Amy Seiwert Shares Her Family’s Pecan Snowball Cookie Recipe

“My family and Christmas cookies. It’s a thing,” says Amy Seiwert, artistic director of Smuin Contemporary Ballet. When she was growing up, Seiwert’s grandparents would host a caroling concert in their home every year, complete with an elaborate array of Christmas cookies, all baked by Seiwert’s grandmother. “The Christmas cookies were kept under lock and key,” she remembers. “My grandmother kept a key on a string around her neck. For me and my cousins, it was like a Mission Impossible kind of scheme to try to break in and get the cookies before they were put out on the table.” As a dancer, Seiwert’s Nutcracker schedule meant that she wasn’t able to make it to the concert every year, but the cookies still hold an important role in Seiwert family lore.

During the pandemic, Seiwert and her nine cousins gathered virtually for Christmas-cookie–making parties, trying out recipes passed down from their grandmother by way of Seiwert’s mother, the family’s current matriarch. While Seiwert is passionate about cooking, baking is not her forte—but these pecan snowball cookies passed the test. “These are one of the few that I will attempt. They’re entry-level,” she says. “And like most dancers, the holiday season is not when I have much free time! We’re a little busy.”

Christmas in July

In lieu of Nutcracker, Smuin Contemporary Ballet presents The Christmas Ballet each year. Each summer, Seiwert starts working on the upcoming holiday season’s production. For Seiwert, sorting through Christmas songs harkens back to her family’s love of music and their annual caroling concert. “I’ve definitely been exposed to more Christmas carols than the average person in the United States,” she says. “It’s like, ‘Wow, I was training my whole life for this moment and didn’t even know it!’”

Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice

When not baking cookies, Seiwert’s cooking tends towards healthy, clean-eating choices. Recently, her go-to kitchen gadget is her spice grinder, which allows her to save unused fresh herbs for later. “A spice grinder is the coolest thing,” she says. “I used to always buy fresh herbs and never get to them. Now, if I’ve got a fresh herb that’s about to go bad, I just put it in the spice grinder, grind it up, throw it in the freezer, and then you can always have moderately fresh dill, basil, everything.”

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb pecans
• 1/2 lb (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup (31 grams) confectioners’ sugar, plus more for dusting
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups (250 grams) flour
• 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Finely chop or grind the pecans. (Seiwert prefers to use a spice grinder. “The finer you get them, the more oils will be released,” she says, believing this was the key to her grandmother’s cookie dough coming together. ) Spread the ground pecans on a cookie sheet and toast for 5 minutes. Remove and let cool.
2. Using an electric stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute, until completely smooth and creamy. Add 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, beating until combined and creamy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Then beat in the vanilla until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, stir the flour and salt together and, with the mixer at low speed, slowly add it to the butter mixture. Once all of the flour is in, turn the mixer to high speed until the dough comes together.
4. Lower the speed and add the pecans. Depending on the power of your mixer, you may need to add them by hand.
5. Move the cookie dough to a piece of parchment paper and shape it into a flat disk. Completely wrap the disk in the paper and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. (“You want it cold enough that you can handle it without it getting all over your hands,” says Seiwert.)
6. While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 or 3 large cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
7. Divide the dough into 60 small pieces, then roll them into uniform balls. (Seiwert aims for balls the size of a three-dimensional quarter.) Place the cookies on the baking sheets. They don’t spread very much in the oven. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the cookies are a light golden brown on the bottom. Do not let them get brown on top.
8. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and place them on cooling racks. The cookies will be very soft, so let them cool completely before the next step .
9. Carefully roll the cookies in confectioners’ sugar to coat them completely. Then, add a light dusting on top to finish. (Seiwert suggests storing them in a cookie tin between layers of parchment paper.)