Butter Balls

A traditional Italian cookie that is subtly sweet with a rich, buttery and nutty flavor and a tender, sandy, crumbly texture.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Italian

Keyword egg free, heirloom recipe, tea cookies, walnuts, wedding cookies

Prep Time 37

Cook Time 10

Total Time 50

Servings

Calories 88kcal

Preheat your oven to 375°F. (optional: line your baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat)
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and creamy
1 lb butter, 3/4 cup powdered sugar
Add the vanilla and mix well.
2 tsp vanilla
Stir in the flour, nuts and salt (if you are using it) until well combined.
4 cups flour, 2 cups walnuts, 1/2 tsp salt
Form the dough into small (~1"), smooth balls (I like to use a #100 cookie scoop to portion the dough) and place about 2 inches apart on your baking sheet.
Bake in your preheated oven for about 10-12 minutes. The cookies will puff up and spread just a little bit, the tops will be set and dry and the bottoms will be light golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Roll the cookies, a couple at a time, in powdered sugar until they are well coated. Store in a air tight container at room temperature.
additional powdered sugar for rolling

I don't believe mom did this, but I found that if I gave the cookies a quick roll in powdered sugar while they were still warm (almost hot), and then rolled them again after they had cooled I was able to get better coverage with the powdered sugar.
Mom always used margarine (salted), but I typically use unsalted butter so I added a bit of optional salt to the recipe.