If you make just one holiday or Christmas cookie this year, these soft homemade snowball cookies are absolutely the recipe to try!
The best snowball cookies
This is the cookie recipe that takes over Pinterest every December.
With just FOUR ingredients, the sweet holiday cookies are so easy to make that it’s almost impossible to find an excuse not to try them.
And once you do whip up these charming homemade snowball cookies, they will hook you for life with their soft and buttery deliciousness.
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Mexican wedding cookies
This recipe is my own spin on the popular snowball cookie recipe my grandmother used to make every year for Christmas.
You can find many versions similar to hers, both online and in traditional cookbooks. They go by many different names, including Mexican Wedding Cookies, Russian Tea Cakes, Butterballs, Polvorones, Meltaways, and Snowballs.
For vegan snowball cookies, simply use either coconut oil or vegan butter in the recipe. There are no eggs or milk required, so no need to worry about replacing those.
**Edit: A huge thank you to People Magazine for featuring my recipe!
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Step by step recipe video
Watch the snowball cookie recipe video above
Snowball cookie ingredients
The recipe calls for flour, nuts, oil or butter, and powdered sugar.
If you want a healthier version, pulse coconut sugar, date sugar, or evaporated cane juice in a blender to make your own homemade unrefined powdered sugar.
Other variations you might want to try include adding a few drops of vanilla or almond extract to the dough, forming the traditional cookies into different shapes, adding a teaspoon of lemon or orange zest, or stirring in a handful of mini chocolate chips.
Next on my list is to add cocoa powder for Chocolate Snowball Cookies.
I might even include some pure peppermint extract and crushed candy canes too.
Or you can make pink snowball cookies by adding a drop or two of red food coloring or a handful of freeze dried strawberry or raspberry powder.
But honestly, the classic original version is so good on its own. If you make a batch, leave a review and let me know what you think!
Baking tips and substitutions
Flour options that work well include regular white all purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or whole grain spelt flour.
If you wish to make gluten free snowball cookies, I’ve had success using Bob’s Red Mill all purpose gluten free flour.
A good cookie baking tip in general is to let the cookies cool before handling. They continue to cook and firm up as they are cooling.
Start with softened or melted butter or oil. If using coconut oil, make sure all other ingredients are at room temperature. This step will ensure the oil does not harden during the mixing process.
Snowball cookies with almonds
While the original holiday cookie recipe calls for walnuts, these versatile homemade Mexican wedding cookies can also be made with almonds or pecans.
I’ve never tried another nut but would be interested to know if they might also work with macadamia nuts, cashews, or even pistachios.
For snowball cookies without nuts, simply omit the chopped walnuts, almonds, or pecans. No further changes are required, and the resulting nut free cookie is a delicious soft butter cookie.
Leftover almonds? Make Almond Flour Banana Bread
How to make snowball cookies
The first step is to gather all of your cookie ingredients.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, beat the butter and powdered sugar.
Combine the pecans, almonds, or walnuts and flour in a separate bowl. Mix all of the ingredients together to form a cookie dough.
Shape into balls, place on a cookie sheet, and bake on the oven’s center rack for twenty to twenty five minutes or until the Christmas cookies are lightly browned.
Roll the warm Italian butter cookies in a bowl of powdered sugar to evenly coat, then cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!
Storing the cookies
Because they do not need refrigeration, snowball cookies are a great dessert choice for any holiday party or gathering.
They are easy to transport, and leftovers can be stored in a covered container on the counter for three to five days. Of course, that’s only if there are any leftovers!
The dough can be made days in advance and refrigerated, or rolled into balls and frozen to bake at a later time. And the cookie dough is naturally egg free.
More holiday cookie recipes
Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Snowball Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour (white, spelt, ww pastry, or Bob's gf work)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts or almonds or pecans
- 1 cup butter or coconut oil
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar or sugar free powdered sugar
- optional additional powdered sugar or cocoa powder, for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Combine the butter with the powdered sugar, and beat in a medium bowl or stand mixer. Stir together the flour and nuts in a separate bowl. Then mix all ingredients together to form a dough. Shape into balls, place on a cookie sheet, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until lightly browned. Ready an extra bowl of powdered sugar, and roll the warm cookies in this bowl to coat. Cool on a wire rack.*You may omit the nuts if desired. I cannot recommend using any flours not listed here or substituting a low fat butter spread, because I have not tried these substitutions. Feel free to experiment at your own risk, and be sure to report back for other readers if you do!View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
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looks and sounds delicious!! That is a beautiful tart and a fantastic sounding recipe. Your posts are always easy to understand and Helpful.
Snowball cookies are my absolute favorite holiday cookie. I tried this recipe for the first time this year since I was hosting Christmas Eve and they were a hit! I used pecans. The only modification I made was to add a tsp of almond extract. So good! Thank you!
My mommy makes Russian Tea Cakes. Ofdly, the holidays haven’t been the same for years, and now there is always some new easy way that forgets the prayer and meditation of tradition, that takes the time of preparation to focus on the nature of ur life that gives and shares.
I make these every year, but always do something a little differently each time. This year’s had hazelnuts, dried cranberries, and about half the flour was oat flour. I use real butter and sugar–so they aren’t the “healthiest” but I feel these can be a healthier option, depending on what you add to them.
I like the idea of using coconut oil, coconut flour, and unsweeted coconut flakes. That will probably be the next time.
Using hazelnuts sounds so amazing! I need to try this!
Mmm…truly melts in the mouth..
You can definitely omit the nuts altogether, add in a 1tsp of vanilla and pinch of salt. Ive been making them nut free for over 20 years. Still delicious! Thanks Katie!
This is really good to know, thank you!!!
I made the snowball cookies with some substitutions. I used einkorn flour, the coconut oil rather than butter, and raw macadamia nuts. They tasted just like the Mexican Wedding Cookies I remember eating as a kid. However, they didn’t stay in a nice round ball shape, but melted down to what looked like regular cookies – maybe not quite as flat as a regular cookie. I thought maybe refrigerating the dough for 10 minutes or so prior to rolling them into balls would help them retain their shape, but it didn’t. The first batch that went in the oven was at room temperature when they went in the oven, but when they flattened, I decided to refrigerate the remaining dough, but the refrigerated ones were really difficult to get into a ball shape (the coconut oil got too hard, I guess), and they still flattened.
I’ve never tried einkorn flour, but it sounds so interesting. Going to look it up now!
I was wondering, would a tsp of cherry flavoring and pistachios work?
That sounds amazing!
Can you make these with almond flour?
We haven’t tried so do not know, but be sure to report back if you experiment!
Jason (media relations)
Can you clarify why it says the cookies should only be stored for 3-5 days? I read elsewhere that these type of cookies should last up to a month. It just has me concerned since I’m gifting them and I can’t get them to all of the people so quickly! 🙂 (I did already make them and they turned out great, although I rolled them in powdered sugar twice – once when warm and then again once they’d cooled!). Thank you – love your recipes!
Hi, it’s just for freshness. Katie’s version is pretty similar to other versions, so if you’ve had success keeping them longer then I wouldn’t see it being a problem… we just don’t know because we haven’t ever kept them around that long!
Jason (media relations)