Toffee Noel Nut Balls
Snowball Cookies with Toffee are sweet, buttery with a double dose of crunch! These classic Noel Nut Balls are kicked up a notch!
Adding chopped toffee to these Mexican Wedding Cookies was a delicious twist on a holiday favorite. If you’re looking for a new Christmas cookie recipe to try, this is a winner!
Why You Must Make
These holiday cookies are a twist on an old favorite Christmas cookie, my Pecan Snowballs. I love making these melt-in-your-mouth, nut-filled cookies rolled in powdered sugar, but to make them even more irresistible, I added bits of toffee.
- Adding toffee to a classic cookie pushes these babies over the top!
- These are a delicious way to shake up your holiday baking.
- If you love snowball cookies and toffee, you will adore these cookies.
That little addition totally pushed these babies over the top. I baked up a batch for a cookie exchange but seriously contemplated keeping them all to myself. My loyal readers will know that any nut-filled cookie that’s in my kitchen will get totally ignored by everyone except the cook. Though the hubby has a few non-food allergies, his “allergy” to nuts is totally contrived due to his personal preferences.
Expert Tips
- I like to line my baking sheets with parchment paper. It helps make for easy cleanup, and there’s no sticking!
- To make this version of Mexican Wedding Cookies, cream the butter, then start adding the other ingredients and mixing, ending with the pecans and toffee bits.
- Make sure to chop your pecans and toffee pretty tiny, at least as small as a mini chocolate chip.
- PRO-Tip: I prefer chopping up some Heath bars versus using a bag of toffee chips. I feel the quality is better.
- It’s up to you what size and shape you make your nutballs. I make tablespoon-sized rounds, but smaller works, too. And like I mentioned above, the crescent shape is very common, too.
- Bake until these are lightly browned.
- Roll in powdered sugar while they’re warm. This helps the powdered sugar stick. I like to redust with powdered sugar after they cool, too.
- PRO-Tip: There is no egg in these Noel Nut balls! Perfect if you have an egg allergy. Egg allergies actually are more common than nut allergies or peanut allergies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nut balls (or Nutballs) are known by many other names besides Mexican Wedding Cookies. These melt-in-your-mouth cookies came into vogue in the 1950s and are also called Russian Teacakes, Mexican Teacakes, Russian Wedding Cookies, Snowballs or Butterballs. The texture and “snow” coating of powdered sugar make them popular for the holidays, but tasty enough to make all year long! Add some toffee to shake things up! When made in crescent shapes instead of balls, they’re also known as pecan crescents!
Pecans are my preference, but walnuts and almonds will also work well.
Historians think the strained relationship between the United States and Russia during the Cold War, which started in the late 1940s, caused a name change. One of the alternative names, Russian Tea Cakes, was not socially acceptable anymore, so this same cookie recipe became Mexican Wedding Cookies!
The name snowballs is pretty self-explanatory since they’re dusted heavily with powdered sugar which represents snow. Why they’re known by so many other names makes it even more confusing!
Like most cookies, they’ll keep well at room temperature in an airtight container for 3-4 days. To freeze, place cooled cookies in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag, remove as much air as possible freeze for up to 3 months (though I’ve kept mine longer!).
You May Also Like
- Candy Cane Cookies from Saving Room for Dessert
- Italian Ricotta Cookies
- Holiday Pinwheel Cookies
- Stained Glass Cookies
- Plus More of my Best Holiday Recipes
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Toffee Noel Nut Balls
Toffee Noel Nut Balls (Mexican wedding cookies) made extraordinary by adding chopped Heath bars to the batter. A new twist on a classic holiday recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 sticks butter, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups chopped pecans
- 5 Heath bars (or about 6 ounces) finely chopped (to about half the size of a standard chocolate chip)
- 1 cup powdered sugar, for rolling cookies
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325ºF. Line baking pans with parchment and set aside.
Cream butter, then add sugar, vanilla and water. Mix again. Stir flour and salt into mixture. Add pecans and toffee bits and mix thoroughly.
Form tablespoon sized scoops of dough into balls. Bake for 18-20 minutes or till lightly browned.
Roll in powdered sugar while warm.
Notes
Adapted from my friend, Cyn.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
36Serving Size:
1 cookieAmount Per Serving: Calories: 159Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 16mgSodium: 75mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 1gSugar: 7gProtein: 2g
81 Comments on “Toffee Noel Nut Balls”
I never met a dessert with toffee I didn’t love! Brilliant idea to add it to these Mexican wedding cookies! 🙂 ~Valentina
Such a fun and tasty looking recipe. Perfect for the holidays. Thanks for the recipe. Visiting from Gluten Free A-Z blog.
Love snow balls (or Mexican wedding cookies?)…nuts and butter are good stuff!
Do the Heath bars have a chocolate cover? Or am I thinking about the wrong candy bar
Yes, Heath bars are chocolate-covered toffee bars. Enjoy!
We have always made snowballs and they are a family favorite for the holidays. Adding in toffee is a huge upgrade to an already great cookie! What a genius and delicious idea!
These were a big hit last year! Looking forward to making them again this year!
These are so good!! My kids couldn’t stop eating these!
I love Mexican weeding cookies too – they taste wonderful and look elegant. But your addition of Toffee bits to the traditional recipe sounds even better than the original. And, of course, they look so pretty the way you presented them!
Hope you are enjoying a bit of ‘quiet time’ during the holidays.
All the very best to you and your lovely family, Andrea xo
These cookies look amazing! I love this type of cookie. These are perfect for the holidays!! Liz, I wanted to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas!!
I know I would love these cookies! I wanted to stop by and wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas. Blessings for the New Year too!
These were so delicious. While I have always made these with pecans, I never thought about making them with toffee pieces.
I love the mexican wedding cakes and heath bars so this is a win win… May your season be blessed with everything you could ever dream of.. all the best Merry Christmas!
I always thought that Mexican wedding cookies and Russian tea cakes are similar yet still two different recipes, so this possible connection to the Cold War sounds interesting. Whatever you call this kind of cookies, they’re always delicious. Also, the addition of toffee candy sounds like a wonderful choice!
making dessert or main meal is so difficult on weekend because they always want something new and this site is my hack lol thanks for making different recipes i can copy lol 🙂
Mary, you are most welcome. Hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday!! Thanks for all your support.
Perfect little treats for the cookie tray! Merry Christmas Week Liz-enjoy:@)