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A classic cookie for the holidays or any time of year, Pecan Meltaways are a simple recipe for melt-in-your mouth buttery, nutty shortbread cookies, coated in delicious powdered sugar.
These Pecan Meltaway cookies remind me of the holidays! They are right at home nestled in next to Eggnog Cookies and Gingerbread Bars on your Christmas Cookie Trays.
Don’t save these butter pecan homemade cookies for a special occasion though – they are delicious any time of the year, and an excellent way to celebrate the little things in life.
I love an afternoon snack that includes a plate of Pecan Meltaways and a nice, hot cup of coffee.
These cookies are sometimes called Mexican Wedding Cake cookies, and I believe that they are styled after a traditional Mexican nut based treat.
If you like these pecan balls, you have to try my recipe for Pecan Sandies too!
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Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Classic Cookie Recipe: This old-fashioned recipe is an oldie, but a goodie, as they say. It’s been around for a long time, without any real updates. This is because it’s perfect just as it is, full of butter pecan flavor and coated in fluffy powdered sugar.
- Simple Ingredients: There are only 6 ingredients in this easy cookie recipe, which means that you can whip them up without too much advance preparation or fancy shopping.
- Everyone Loves These: Pecan meltaways make great gifts. Take a platter to your neighbor or your coworkers – they’ll love you for it!
Pecan Meltaways Ingredients
Complete list of ingredients with quantities and instructions islocated in the recipe cardbelow
- Butter: Be sure to use unsalted butter for this cookie recipe, and allow the butter to soften fully at room temperature before starting to mix the dough.
- Powdered Sugar: We need powdered sugar twice in this recipe. First, it’s the sweetener in the dough. This recipe is odd in that way, since most cookie recipes use granulated sugar instead. Second, the baked cookies get rolled in more powdered sugar – twice! – after coming out of the oven.
- Pure Vanilla Extract: Always use pure vanilla extract for baking cookies! I suggest that you buy the best quality vanilla extract that you can reasonably afford. It really makes a difference.
- Flour and Salt: The basic dry ingredients in shortbread cookies. Remember, there is no baking powder or baking soda in meltaways.
- Pecans: You’ll need ¾ cup of very finely chopped pecans to mix into the cookie dough. You can do this with your food processor, or very, very carefully with a sharp knife.
How to Make Pecan Meltaway Cookies
- Mix Wet Ingredients: In the bowl of your stand mixer (or in a mixing bowl with a handheld mixer) cream together the butter and ½ cup of powdered sugar until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla extract and beat again for 30 seconds. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula to get everything well mixed.
- Add Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, mix together the flour and salt, then add that to the butter mixture and mix until combined. Fold in the chopped pecans. The dough will be dry and crumbly, but should hold together when pressed.
- Chill: Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 30 minutes, and up to a day or so.
- Shape Cookies: Use a small cookie scoop to shape the dough into 1 inch balls. Place them on a lined cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 350°F/180°C oven for 10-12 minutes.
- Roll in Powdered Sugar: Add the rest of the powdered sugar to a bowl. While the pecan meltaways are still warm, carefully roll them in the sugar to coat. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Add More Powdered Sugar: To make these cookies look like beautiful snowballs, roll them in a second coating of powdered sugar to finish.
Recipe Tips
- Keep them the same size: It’s important that all of the cookies are the same size. They’ll look better this way, plus they’ll all cook at the same rate. Use a 1 tablespoon size cookie scoop to get uniform cookie dough balls, or use a scale to make sure each is 20 grams before baking.
- Be Gentle: The cookies will be soft while they are warm. Be careful not to crush them while rolling in powdered sugar. I used kitchen tongs rather than my hands, as I found it was easier for me to be gentle that way.
- Roll them twice! The first coating of powdered sugar will melt into the cookies, creating a glazed crust, while the second coating, added after they’re cooled, will give them a fluffy white appearance and texture.
Recommended Cookie Making Tools
These tools are all in my kitchen, and help me bake cookies with ease. Pick up any that you don’t already have, and you’ll be ready for baking any time.
- Pyrex Mixing Bowls: There’s something about these clear glass mixing bowls that brings me back to baking with my mother. They are a must for me, even though I’ve tried other bowls, I still come back to these every time.
- Hand Mixer: No need to use a fancy stand mixer for a batch of cookies when a hand mixer does the job just fine. I use this one from Kitchenaid.
- Measuring Cups and Spoons: This set from OXO is just so well designed! There are magnets in the handles so they stack and stick to each other perfectly.
- Kitchen Scales: for measuring ingredients or portions by weight, this glass kitchen scale is my favorite.
- Cookie Scoop: This scoop is a small size, and makes one tablespoon sized scoops, perfect for most drop cookie recipes. I suggest keeping a medium cookie scoop on hand as well.
- Cookie Sheet: I love my Nordic Ware half sheet pans. They are very high quality and last forever.
- Silpat: To line the cookie sheets, a Silpat silicone mat in half size is perfect for making everything non-stick, and you’ll never need to buy parchment paper again.
More Tasty Cookie Recipes
- Banana Bread Cookies
- Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies
- Twix Thumbprint Cookies
- Pizzelles
- Ricotta Cookies
FAQs
What’s the difference between Pecan Meltaways and Pecan Sandies?
Meltaways are very similar to pecan sandies. The biggest difference is that pecan meltaways use powdered sugar rather than granulated, and they are formed into balls rather than flat cookies. This means that they have a softer texture than Pecan Sandies, which are crispier.
How should pecan meltaways be stored?
These cookies will stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. They can also be frozen for 2-3 months.
Do I have to chill the dough before baking these?
Yes, chilling the dough is a very important step in the pecan meltaways recipe. Chilling ensures that the cookies hold a tall, round shape while baking.
Add this Pecan Meltaways recipe to your cookie idea box, and be sure to make them soon! Pin the classic cookie recipe to save it, or share it.
Recipe
Recipe
5 from 17 votes
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Pecan Meltaways
Created by: Fun Cookie Recipes
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 10 minutes mins
Total Time 55 minutes mins
36 cookies
Pecan Meltaways are a classic cookie recipe that is buttery, soft, packed with pecans, and covered in tons of sweet powdered sugar.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks, 225g) butter softened
- ½ cup (100g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups (270g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (70g) finely chopped pecans
- 1 ½ cup (300g) powdered sugar for rolling the cookies after baking
Instructions
In a bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter with ½ cup of powdered sugar until creamy and smooth (3 minutes). Add vanilla, and mix again scraping off the sides and bottom with a spatula.
Add flour and salt, and mix until combined (1 minute). Fold in the chopped pecans.
Chill the dough in the fridge for 30-60 minutes or up to one day.
Shape the dough into 1-inch balls, using a small 1 tablespoon cookie scoop.
Bake at 350°F/180°C for 10-12 minutes. The cookies should be set, but not browned on the outside.
Add the 1 ½ cups of powdered sugar to a shallow dish. While the cookies are still warm, roll them gently in powdered sugar. Allow them to cool completely on a wire rack, then roll a second time in powdered sugar.
Notes
- To Store: Keep pecan meltaway cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days. These cookies also freeze well, and will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- To Store Dough: This dough can be made up to a day ahead of time and stored in the fridge. It can also be frozen for 2-3 months. Allow the dough to thaw overnight in the fridge before baking.
- It’s important that all of the cookies are the same size. They’ll look better this way, plus they’ll all cook at the same rate. Use a 1 tablespoon size cookie scoop to get uniform cookie dough balls, or use a scale to make sure each is 20 grams before baking.
- The cookies will be soft while they are warm. Be careful not to crush them while rolling in powdered sugar. I used kitchen tongs rather than my hands, as I found it was easier for me to be gentle that way.
- The first coating of powdered sugar will melt into the cookies, creating a glazed crust, while the second coating, added after they’re cooled, will give them a fluffy white appearance and texture.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 143kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 40mg | Potassium: 45mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 14IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 1mg
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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Reader Interactions
Myra says
I have made same recipes for years. Instead of rolling the cookies in powdered sugar u can use a baggie to put the sugar n the bag n put the cookies into bag and shake to distribute the sugar.
instead of tongs I use cooking gloves to handle the cookies while rolling them and after coating them to remove from baggie.
But I agree they are Delian I usually make them at Christmas.Reply
