Pecan Snowballs | Swanky Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Why didn't my snowball cookies stay round? ›

Chilling your cookie dough thoroughly, at least an hour, should help. The rest in the chill chest helps that butter firm up. That, in turn, helps the cookies hold their shape.

2: Don't Over or Under Cream Your Butter. Smith says that when you cream butter, you're adding air into the mixture. This will keep the butter from melting too fast. However, if you over-cream it, the butter will melt too quickly and your cookies can spread.

Why did my snowball cookies turn out flat? Snowball cookies should not flatten. Since they do not contain a leavening agent, the main factor to check is that the dough is chilled before baking.

Simply prepare them as normal, then refrigerate (where they'll last for 3-4 days) until you're ready to serve. Can I freeze them? Yes! After your chocolate has set, transfer your snowballs to freezer-safe container, then place in the freezer where they'll last for around 2 months.

Sandwich your dough between two sheets of parchment, roll, then freeze; it makes cut-out cookies a breeze! If you plan to store it for only a few hours or days, there's no need to overwrap the baking sheet; for longer storage, wrap the entire baking sheet tightly with plastic wrap before freezing.

Temperature Of Ingredients

If the temperature of your ingredients isn't just right, you won't get the results you want - like when your cookie dough refuses to spread out evenly on the baking sheet. This could be caused by too-cold butter or eggs that haven't been brought to room temperature.

Adjust Salt

Next, if you're swapping unsalted for salted butter, reduce the amount of salt listed in the recipe to adjust for the salt in the butter. Take ¼ teaspoon of salt away for every stick of butter used*. Do the opposite if you're swapping salted for unsalted butter.

Excess Sugar and Fat

Measuring is key in baking. If your cookie contains excess sugar or fat, it will spread while baking. If your first batch of cookies spreads, try adding a few tablespoons of flour to help thicken the remaining dough.

Unfortunately, you can't fix the problem after the fact if you've baked a cookie recipe and the cookies didn't spread out enough as they baked. The edges have set and there's no going back. If they taste good nonetheless, you can still eat and enjoy them, or chop them up and add them to a batch of cookie ice cream.

Why are my snowball cookies falling apart? They crumble too much and fall apart when they don't have enough moisture which comes from the butter. They are crumbly cookies, make no mistake about that.

Why do my cookies always come out spongy? ›

On the flip side, using too much egg also drastically changes the cookies and gives them a spongy, cakelike texture.

Snowball cookies, aka pecan sandies, Russian tea cakes, and Mexican wedding cookies, have origins as mysterious as their multiple names imply.

Fill both your cupped hands with snow. Start bringing your hands together while rotating them to pack the snow. Each time you bring your hands together, apply more and more pressure. If you start off with too much pressure, the snowball will just fall apart.

The crème filling was added in 1950. A little later the pink coloring was added to the shredded coconut in one of the two cakes in each package, but eventually the company decided that it was more efficient to have both cakes the same color, and they decided to color both cakes in each package pink.

Mixing Butter & Sugar

If your butter is under mixed, it won't have the air pockets to hold it's shape. If it's over-mixed, the air pockets decrease in size and are unable to hold their shape in the oven—causing your cookies to spread. It's best to cream butter and sugar on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes.

Too much flour causes the dough to become dry and crumbly, which prevents it from flattening out during baking. As a result, your cookies will stay in their original shape instead of spreading out into nice circles.

Portion the Cookie Dough with a Cookie Scoop

Whether or not your cookies are perfectly round won't matter if they are all different sizes, which also means they'll bake unevenly. That's why the first step is to portion the cookie dough into evenly sized mounds. For that, I use a cookie (aka ice cream) scoop.

First, try adding more liquid to the dough. This can be milk, water, or even just a little bit of extra oil. If that doesn't work, you can try kneading the dough for a few minutes to help it come together. Lastly, if all else fails, you can always add in a few tablespoons of flour to help bind the dough together.