Peyton and Snowball Cookies

Our son and his family, along with my Mom and my brother, came to our home for Thanksgiving this year. Saturday evening, after a dinner of pizza, our son and daughter-in-love went to a hockey game leaving our grandchildren with us. We were thrilled with the opportunity of having one-on-one time with them. My three year-old granddaughter loves to help in the kitchen and since we aren't together nearly often enough, I wasn't going to let this opportunity pass by. We headed to the kitchen as soon as the baby was settled, and began our project. Peyton called these cookies Snowball Cookies. You and I know them as Russian Teacakes or Mexican Wedding Cakes. The recipe is simple, but so messy, so for her to call them snowballs fit in with the "snow", powdered sugar, that was everywhere. After we were done and the cookies were cooled, I let Peyton choose a cookie tin from my collection so we could make a gift for her parents. I then got out some Christmas note cards and she chose one to sign for them. She was so excited about the gift we made for Mommy and Daddy, and Grandma was thrilled to have had the opportunity to make a Thanksgiving memory with her granddaughter. Blessings...

Recipe: 

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2-1/4 cups unbleached flour
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans
additional powdered sugar for dipping

1. In a large mixer bowl, beat together butter, sugar and vanilla.
2. While mixer is running on low speed, slowly add flour and salt; mix until completely blended. Stir in nuts.
3. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
4. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place about 1-inch apart on ungreased baking sheet. These cookies do not spread while baking.
5. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until set but not brown.
6. Roll cookies in powdered sugar while hot, cool completely on wire racks. When cookies are cool, roll again in powdered sugar.

Yield: about 40 cookies