Snowball Cookies
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This snowball cookies recipe makes tender, buttery cookies with an especially delicate, melt-in-your-mouth texture, thanks to almond flour.
Snowball cookies are tender, buttery little cookies typically made with finely chopped nuts and rolled in powdered sugar. I used to make them the old-fashioned way, chopping the nuts myself, but now that almond flour is readily available in most supermarkets, there’s really no need. The almond flour makes these snowball cookies much easier to make, with no chopping required.
You may also know snowball cookies as Mexican wedding cookies or Russian tea cakes, and similar nutty, powdered sugar-coated cookies appear in different forms all over the world, including Viennese crescents. Whatever you call them, these cookies are wonderfully simple and made with just a handful of ingredients and no eggs.
“SO good, they melt in your mouth!”
What You’ll Need To Make Snowball Cookies
- All-Purpose Flour & Almond Flour: The combination gives the cookies their delicate, crumbly texture. Measure the flour using the spoon-and-level method, and look for finely sifted or super-fine almond flour rather than almond meal, which is coarser.
- Unsalted Butter: Butter is a major flavor here, so use a good-quality one and make sure it’s softened before you begin so it creams properly with the sugar.
- Granulated Sugar: There’s surprisingly little sugar in the dough; most of the sweetness comes from the powdered sugar coating.
- Vanilla & Almond Extracts: A small amount of almond extract enhances the nutty flavor without overpowering the cookies.
- Confectioners’ Sugar: The cookies get a generous coating after baking for their signature snowy finish.
- Salt: Just enough to balance the sweetness and bring out the buttery, nutty flavors.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How To Make Snowball Cookies
Combine the dry ingredients: Whisk together the all-purpose flour, almond flour, and salt, breaking up any lumps in the almond flour as you go.
Make the dough: Beat the butter and granulated sugar until pale and creamy, then beat in the vanilla and almond extracts. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low just until the dough comes together. Refrigerate until the dough is firm enough to roll easily. It should feel firm but still pliable; if you leave it in the refrigerator too long and it becomes crumbly, a little kneading with your hands will bring it back together.
Shape and bake the cookies: Roll the dough into balls and arrange them on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until the tops are pale and the bottoms are lightly golden. Let cool briefly on the baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Coat with sugar: Let the cookies cool completely before coating them with confectioners’ sugar. For that snowy white finish, dust them again just before serving.
Storage and Freezing
To Store: Keep the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Dust them again with confectioners’ sugar before serving to freshen up the snowy coating.
To Freeze: Snowball cookies freeze beautifully for up to 3 months. See the recipe card below for detailed freezing and thawing instructions.
More Classic Christmas Cookie recipes
Snowball Cookies
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- ⅔ cup finely sifted/super-fine almond flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar, for coating
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, almond flour, and salt.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or beaters, beat the butter and granulated sugar on medium speed until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts. Add flour mixture and mix on low speed until the dough comes together. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the dough is firm enough to be easily handled.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and set two racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Roll the chilled dough into 1-in (2.5-cm) balls and place 2 in (5 cm) apart on the prepared baking sheets. (If the dough is crumbly from chilling longer than the recommended time, knead it slightly with your hands to make it more pliable.) Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking, until the cookies are pale on top and lightly golden on the bottom. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. When the cookies are cool, use a small fine sieve to dust the cookies all over with confectioners' sugar. (Alternatively, gently roll the cookies in the confectioners' sugar until coated.) Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Dust the cookies again with confectioners' sugar before serving.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Hi Jenn — Are these soft or crunchy cookies? I make Italian amaretti which has many similar ingredients, and in fact people often want to tell me they are “wedding cakes”. Mine are soft. Thanks!
They’re crunchy but tender if that makes sense — once you take a bite, it melts in your mouth. Hope you enjoy if you make them!
Can these be made gluten free?
No one has commented yet that they’ve made a gluten-free version of these, but I think you could. Please LMK how they turn out if you try it!
Hi there!
Can these be made without almond extract and almond flour? Love the idea…we’re just not a nut or nut-flavor loving family. Thanks in advance,
And Happy Holidays!
Hi Victoria, I think that would work. I’d replace the almond flour with more all-purpose flour and the almond extract with more vanilla extract. Please LMK how they turn out if you make them!
If using almond flour as written, would it be too much flavor change to add finely chopped pecans also. I have never used almond flour so not familiar with flavoring but I have purchased some for this recipe. Looking forward to baking this!
Thanks for your advice.
Hi Viki, You can replace some of the almond flour with ground pecans – I think it will be delicious! Please LMK how they turn out.
If freezing the cookie dough, do you roll them in the sugar before freezing?
Hi Wanda, These don’t get rolled in sugar until after baking, so if freezing the raw dough balls, you don’t need to worry about the confectioners’ sugar until you defrost and bake them.
Can I use all all-purpose flour and omit the almond flour?
Sure, the cookies will taste a bit different, but they will work with all all-purpose flour. Hope you enjoy!
I would like to freeze the cookies after I bake them. Should I roll them in the powdered sugar, and then freeze. Or, should I not roll them in the sugar until after I take them out of the freezer.
Thank you.
Hi Annette, I would roll them in sugar before freezing, and then dust them again after defrosting (before serving).
I have both your cookbooks and use recipes from your web site all the time. I have not made this recipe yet but I was so excited because you are the first person I know who also calls these cookies snowballs – just like we always did growing up. Keep your awesome recipes coming.
My mother used to make these, or a variation thereof, and they were a favorite of mine growing up. She didn’t bake much but she devoted time to these and a persimmon pudding around the holidays. Her version omitted the almond flour and added chopped walnuts. I remember how the cookies almost melted in my mouth. Alas, we’ve misplaced her original recipe, which was probably handed down to her by her own mother or grandmother. I’ll give yours a try and see how they compare.
Hi Jen, Thanks for all your awesome recipes. I have both your cookbooks too. I want to freeze these and see from your instructions that they can be frozen either before and after baking. Which method do you think gives better results?
Hi Linda, So glad you enjoy the recipes! Ideally, I’d freeze them before baking.
Hi Jen, love your recipes!!
Just wanted to let you know that in the metric section of this recipe the butter amount is doubled!
Yikes! Thank you, Aletta – it is fixed! 🙂