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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YUM! I made these with Bob’s Red Mill 1to1 gluten free flour and they are delicious! A little too delicate and spread a bit, so I think I will add a bit more xanthan gum next time- not quite enough in the flour I think. Because they were so delicate, I sprinkled them with powdered sugar instead of rolling them. Worked just fine. Thank you for the recipe!
What is the best way to store these snowball cookies ? Would they be ok in fridge ?
No need to refrigerate if you’re just keeping them a few days. They can be stored in a container like traditional cookies :).
Is it a tablespoonful I should be proportioning out?
I love most of CCK’s recipes but this one was an EPIC FAIL I used coconut oil to make these a vegan friendly version and the balls melted into squares in the oven. I still don’t understand how they would have kept their shape if I had made them with butter instead. They crumble apart very easily and the taste isn’t so great either. This is one recipe I wouldn’t bother to make again. Don’t worry CCK, I still love you!
Oh no! What specific ingredients did you use? This is just a basic snowball cookie recipe that’s going to be pretty similar anywhere online and has been passed down from generations, so it definitely should work. Unless snowball cookies just aren’t your cup of tea, which is totally ok too! But if you reply with more specifics, hopefully we can help.
I made these snowball cookies with coconut oil and Bob’s Red Mill GF flour and they turned out fine. When they came out of the oven the side of the cookie on the sheet was flat but the rest was nice and round. I weigh each piece of dough to 14 g. for exact size cookies. That’s just me. I had to put them away quickly so my grandsons did not eat them all up at once!!!
Thank you so much for trying them!
Add a bit of vanilla makes all the difference in the world! My Mom for a while kept moving a vanilla bean from bag of powdered sugar to the next! It actually made the cookies taste really good if I forgot to put in dough.
I had a similar experience. Wouldn’t call it an epic fail as they tasted delicious, but they did flatten out. I just dusted them with powdered sugar and served them as ‘post-snowball-fight snowball cookies’ and my family loved them. I used coconut oil, ww pastry flour, walnuts and powdered sugar. I was going to try them again with vegan butter and see if they kept their roundness. I did melt the coconut oil before using. I see it doesn’t say to do that but I wouldn’t know how to mix it in otherwise.
They are a dry cookie that crumbles easily. Did you refrigerate the dough?
Absolutely wonderful recipe! I love how light and easy these cookies are to make. I used vegan butter instead of regular butter, and they are unbelievably good! Thanks, Katie, for this fantastic recipe!
Thank you so much for making them 🙂
Easy to make, and delicious 😋. I used coconut oil and almonds, also, I add 1/2 teaspoon of almond and vanilla extract, so good! I didn’t need to dust the cookies with extra sugar .
Thank you for making them 🙂
Hi
Can i make these cookies with half cup of butter and half cup of coconut oil mixed together??
We have never tried that but would think it should work!
Thanks I had this same question.
My family has always made them with Filbert nuts.
i made these delicious things with pecans the first time with my dad’s girlfriend’s recipe and they turned out amazing. This time, i tried your recipe and used walnuts and they also turned out perfect. I added vanilla and salt, though, as the first recipe I used had some and i feel like it makes a good difference. thank you!!
Thank you so much for making them 🙂
These are great tasting cookies. Hubby loves them. I have made them by the recipe but today I made substitutions. I used 1 cup almond flour and 1 cup coconut flour and used Swerve powdered sugar. They had to cool for about 10 minutes and were tender to handle but the taste is great.