Christmas Mice Snowball Cookies
Serves 30
25 mins prep
15 mins cook
40 mins total
These Christmas mice snowball cookies are buttery, crisp, nutty, and shaped like fluffy white mice. They're a classic, nostalgic holiday snowball cookie turned mice using a few simple shaping and decorating techniques. The powdered sugar coating and cookie texture just melts in your mouth. These Christmas mice are the perfect cookies to make for Christmas and the holidays!
Preheat the oven to 355°F (180°C). Place the pecans onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 5-8 minutes, until they smell toasty. Nuts burn quickly so be careful! Remove the nuts, let them cool, and crush or chop them into small pieces.
cup pecans
In a large bowl or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, combine butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Mix together until creamy, making sure to scrape down the bowl.
cup unsalted butter
cup powdered sugar
tbsp pure vanilla extract
tsp sea salt.
Add the flour and cooled crushed pecans into the butter and sugar mixture and mix on low speed until a dough forms.
cup all purpose flour
Use a cookie scoop to scoop 1 ½ tablespoon portions of cookie dough. Roll them into balls and pinch one side to create the nose shape. Push almond slices in for the ears.
cup almond slices
Place the cookies onto a parchment lined baking sheet with 1" of space in between the cookies. Bake for 15 minutes until golden.
As soon as the cookies are out of the oven, carefully dust them with powdered sugar. Use a toothpick to create a hole for the tail. Push the pieces of candy rope tails in while the cookies are still hot to ensure that the tails stick.
cup powdered sugar
pieces Candy ropes (I used cherry licorice)
Let the cookies cool completely before serving! They will continue to get crisp through the center as they cool.