These melt-in-your-mouth snowball cookies (also sometimes referred to as Russian tea cakes or Mexican wedding cakes) are flavored with matcha green tea, giving them a natural and festive green color.
Snowball cookies are some of my favorite cookies to eat during the holidays. Plus, they are super easy to make and can keep for several days. I love that they are nutty and buttery and not very sweet. It’s a good balance for all those sugar cookies I consume.
Speaking of sugar cookies, it’s one of the few dozen cookies I still need to bake. I’m not looking forward to these next few days left before Christmas because now I need to finish all my holiday baking. And knowing me, I will screw up because I always do under pressure, which is why I could never be a contestant on a cooking show.
For example, for Thanksgiving this year, I tried to keep things simple. We outsourced desserts, made a lot of stuff ahead of time, chose easy side dishes. And yet when I started my first side dish that morning, mashed potatoes, I somehow majorly screwed them up. Mashed potatoes, which I’ve made dozens of times and can probably make them with my eyes closed. I don’t even know where I went wrong but they tasted odd and were horribly runny. So yeah, knowing me, I’ll burn some cookies, forget to add sugar, etc.
Hopefully, I won’t screw these up. Because they are a pretty easy, stress-free cookie to make.
More Recipes to Try
Matcha Snowball Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups pecans finely chopped (I pulsed mine through a food processor)
- 1 1/2 tbsp premium quality matcha powder
- 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Line two cookie sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add all ingredients except powdered sugar. Mix on low speed to medium speed until dough comes together and all ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
- Roll balls about 1 inch in diameter and place onto cookie sheets, spacing about 1 inch apart. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the edges start to lightly brown.
- Let cookies cool before rolling them in powdered sugar. Dust an additional layer of powdered sugar on cookies before serving or packaging for gifting.
Notes
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
Amazing!! Love the recipe!! Family ate it all up!! Will keep forever!
That’s so great!
Would it still taste good if you substituted the pecans for walnuts or just skipped the nuts entirely?
yes it will work with walnuts. You definitely don’t want to skip the nuts as snowball cookies are basically nuts, flour, sugar and butter.
Hi, I tried these this weekend and while they were good they were missing a bit of sugar, in my opinion. I could have used a bit more granulated sugar. Thanks for the recipe nonetheless!
you can definitely add more sugar. Matcha is bitter so it can make desserts less sweet. I usually prefer my matcha desserts to be on the less sweet side but you can adjust to your liking.
The matcha I have is sweetened… should I cut out some of the sugar?
I’m not sure how well the sweetened matcha will work. Yes you would need to reduce sugar from the recipe, but also if the matcha powder is sweetened, it’s not as strong as pure matcha powder.
I’m curious if you can really taste the green tea, or if the taste is weak. I would love to make and eat it if it’s a strong matcha taste.
it’s a mild green tea flavor. if you want it stronger, I suggest doubling the matcha powder and make sure you use a premium quality. and you can also use less nuts.
Oops, I meant don’t forget the leavening agent when it is called for in the recipe. I was responding to your baking under stress and forgetting key ingredients (like sugar). I forget which cookie I was making but I forgot the baking powder or baking soda and while they looked OK, they were not very tast.
oooh, got it! yes, that is very important! I’ve definitely made that mistake as well before when baking under stress. thanks for the reminder 😉
Don’t forget the leavening agent!! (baking powder or baking soda). I forgot it once and the cookies were awful.
I finished all my baking this year, but I think I will make these next year and split the dough– one with green tea matcha and one with powdered freeze dried red berry (strawberry, raspberry, or cranberry from Trader Joe’s) .
I actually don’t use a leavening agent for my snowball cookies. They should be similar to shortbread cookies, no leavening agent. They shouldn’t rise much–they should have a crumbly buttery texture