water
Tools you will need for this recipe:
- Large Mixing bowl
- Small mixing bowl
- Electric mixer
- Spatulas
- Nut grinder
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Baking pans
- Parchment paper
Recipe
BUTTER BALL COOKIES
- 1 cup of sweet butter
- ¼ cup confectioner’s sugar
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup finely chopped pecans
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon water
- confectioners’s sugar for rolling
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whip butter and ¼ cup of confectioner’s sugar, together, adding remaining ingredients. Blend well. Chill dough for at least one hour, and roll into nickel-size balls. Place balls evenly on parchment-lined cookie sheets. Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes until lightly golden brown. Cool until warm, and roll warm cookies in confectioner’s sugar. Cool completely before storing. Makes approximately 2-1/2 dozen cookies.
Personal Chef Tip: When removing from the oven, cool until warm and almost cool, but warm enough to catch the confectioners’ sugar. If the cookie is too warm, it will fall apart.
