Danish Wedding Cookies
Also known as . . . wait for it . . . butter balls. Just in case I already didn’t feel guilty about making my third batch of cookies this week. #yolo
These danish wedding cookies are little bites of buttery pecan goodness. They are similar to shortbread in texture–more dry than a traditional American cookie but so buttery and sweet.
Just a few notes on these cookies:
- Work it. Use the spatula to press the dough together. If it seems too dry/crumbly, remember that the heat from your hands when you’re rolling the dough will melt the butter and help the dough come together even more.
- Crush it. I pulsed the pecans quite a bit in the food processor until they were a mixture of pecan flour and pieces the size of sprinkles.
- Double Dip. When you roll the danish wedding cookies in the powdered sugar the first time, the warmth from the cookies will cause the sugar to melt into the cookie slightly. Let them cool completely and remember to roll the cookies in powdered sugar a second time! (Also… defs steal some of the warm, melty sugar coating cookies for “taste-testing.” They’re fantastic, even if they’re messy.)
- Tap it Out. I let the danish wedding cookies cool on a cookie rack and before I put them in a container, I lifted the edge of the rack and tapped it onto the counter top to knock some of the excess powdered sugar off the cookies.
Cheers!
mikaela | wyldflour
Serves 48 small cookies
Danish wedding cookies, aka butter balls, are small shortbread-like cookies flavored with a healthy dose of butter and chopped pecans!
20 minPrep Time
20 minCook Time
40 minTotal Time
Save Recipe5 based on 1 review(s)
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar (icing sugar)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour + 1/4 cup cornstarch (OR 2 cups cake flour)
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut
- 3 tablespoons oats (old-fashioned, rolled, quick, etc.)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup pecans
- extra 1 cup of powdered sugar (icing sugar)
Instructions
- Set out butter to soften. Alternatively, place butter in a large mixing bowl and heat in the microwave at 50% power for 30 seconds.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a food processor, pulse coconut and oats until fine crumbs. Set aside. Measure out pecans into food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Also set aside.
- Cream sugar into the butter. Mix in vanilla. Stir in flour, cornstarch, minced coconut and oats, salt, and chopped pecans. Stir until fully combined, using a spatula to press the dough together--it will be quite dry, similar to shortbread dough.
- Use your hands to roll dough into one-inch balls and place on cookie sheets. (The heat from your hands will melt the butter and help the dough stick together.)
- Bake for 10-12 mins until set but not brown. Do not over-bake! Move the cookies to a cooling rack to cool for ten minutes. Then roll cookies in powdered sugar and let cool completely. (The sugar will melt into the cookies, slightly.) Once completely cool, roll again in powdered sugar. Store in an airtight container.
Notes
Keebler used to sell its own form of Danish wedding cookies with chocolate chips. If this is what you're going for, feel free to add mini chocolate chips in before you bake the cookies!
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