Recipe For Pecan Meltaway Balls Christmas Cookies
This Christmas you must try my pecan meltaway balls recipe for a delicious cookie!
“Sometimes me thinks, ‘What is a friend?’ And then me say ‘Friend is someone to share the last cookie with.'” – The Cookie Monster
That Cookie Monster is one smart fella, I say. 😀
My family begs for this incredible Christmas cookie recipe every year These pecan meltaway balls are the perfect cookie – delicately delicious without being too sweet. They sure don’t last long around my house!
And I don’t mind making a batch or two either. These tasty morsels require only 5 ingredients. They’re easy to make and even easier to eat!
No making a mess by rolling out cookie dough and dragging out your cookie cutters. These are simply shaped in your hand and then rolled in powdered sugar.
Make these tasty cookies ahead and stored at room temperature or in the freezer. Be sure to read the notes at the bottom of the recipe. They’re perfect for taking to a Christmas cookie exchange too – everyone loves these cookies!
Meltaway Pecan Balls
Ingredients
- 1 cup pecans
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1 cup butter - no substitutions
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees farenheit.
- In a food processor with knife blade attached, pulse pecans with 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar until nuts are very finely ground. Add butter and vanilla, and process until smooth, occasionally stopping processor and scraping the side with a rubber spatula.
- Add flour;process until evenly mixed and dough forms.
- With floured hands, shape dough by rounded teaspoon full into small balls.
- Place 1" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake 16 - 18 minutes, or until bottoms are lightly browned and cookies are light golden.
- Transfer cookies to wire rack. Cool for 3 minutes, then roll cookies in remaining confectioners' sugar and place back on wire rack to cool.
- When cookies are completely cool, roll in sugar once again.
- Repeat with remaining dough and sugar.
Notes
I love nothing better than to pair them with a cup of hot cocoa or coffee. Yum.
No need to wait until Christmas – your family and friends will love you if you make a batch right now!
PIN IT FOR LATER
Do you have a favorite cookie recipe?
Does anyone know how many pecan balls this recipe will make? I need to make 3 dozen of these
Hi Erika. It’s hard for me to say exactly, but I estimate that one recipe will yield 24’ish cookies, maybe more. It’s been a while since I’ve made them so I don’t remember exactly.
Hi my cookies lost there shape they spread out and flattened. Any one else have this problem? My oven is at 325F any suggestions
If i remove dates do I need to add anything more?
Are you possibly thinking of something else? This recipe doesn’t call for any dates. 😀
Hi do you use salted or unsalted butter?
My apologies for not replying sooner! I’m having a technical difficulty that’s been preventing from being notified of new comments. I use salted butter.
This recipe didn’t work for me although I followed the recipe precisely; the cookies crumbled when I transferred them to the wire rack. What a waste of ingredients!
I’m so sorry this didn’t work for you! You’re the only one who has told me that. I’ve made it many times over the years with no problems, so I’m not sure what might have happened.
I can’t wait to make these. Should the butter be at room temp or cold from the fridge?
They’re so good! Since the butter is being processed in food processor, I would use it cold.
My cookies came out flat. Where did I go wrong?
I’m so sorry for the delay in replying! For some reason I didn’t get a comment notification. It’s hard for me to say without knowing exactly how you made them, but using margarine in a tub instead of sticks of butter is often a culprit.
Can you please tell me how many cookies this recipe makes? Thank you!
I usually get 24 – 36 cookies, depending upon how large or small I make them.
When does the remainder of the confectioners sugar get added? I only added 1/4 cup, per the recipe, and they are crumbling and not sweet at all. Help!
Hi Lauren. If you read down the recipe a little farther, it should say to roll the balls in the remaining confectioners sugar. 😀 Hopefully, that does show up when you view the recipe.