Hazelnut snowballs – Savory

These melt-in-your mouth cookies are a holiday staple in many homes. Instead of hazelnuts, you can use an equal amount of almonds, walnuts or pecans.

Ingredients
1 vanilla bean
2 sticks butter, room temperature
1½ cups confectioners’ sugar
2 cups flour
1 cup finely chopped or ground hazelnuts

Making and shaping dough
Preheat oven to 325°F. Cut vanilla bean in half lengthwise using a small sharp knife. Using tip of knife, scrape seeds into bowl of a standing mixer. Add butter and ½ cup confectioners’ sugar and beat until fluffy. Finely chop the nuts. On low speed, mix in flour, ground hazelnuts and 1/4 tsp salt just until the mixture forms a dough. Shape dough into 1-inch balls.

Baking
Place the balls on parchment-lined baking sheets about an inch apart. Bake 15 min. Watch carefully—you don’t want the cookies to brown.
Place remaining confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl. Roll warm cookies in sugar. Cool completely. Roll in sugar again. Store cookies in an airtight container for up to a week.

Tip: Pulse hazelnuts in a food processor until coarsely ground. Don’t overdo it, though, otherwise you’ll end up with nut butter!

Tip: Shape into crescents rather than balls for traditional nut crescent cookies.

Make ahead
You can freeze the cookies in an airtight container for up to a month. Toss them in confectioners’ sugar, after thawing.

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