Makes 4 1/2 dozen

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sifted confectioner’s sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1-2 cups almonds or pecans, finely ground
1 Tbsp vanilla

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 F
2. Cream the butter with a mixer on medium high until it develops a smooth, airy, texture
3. Continue whipping and gradually add sugar and salt and cream until smooth
4. Stir in ground nuts and vanilla to combine
5. Gradually add the flour, mixing thoroughly
6. Shape teaspoons of batter into balls, or crescents, as desired
7. Place cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake 15-18 minutes (Do not brown)
8. Remove from oven, and while still warm, roll in confectioner’s sugar to coat

Creaming, in this sense, is the technique of blending several dissimilar ingredients together, like granulated sugar with a solid fat like shortening or butter, and working them to a smooth mass. This cooking technique is pretty common in making buttercream, cake batter or cookie dough. These cookies are known by many names, but they are Snowballs to us, and they have been a family favorite for decades.