Snowball Cookies are a delectable concoction of butter, flour, and sugar. This no-nut version of the classic snowball cookie recipe is a delicious must-make for your cookie plate.
They are a wonderful addition to a Christmas Cookie tray of Chocolate Chip Cookies and Mint Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, but don’t hesitate to serve them well into the New Year. Snowball Cookies are a welcome treat almost any time!
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You’ve had these traditional holiday cookies before, I’m sure. They’re known by other names: Mexican Wedding Cookies, Mexican Wedding Cakes, Swedish Tea Cakes, Russian Teacakes. At our house we call them Snowballs. And they are a favorite, indeed.
These classic Snowball Cookies are soooooo good. I mean, butter, flour, sugar and nuts? You really can’t go wrong with that combination. Except for the nuts…
in a nut allergy home.
Years ago, I decided to omit the traditional chopped pecans from my favorite cookie recipe to make them free of nuts so that my younger daughter could enjoy them along with the rest of us. Nut-Free Cookies are fun for everyone!
If you’re avoiding nuts as well — or even if you’re not — I nominate these as a must-make on your cookie plate this holiday season.
(I promise you won’t miss the nuts, but I’ve also included plenty of mix-in options below if you want to gussy up this snowball cookies recipe.)
Why Make This
They are easy! The dough mixes up quickly with a mixer or food processor and bakes in a flash.
They are freezer-friendly. These are top of my list of Christmas Cookies to Make-Ahead and Freeze. They thaw quickly so you can keep a stash on hand and not worry about thawing them too far in advance.
They are delicious. Whether you make our standard recipe or try one of the variations, you’re sure to enjoy these buttery sweet treats.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make Snowball Cookies:
butter – I use real dairy butter, softened, but you can use margarine or another plant-based butter.
powdered sugar – You’ll use powdered sugar in the cookie dough as well as for rolling the baked cookies when they come out of the oven.
vanilla extract – Vanilla adds just enough flavor to these cookies. So good! Remember, making your own vanilla extract is the cheapest way to go.
flour – I like to use unbleached, all-purpose flour but you can use regular as well.
salt – Don’t omit the salt. It’s the perfect foil for the sweetness of the cookie.
Variations
There are lots of ways to level up your Snowball Cookies.
- Mix-ins – Reduce the flour to 2 cups and stir in ¼ cup finely chopped nuts, such as finely chopped pecans, mini chocolate chips, toffee bits, or jimmies sprinkles.
- Extracts – I like vanilla, but you can use rum, almond, or cake batter extract.
- Coatings – Instead of rolling the baked cookie in powdered sugar, you can dip or drizzle them in chocolate. They won’t look like snowballs anymore, but they’ll be delicious.
Pro tip: I do recommend that you weigh the flour to get the proper ratio of flour to butter. If you scoop the flour, you risk having a very dry dough. It’s not the end of the world, just pack the dough with your hands to get it to stick together. Weighing your flour is simple and easy, though, so go with that!
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s how to make Snowball Cookies:
Preheat the oven to 400°. Line sheet pans with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Combine the butter, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of a food processor or in a mixing bowl with a mixer.
Add the flour and salt. Blend until a coarse crumby dough forms.
Shape the dough into walnut-sized balls, pressing to pack the dough together.
Place the dough balls on an ungreased cookie sheet or one lined with a silpat baking mat. Bake until set about 9 minutes. Do not brown.
Roll the warm cookies in powdered sugar. Cool and serve.
Storage: Snowball Cookies are good for up to 4 days at room temperature. Freeze completely cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to 6 weeks. To serve: simply remove from packaging, thaw and serve.
TLDR? Watch the Easy Snowball Cookies web story.
FAQs
Snowball Cookies have just a few ingredients: butter, sugar, vanilla extract, flour, and salt. Some recipes include finely chopped nuts or other mixins.
You do not need to refrigerate Snowball Cookies. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature. They should be good for 4 to 7 days. Freeze for longer storage.
Yes! You can make Snowball Cookies without nuts for a tasty Nut-free Cookie.
They should be good at room temperature for 4 to 7 days, depending on how warm the room is. Freeze them for up to 6 weeks.
Favorite Christmas Cookie Recipes
Be sure to check out more reader favorite holiday cookies!
Tell us what you think!
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Snowball Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- ½ cup powdered sugar plus additional powdered sugar for rolling
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°. Line sheet pans with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Combine the butter, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of a food processor (or in a mixing bowl with a mixer). Add the flour and salt. Pulse until coarse crumbs forms. Shape the dough into walnut-sized balls, pressing to pack your own snowball cookies.
- Place the dough balls on an ungreased cookie sheet or one lined with a silpat baking mat. Bake until set about 9 minutes. Do not brown. Roll the warm cookies in powdered sugar.
Notes
- Mix-ins – Reduce the flour to 2 cups and stir in ¼ cup finely chopped nuts, such as finely chopped pecans, mini chocolate chips, toffee bits, or jimmies sprinkles.
- Extracts – I like vanilla, but you can use rum, almond, or cake batter extract.
- Coatings – Instead of rolling the baked cookie in powdered sugar, you can dip or drizzle them in chocolate. They won’t look like snowballs anymore, but they’ll be delicious.
Nutrition
This post was originally published on December 14, 2010. It has been updated for content and clarity.
LynnC
My grandmother made these with crushed hazelnuts. She called them “Baby Moon’s Cookies” Moon was a nickname for her oldest son. They were the ONLY cookie he asked for. lol Wow I am not that narrow about my cookie choices.
Emily
Oh these are my FAVORITE! we call them Mexican wedding cakes, and we roll them twice in the sugar- when they are warm, and then again when they cool- the sugar sticks better than way. 🙂
Nicole
We make these every year except we roll them up with a hershey kiss in the middle . . .and we roll them in the sugar after they have mostly cooled otherwise they will be really sticky. Yum!
Michelle
Please help!!!! I made this recipe 3 times with the nuts, first time like the recipe said, 2nd time I refridgerated the dough before rolling and the 3rd time again like the recipe says……each time the cookies totally flattened out, what did I do wrong, I followed the measurements very carefully!!!! HELP
Jessica
I have no idea. Did you use butter or some other fat? That is really weird. I’ve never had that happen. I am not home right now, but when I get home, I will double check my notes in case I made a typing mistake. Hmmm…..
Were they good anyway?
Jessica
@Jessica, I checked the recipe and that is right. Hmm…
verna
@Jessica, same thing happened to me, my sister said i made the balls to big and it weighted them down. gonna try again today, measuring the size – 1 inch balls
Jessica
I guess I’m going to have to bake this week and find out WHAT is going on.
Kelly
I feel like maybe the dough should have been chilled first? Ours turned out flat and unable to roll in sugar.
Jessica Fisher
I would imagine the temp in your house could effect it. But, I just made these at Christmas and they weren’t flat. So sorry you had that experience.
Dawn
@Michelle, Did you use margerine instead of butter? I’ve found that margerine isn’t the same as butter in some recipes.
applegranny
dough cannot be rolled. the texture is similar to coarse ground cornmeal (polenta.) Scoop up a heaping tablespoon of dough and squeeze and roll around in the palm of your hand with a closed fist. That brings the dough together in the form of a ball. A somewhat tedious procedure but must be done.
Elle W
You posted this so long ago, but for the benefit of new readers: I’ve had this happen before when I tried to increase the powdered sugar to flour ratio. More powdered sugar=flattened cookies. Also, depending on your location, altitude can flatten cookies. Try reducing oven temperature to 325 degrees F and baking 13 to 15 minutes instead and use the following measurements for ingredients:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup finely chopped or ground almonds or pecans
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup powdered sugar for rolling
Happy Butterball baking!
AllieZirkle
YUM! I love the idea of these without nuts.
Emily
They were Kipples in our house growing up. Although I was never too crazy about them, probably because I don’t care for pecans.
Saralyn
They’re Mexican Wedding Cakes around here, and somehow we always seem to burn a pan. NOT tasty burnt, that’s for sure!
onemotherslove
I’ve never made them, but I’ve eaten plenty! We call them Mexican Wedding Cookies. And that looks easy, so I think we may make them tomorrow!
Cathie
These are one of my favorite cookies! My Nana (Great- Grandma) always made them and called them Russian Tea Cakes. We use chopped walnuts and I like them just roughly chopped so you get a nice chunk now and again!
Stephanie
My grandma always made these for me and called them mexican wedding cakes and they were a slightly flattened circle. I had asked my mom for the recipe a number of years ago and she lokked for it and said silly you always made these with grandma you better call her. Love LOVE LOVE all the food memories. I hope my kids have great food memories when they grow up…were working on it. Tomorrow night its donuts and hot cocoa in the car to look at lights.
Danielle
I love these cookies, but I’ve never made them because my husband is allergic to nuts. I think I might have to make them, my hubby always wanted to try some. A good one to make with the kiddos too, since there’s no egg in the batter. Thanks!
Cortney
Use pecans. We call ours butterballs. It’s best to make sure they’re cooled too before sugar coating them or the sugar will still melt. I’m making mine on saturday. As a little girl I would make them with my great-grandma and her sister every christmas!!
Carol D.
I love these! We call them Russian teacakes, although no one that I know of in our family is Russian. (Maybe it’s because you’re “Rush’en” to eat them?–Sorry!) I’m going to try to make them gluten free this year, so hopefully the butter and powdered sugar will keep them yummy! 🙂
Elle W
Have you perfected the gluten-free recipe, yet?
Trixie
I make these every year and you are right, they are SO GOOD! We call them pecan balls like the other poster, but I like the term, snowball cookies better.
cassey
While making these I realized you can eat all the dough you want, there is no egg!!! YEA
Jen
I grew up on these, with finely chopped almonds inside. We also call them snowball cookies! I’m making some this weekend for a cookie exchange party, so good… just don’t inhale all that powdered sugar! Or exhale, I suppose, if you’re talking to someone… party foul.
JessieLeigh
We call them “pecan balls”. How exciting, eh? But I guess I’d be changing that name with the omission of the pecans! 😀
Candy
White Mice!
cassey
If you want to add nuts do you know what the recipe calls for?
Jessica
You can add 3/4 cup finely chopped nuts when you add the flour.
Jenn L @ Peas and Crayons
ooooh i’ve had them soaked in booze before =) so festive! hehe