These festive snowball cookies are made with finely chopped walnuts, flour, butter and vanilla, then rolled into balls and dusted with powdered sugar. They freeze and ship well too!
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This was my absolute favorite Christmas cookie growing up. Mum made them in heaps and we popped the walnut-sized balls into our mouths as fast as she made them.
The best nuts for snowball cookies
We’ve always made these cookies with walnuts, but pecans are also common. While we always called these “nut balls,” I’ve seen similar cookies called Mexican Wedding Cookies and Russian Tea Cakes. No matter what you call them, these cookies are addictive.
Consider this a starter recipe suitable for a small family. If you have a crowd, double it.
How to Freeze Snowball Cookies
These cookies keep well in the freezer, either baked or unbaked, for at least a month. If it’s unbaked, it doesn’t need to be thawed; Just add a minute or two to the baking time. When they’re baked, roll them in powdered sugar for the first round, freeze them, and then roll them in powdered sugar again after thawing.
Troubleshooting Snowball cookies
- Flour selection: If you want the cookies to be melt-in-your-mouth tender, use cake flour. All-purpose flour has been the standard in these cookies for years, and it works well.
- Crumbly dough: Pour a little cold water over it and gently knead it in.
- If you keep the dough in the fridge overnight, allow it to come to room temperature until pliable enough to shape. If the dough still seems crumbly, work it with your hands until the butter softens a little.
- Dough is too soft: Chill the dough until firm but pliable.
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Variations of snowball cookies to try
- Substitute almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, or another nut for the walnuts.
- Toast the nuts for extra flavor and let them cool before adding them to the batter.
- Although nuts are a classic in these cookies, one reader suggested substituting crunchy rice cereal for nuts if nut allergies are a concern.
- Another unlikely variant? Crushed potato chips for the walnuts.
- If using almonds, substitute almond extract for the vanilla extract.
- For gluten-free snowball cookies, use almond flour or gluten-free baking mix.
- Add some cinnamon to the powdered sugar.
How to store snowball cookies
Store snowball cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Or read the instructions above on how to freeze these cookies.
How to send snowball cookies as a gift!
Because these cookies can be kept at room temperature for up to 1 week, they make great gifts. Try to ship them as soon as possible after they’ve cooled completely. Follow these tips.
- Wrap cookies 2 x 2, bottoms touching, in plastic wrap.
- Buffer the cookies with wrapping material. Want an eco-friendly option? Just use popped popcorn!
- Make sure there is no room to slide around in the box to minimize damage to the cookies.
- Choose the fastest possible shipping method.
Looking for more Christmas cookies? Try these!
- chocolate sprinkles
- Cinnamon Schnapps Cookies
- Candy Cane Cookies
- Chocolate chip cookies with peppermint crust
Would you like to see ALL our Christmas cookies?
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From the editors of Simply Recipes
Walnut snowball cookies
You can make these cookies with wild black walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, hickory, or butternuts—anything will work just fine.
We usually use unsalted butter to make this recipe. If using salted butter, omit the pinch of salt.
ingredients
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1 Cup All-purpose or cake flour
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1 1/2 cups walnutsfinely chopped
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2 tablespoon granulated sugar
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1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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1 floor (113g) unsalted butterat room temperature
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prize Salt
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powdered sugarcoat (approx 1 Cup)
method
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make dough:
Mix all dry ingredients – flour, walnuts, salt, sugar – in a large bowl. Add the vanilla extract. Add the butter in small pieces and mix with your (clean!) hands until the mixture looks like a coarse flour with chunks of nuts in it.
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Cool dough:
Chill the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.
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Preheat the oven:
Preheat oven to 300°F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment or silicone baking mats.
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Shape the dough into balls:
Shape the dough into small balls, no larger than a walnut, and place at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart on the baking sheet.
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Bake:
Bake the cookies for 35 minutes.
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Roll in powdered sugar:
When the cookies are still warm but cool enough to touch, roll them in powdered sugar. Leave to cool completely on a wire rack. After cooling, dust again with icing sugar.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 149 | calories |
| 11g | Fat |
| 13g | carbohydrates |
| 2g | protein |
