I love Snowballs. They are what first pops into my head whenever anyone asks what Christmas cookies to make. What I also love about them, I am never on hold to make cookies because I might be out of eggs. They are as simple as shortbread but not as dependent on the quality of the butter for flavor. Perfect, I tell you!

These look so good. Is there a good substitute for nuts? Would chopped oats work? We have a peanut allergy in our family, so we have to be extra careful about the cross contamination that often happens with tree nuts.

Sorry, I know of nothing that could come close to replacing the nuts - they are the signature flavor in this cookie. Only thing I could suggest is to go out and pick some walnuts or other nuts yourself (which is what I do) so you will then be sure there's no peanut contamination. ~Hank

When I proclaimed my innocence, mum noted the powdered sugar on my face.

You should have claimed you had been snorting what you thought was cocaine but that your dealer was passing off powdered sugar as cocaine!

Dude, I was like 10 years old! ~Hank

I have always made these with pecans because I am from the south and I am supposed to! This year I am making a batch with walnuts and I might get really crazy and do almonds.

These cookies are delicious. One of son's favorite which means there is not many left for others!

I have a friend whose grandmother makes these and she always says "they're just as light as an angel fart", so that's what we have called them for years: Angel Farts!

My mother has been making these with pecans (always pre-toasted before baking) as holiday gifts for 30+ years. Many of them never make it to the final "dusted" stage (i.e. as a gift). They are so good before the dusting when still warm out of the oven! My Dad and I would often eat half her batch. Santa would get these with his glass of milk as well.

These were also my favorite growing up. They were so tender, they would crumble up if not handled gingerly. Other families made something that looked similar, but it always seemed to be a hard version, not soft or else had (ugh!) a licorice flavoring. i forgot about these. Sitting on the floor watching Rudolph and Charlie Brown at Christmas time while eating these. Happy memories.

We always had these growing up, especially around the holidays...my mom called them Mexican Wedding cakes. I now make a la-di-da version with macadamia nuts. mmmmmmmmmmmmm

I've been waiting 28 years for someone to use the word 'purloining' correctly in a sentence.
Thank you, Hank.

Can whole wheat flour be used or will the whole wheat flavor be to strong?

Too strong is a relative concept. I'd eat these made with whole wheat flour, but then I like earthier flavors. Try a batch and let us know how it comes out! ~Hank

Never posted a message to anyone before in my 80 years. Hope I get it right.

Below is a recipe for Mexican Wedding Cakes that I have had in my collection for years. Don't remember where I got it. Has been one of my favorites. Feel free to use it. Any recipes I collect these days are sourced.

Mexican Wedding Cakes

1 cup butter or margarine
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon almond flavoring
2-1/2 cups sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup finely chopped Brazil nuts
red and green food coloring

Work butter and sugar in a bowl until creamy. Stir in flavoring. Stir in flour, salt and nuts and mix thoroughly. Divide dough in half. Stir a few drops of red coloring into one half; green coloring into the other. Chill several hours. Form into 1-inch balls. Place on greased baking sheets. Cover the bottom of a glass with damp cheesecloth and use it to flatten each ball to 1/4-inch thickness. Bake in a moderately low oven (325 degrees) 12 to 15 minutes or until the cookies start to brown a little around the edges. Makes about 3 dozen.

I made these with my mom growing up! My mom rolled those candied cherries sometimes in the center. Either way it was a treasure hunt when we were kids to find the cherry filled cookies.

These are my favorite holiday cookies, too. Once, when I was a kid, I thought these were the cookies on Grandma's counter, but those turned out to be pfeffernusse. Ick. Those pfeffernusse turned me against molasses cookies forever.

Those are like my Russian tea cakes. I love those little Russian tea cookies. they are so easy to make and sooo good!

I made these last night, they were a hit with my family! Everyone wants the recipe. They were so easy to make too.

I too have been making these cookies for many years. You only need to bake them for about 10 minutes, until they are set and not browned, not 35 minutes!
We call them Russian Tea Cakes

OMG Just made them and they are so so so delicious. I just gave some to my friends and they said it's the best that they've ever had. They are usually very dry, but these .. oh these. So delicious. When I tasted the uncooked dough, it seemed a little meh, so I doubled the vanilla extract. I think adding coffee extract along with vanilla extract would be good too. Next batch... (which I'll be making in few days) I meant to give these away to several people, but I don't think I can stop eating.. So gooooood!

I love to use almonds and toast them first before I finely chop and add to recipe, really gives it flavor!

I made these this weekend to take to our Christmas party at work. Delicious! I like them much better than the "hard type" that I have tried before. I didn't make enough of them! The texture is very light & they crumble a bit when you bite into them, so I am storing them well covered in the refrigerator until the party.

We make these cookies in my house but we put a halved cherry in the middle of the dough. it makes for an excellent surprise when you bite into them!

I'm going to be making these to serve at xmas. Should I use salted or unsalted butter?

Unsalted. I don't like using salted butter because it affects the saltiness of everything else - I like to be able to control it myself. ~Hank

How yummy! These are nearly identical down to the measurements, to the snowball cookies I grew up with. Strange how I've never called them Russian or wedding or Mexican wedding cookies before. One of the first cookies I learned how to make in fact. As kids my siblings and I were in charge of the powdered sugar rolling. Now adults with our own kids these cookies are still required via my mom each Christmas.

I made these and they taste wonderful and were so easy to make. I think I'll double the recipe the next time :)

I just made these last night and they were delicious and easy!

while my cookies tasted great, the cookies flattened out. Any tips for a better next time?

Colder butter, and pack the balls a little tighter. A little flattening is normal, though. ~Hank

This is an ultra delicious cookie! I have added cocoa powder, plus more sugar occasionally to satisfy the chocolate lovers in my family.
I have added more sugar to the basic recipe also, left as is, substituted walnuts for pecans, even added coconut as a variation. This cookie does need butter instead of shortening to make it richer. I have often dipped in chocolate instead of the powdered sugar.
I have NEVER had this recipe fail.
I know to double the recipe since the single recipe is never enough.

I just made these cookies and they are delicious. I baked the first batch on a Silpat mat and 1/4 of them melted. The second batch I baked on parchment paper and didn't have any issues. Maybe that's why some people had problems with melting?

Also, I forgot to ask in my question above how will using all purpose flour and cake flour be different than each other?will the color, texture, etc. be different?

Using cake flour will result in a lighter cookie. Cake flour has less protein than all-purpose flour so it will not form tight gluten bonds, which can make the cookie tough. ~Hank

If the cookies aren't keeping shape, put them in the fridge for a bit to stiffen up the batter. It helps them keep their ball shape.
These are my favorite too, Grandma made them with confection sugar as well. We are adopting the name "Angel Farts" this year!

My mom used to make these when we were kids. She made 3 batches: 1 with nuts, 1 with cherries and 1 plain.
I had a friend who used to put 2 chocolate chips in the center.
still delicious!!

I was so happy to find this recipe, when I was younger (much) my mother made these cookies especially for me, I lived 1000 miles away and she would mail them to me and my family, unfortunately they did not ship very well and we received "crumbs" every year and enjoyed them immensely. My mother has since passed and I never thought to get her recipe, but, we just made this cookie. I made 4 batches so we could have some for Christmas. I am sorry this is so long however, thank you Hank for giving us not only a great cookie, but, my Mothers memory at this time of year of miracles. Thank you so much for bringing my mother so vividly to us for the holiday. God Bless you and yours and have a wonderful holiday

The moment I stumbled on this recipe, I knew it was a dream come true! Now, I make these cookies regularly! They never last at my home. I only add one tablespoon of sugar in the batter, because my family hates overly sweet stuffs. So the sugar coating is more than enough! :) Thank you!

I trust every single of your recipes, and I've tried a few recipes from your website especially the mashed potatoes. They never fail me, only garnering amazing compliments from my family & friends. :DD