Pistachio and white chocolate snowball cookies

This is a twist on a classic snowball cookie, filled with chopped pistachios and white chocolate. I love snowballs because they're soft and have just the right amount of sweetness with a hint of salt. I made another twist on this classic, my double chocolate snowball cookies, and I'm extra excited about this new variation!

Just like shortbread, there is no egg in this recipe and the ingredient list is nice and simple. The cookies are soft with a nice crunch from the chopped pistachios and pairs so nicely with the white chocolate. All of the flavors and textures come together incredibly well and all encased in a twice rolled powdered sugar exterior.

There is no special equipment required for this recipe but it's very important that your butter is at room temperature. When you add your dry ingredients, flour and salt, you'll reach a point where you really think the dough is never going to form...and then slowly you'll see it begin to come together. Once your dry ingredients are about halfway combined, you'll add your chopped pistachios and white chocolate and continue mixing. You can also use your hands at the end to squeeze your dough together so it finishes forming.

These cookies are smaller than my typical cookie, and are a great bake ahead option if you want to bring them to a gathering or gift them to a loved one. They also stay fresh for a few days at room temperature and keep their texture nicely. I used the smallest scooper from my Cook'n Feel set, and I have this medium scoop from Oxo which would work great as well. Both are around 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough so that's the size to aim for when you make them at home!

Ingredients:

• 1 stick (1/2 cup, 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter at room temperature 113g

• 1/4 cup powdered sugar 30g

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 cup flour 120g

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 cup unsalted and shelled pistachios 30g

• 1/3 cup white chocolate 2oz, 57g

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar (for rolling your cookies in) 60g

Total time: A little over an hour

Prep time: 10-15 minutes

Bake time: 10-12 minutes

Time needed post baking: About 45 minutes

Servings: 13 cookies

Equipment

• Cookie sheets

• Parchment paper

Cooking instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Chop your pistachios and white chocolate and set aside.

In a medium or large bowl, combine your butter and 1/4 cup of powdered sugar. Use a spatula or a large spoon for this, and continue to mix until your powdered sugar has completely combined into your butter. Note: your butter needs to be at room temperature for this and should be soft to the touch. If you need, you can soften your butter in the microwave for about 10 seconds.

Add in your vanilla extract and keep mixing until it's fully combined with your butter and sugar.

To your butter mixture, add in your flour and salt. Begin mixing and know that it will likely seem dry to start. Continue to mix, using your spatula or back of your spoon to press down on your mixture. When you begin to see your dough form, add in your chopped white chocolate and pistachios. Continue to mix until your dough has fully formed and your mix ins are dispersed. If your dough still seems too dry, use your hands to finish forming it.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, note that these cookies won't spread much so your scoops can be placed closer than your typical cookie. Use a scoop or spoon to form dough balls that are about 1 1/2 tablespoons each (it should make about 13 cookies). Then, roll the scoops in the palm of your hand to smooth the exterior of your cookie scoops to form the perfect round dough balls.

Place your scooped dough into your 350 degree oven to bake for 10-12 minutes.

Meanwhile, measure out a half cup of powdered sugar into a small bowl. Once your cookies have cooled for about 5-10 minutes but are still warm to the touch, roll each cookie for a first round into your powdered sugar. Know that your cookies may be a bit soft so handle them with care. I like to drop the cookie into the powdered sugar and use a small spoon or my fingers to scoop the sugar over the cookie and then lightly shake the cookie. The powdered sugar will melt a bit into your cookies, that is totally normal.

Place your once rolled cookies onto a cooling rack or back onto your cookie sheet. Allow your cookies to continue cooling for about 30-45 minutes at room temperature or you can place your cookies into the freezer for about 10 minutes to speed up this process. Once your cookies are cool to the touch, roll your cookies for a second time in your remaining powdered sugar - and enjoy!

You can store your cookies in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge for a few days. They will last a bit longer in the fridge, though I do recommend allowing them to come to room temperature before enjoying.

Carb and serving info:

Servings: 13 cookies

Carbs per cookie (1 of 13): 17

Carbs in full recipe: 227

Carbs from white chocolate: 36

Note: Carb information is calculated based on the specific ingredients I used to cook with to help guide my own insulin to carb ratio when dosing before I eat my home cooked recipes.