Snowball cookies are some of the easiest Christmas cookies you could make—you need just 5 ingredients and 1 mixing bowl. These snowballs are a classic on the Christmas cookie tray, and optional toasted pecans add the loveliest flavor and texture! Without any complicated steps or ingredients, you can be confident this easy snowball cookie recipe is foolproof.
I originally published this recipe in 2015 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and a few more success tips.
These sugar-dusted crumbly shortbread cookies have been around for ages, and there’s just something so irresistible about them. They’re uniquely buttery and dense with a melt-in-your-mouth texture—it’s hard to stop at just 1!
One reader, Jaye, commented: “I decided to try out this cookie this year for the assorted cookie boxes I give to neighbors and friends. It was an absolute hit. In fact, my partner LOVED these cookies so much that she has declared them her new favorite cookie. Thanks for the recipe! ★★★★★“
What Are Snowball Cookies?
Snowball cookies are part butter, part flour, and part confectioners’ sugar. Sometimes they include chopped nuts, as well (try them with toasted pecans!). The confectioners’ sugar not only goes into the cookie dough, but also coats the outside of the cookie for that iconic snow-dusted exterior. There are no eggs or leavening agents in traditional snowball cookie recipes.
What do you call these cookies? They have many names, and are usually made with nuts or nut flour as an add-in. Names include Russian tea cakes, Mexican wedding cookies, butterballs, snowdrops, and more. If formed into crescent shapes, they can be called Viennese crescents or Greek kourabiedes.
These easy cookies are a steadfast staple on my cookie platter—alongside other classics like gingerbread cookies, pinwheel cookies, peanut butter blossoms, and chocolate crinkle cookies.
Here’s Why You’ll Love Them
- Melt-in-your-mouth texture, similar to almond crescent cookies
- Buttery, dense, and sweet
- Incredibly easy to make
- 1-bowl recipe
- Just 5 ingredients
- Leave them plain, or add chopped nuts or colorful sprinkles
- Only 30 minutes of dough-chilling time
- A classic Christmas cookie everyone should try!
Snowball Cookie Ingredients (& Why You Need Them!)
With so few ingredients, each one has a very important job to do:
- Butter: Creamed butter forms the base of these shortbread-style cookies.
- Confectioners’ Sugar: A little in the dough, and then roll the baked cookies in the rest.
- Vanilla Extract: Adds flavor, especially if using homemade vanilla extract!
- Flour: This is the structure of the cookie.
- Salt: To balance out the sweet. Note that it can be optional if using salted butter, like we do in the video tutorial below.
- Optional: Finely chopped toasted pecans for delicious flavor. You know, just in case you have extra pecans leftover from your sweet potato casserole!
The ratio of butter to sugar to flour in the cookie dough varies between snowball cookie recipes, but I find 1 cup butter, 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, and 2 and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour to be the sweet spot. Again, you’ll need extra confectioners’ sugar for the coating.
Expect a Crumbly Dough
The cookie dough comes together in just 1 bowl. It will be super thick, to the point where you don’t think it will come together. Turn your mixer up and watch the buttery goodness form before your eyes.
The dough will come together, I promise:
Chill the dough for just 30 minutes to help that creamed butter solidify, which helps guarantee your rounded cookies stay… well, rounded! Without chilling, your cookies could spread flat.
Use a Tablespoon measure to portion the chilled dough, and then roll into balls:
Unlike lemon crinkle cookies and chocolate crinkle cookies, we bake the cookies first and then we’ll roll in confectioners’ sugar… the best part of this iconic cookie!
How Do You Make the Confectioners’ Sugar Stick?
After the cookies bake, roll each one in confectioners’ sugar. The trick to the stick (ha!) is to roll them twice. Give the cookies their first coating when they are slightly warm. As the cookies cool, the confectioners’ sugar will melt into them. (It tastes amazing.) After the cookies have cooled, coat them in confectioners’ sugar one more time, and they’ll be as beautifully snowy as the final scene of a Hallmark Christmas movie.
3 Success Tips
- Use proper room temperature butter. Like when making Christmas sugar cookies or butter cookies, if your butter is too soft when you start, it won’t form a sturdy base for your cookie dough. The cookies will over-spread and taste greasy & dense.
- Make sure you use confectioners’ sugar (aka powdered sugar or icing sugar) in the cookie dough. Granulated sugar causes the cookies to over-spread and they’ll lose their “snowball” shape.
- Coat the cookies with confectioners’ sugar twice, once when warm and again when cool, because the first layer melts like a… well, a warm snowball! 😉
Try My Pecan Snowball Cookies
Want to make the best snowball cookies? Add some toasted pecans. Popping pecans in the oven for a brief 8–10 minutes elevates their flavor, and is a welcome step in my pecan sugar cookies. All you do is scatter them on a baking sheet and bake them until you smell that toasty goodness. I usually use a food processor to pulse the warm toasted nuts a few times. It’s that easy.
You can also use finely chopped (and toasted, if desired) walnuts, almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts, or macadamia nuts.
Even More Variations
Instead of nuts, try adding sprinkles. Regular jimmie-type sprinkles are the best choice. And if you want some other variations, try my peppermint snowball cookies, cranberry spice cookies, pistachio cookies, and lemon coconut shortbread cookies! I even have a recipe for chai spice snowball cookies in my book, Sally’s Cookie Addiction.
Though the name varies, one thing’s certain: these snowball cookies always disappear quickly. There’s a reason they’re enjoyed in so many countries around the world!
More Classic Christmas Cookie Recipes
- Gingerbread Cookies
- Christmas Sugar Cookies
- Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Spritz Cookies
- Homemade Gingerbread House
- Peppermint Meltaways
- Snickerdoodles
- Candy Cane Kiss Cookies
Snowball Cookies Recipe
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 36 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Eurpoean
Description
This cookie dough is made from just 5 ingredients in 1 mixing bowl and only needs 30 minutes of chill time before baking. Without any complicated steps or ingredients, you can be confident this easy snowball cookie recipe is foolproof. Toasted pecans are optional, but add the loveliest flavor!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (90g) confectioners’ sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt (see note)
- optional: 3/4 cup (100g) finely chopped and toasted pecans*
Coating
- 1 and 1/4 cups (150g) confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- In a large bowl using a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute on medium speed until completely smooth and creamy. Add 3/4 cup (90g) confectioners’ sugar and beat on medium high speed until combined and creamy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Next, beat in the vanilla extract on medium-high speed until combined. Switch to low speed and slowly add the flour and salt. The dough will look dry and you may not think the flour will fully combine. Once all of the flour is added, turn the mixer up to high speed. The dough will come together. Finally, beat in the chopped pecans, if using.
- Cover the cookie dough tightly and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 days. (If chilling for 3+ hours, make sure you let the cookie dough sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before rolling into balls. The cookie dough will be very stiff after being in the refrigerator for that long.)
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside. Pour the confectioners’ sugar needed for the coating into a shallow bowl.
- Scoop or roll 1 Tablespoon (20g) of cookie dough per cookie. Roll into a ball and place on the baking sheets, at least 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies until golden brown on the bottom edges and just barely browned on top, about 15 minutes.
- Coating: Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then very gently roll them in the confectioners’ sugar to coat completely. Place the cookies on wire racks to cool completely. The confectioners’ sugar will melt a bit and get sticky; that’s ok. Once the cookies have completely cooled, roll in confectioners’ sugar again. This is when the sugar will really stick.
- Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Baked cookies freeze well up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. See this post on how to freeze cookie dough for more information and a video tutorial.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Glass Mixing Bowl | Cooling Rack
- Salt: The video uses salted butter, so I skip the salt. Feel free to use salted butter and skip the added salt in the recipe.
- To Toast the Pecans: Spread chopped pecans on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 8–10 minutes at 300°F (150°C). Let them slightly cool. Then, give them a very fine chop with a sharp knife or pulse a few times in a food processor. You want small pieces of nuts. Feel free to skip the toasting step and just use finely chopped pecans.
- Sprinkles or Other Nuts: You can also use finely chopped (and toasted, if desired) walnuts, almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts, or macadamia nuts. Toast according to the same directions as pecans in Note above. Instead of nuts, you can beat in 1/2 cup sprinkles.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I am a lousy cook but a really good Baker. All your recipes turn out beautifully. I have never had one fail. But I have got to stop reading the comments. People forget Baking is science and cooking is more art. You cannot just change ingredients up all willy nilly and expect them to work out the same way.
My advice is FOLLOW THE RECIPE EXACTLY and they will turn out beautifully.
Erica, well said! These are delicious IF the recipe is followed!
Delicious! These remind me of cookies my grandma used to make at Christmas.
Thank you for the recipe 🙂
I just made 2 batches of dough for a cookie swap tomorrow night. It never came together, all powdery. Is there any way to salvage all these ingredients to form cookies? I put the jimmies in not pecans. My butter had been out all day. I can’t even rate the recipe since I never made it past the bowl ):
Hi MB! It sounds like there may be too much flour or powdered sugar in your dough. How did you measure them? Make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too much into your measuring cups – or use a kitchen scale. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post. For this batch, you can try bringing the dough together with just a little milk or water.
I found this recipe to be quite time consuming, & not worth making again.
1) It takes a while to chop the candy canes. I know you can buy them already chopped, but I wanted some “control” over the size of the pieces. Although I made them very small, the pieces that were near the edge of the cookie, melted onto the parchment.
2) I made 30, & wish I had gone with the 36. They are messy to eat. Had I made them smaller, one could just pop the snowball into one’s mouth instead of taking a bite & have the powdered sugar fall off.
3)They are messy to coat, both the first time & the 2nd coating.
4) I thought 1 1/4 cups of powdered sugar was going to be too much, but it wasn’t.
I’ve made many of Sally’s cookies & love them all, but this is an exception.
I feel like you can’t fairly give the recipe a low rating for taking too long because you chose to do it in a time consuming way. You also said they were messy to eat but didn’t follow the directions and made them larger. This is the recipe for snowballs with nuts. The peppermint kind is on a different page. Sorry, I just can’t stand people who write reviews like this. Anyway, I love this recipe and come back to it every year.
Do you think I could add toffee bits for 1/2 the nuts?
Absolutely – yum!
Hi Sally,
I was wondering if: you can do nuts AND mini chocolate chips? Also, separate recipe add rum extract and vanilla?
Hi Wendy! You can add both – just keep the total amount to 3/4 cup. You can also add some rum extract in the place of some of the vanilla. Let us know how it goes!
I have made these 3 times already!! They turn out delicious!!!
This recipe didn’t disappoint. I made slightly different by cutting the icing sugar by 1/4 cup and adding 1 tsp. of almond extract. The texture was perfect.
I use this Web site for every cookie, cake, etc. Thank you Sally
What kind of salt do you use…iodized…sea…Kosher (Diamond or Morton)?
Hi Paula, Morton’s table salt. Hope this helps!
Made these for a Hanukkah party tonight. They’re delicious! Like little balls of shortbread
What oven temperature do you use to toast the pecans?
Hi Susan, see recipe notes for details!
Can I add mini chocolate chips and diced maraschino cherries? Thank you!
Hi Kay Gee, mini chocolate chips would be great! If you try maraschino cherries, make sure they are finely chopped and try to blot out as much excess moisture as possible. Let us know how they turn out for you!
Left out the nuts and added 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips and 6 finely minced and well drained maraschino cherries. Also substituted almond extract for the vanilla. Totally delicious!
No matter how long I mixed them, would not come together. And I tried a long time. Seen other recipes with less flour, maybe that’s the issue. They came together when I started hand mixing finally.
Hi Karina, the cookies will spread a little too much if you reduce the flour. However, you could start with butter that’s a little softer and that should help. Or you can add a couple drops of water as the dough is mixing to help it bind.
Flat! Not round. I followed this recipe to the letter. I am so disappointed in this recipe. Flat cookies, not round. A waste of time and ingredients. My house is 60 degrees. The dough was refrigerated for an hour before rolling. I rolled them quickly so the heat of my hand wouldn’t warm the dough. I use a scale for measuring. I am very disappointed as I needed these for a cookie swap.
I love these cookies and have never failed to make them at Christmastime. The only difference is that I use almond extract and chopped walnuts (because we have a walnut tree!) and it’s insanely good. My favorite Christmas cookie EVER!!
Thank you for this wonderful recipe, tops, etc.! Can these be kept in a zip lock bag?
Hi Barb, sure can!
My family loves these cookies, I Have a similar recipe the only difference is I use 1/4 c less flour. They turn out so yummy! I was wondering if I add the extra 1/4 cup what the texture would be like? Or if the balls would have a rounder look, mine do tend to be round but not perfectly round they have a nice crumb. The butter does have to not be overly soft though.
Can I add M&M’s instead of pecans?
Hi Raquel, if you can chop/crush the M&Ms into fine pieces like the pecans, you could probably use them. When I crush M&Ms, I usually place them in a large zip-top bag and bang on it with a rolling pin. Honestly, that’s the easiest way!
I love this recipe! Question- if I bake these and freeze them, do I roll them in sugar before freezing or after?
Hi Mercedes, you can do the 2x confectioners’ sugar coating as instructed, and then freeze the cooled cookies. The sugar coating is still intact after thawing.
How many cookies does this snowball recipe make?
Hi Gigi, this recipe yields 36 cookies.
Any idea how these would work with something like Earth Balance sticks or another alternative to butter? These have always been a family favorite but my son is recently dairy free.
Hi Amy, we haven’t tested these cookies with a plant based butter, but please let us know if you do!
Can you put chopped pretzels in the cookie dough? I can’t eat nuts and use the pretzels alot for the texture also.
Hi Sue, that should work nicely! Be sure to give them a good chop before adding to the dough. You may find that the pretzels start to soften a bit as the days go on. Please do let us know if you give it a try!
The email calls them Peppermint Snowball Cookies but where is the step to add in peppermint?
Hi Ashley, this is our traditional snowball cookies recipe—here is the peppermint snowballs version!
I have loved, what we also called Pecan Snowballs, since I was a child. I’m going to try this recipe for our family Christmas get together. Can’t wait to do it, will let you know the results, and family comments, after Christmas. Love your stuff!
What do you think of changing the process of chilling the dough and form the balls and refrigerate them for 30 minutes. Then take out of frig and bake, keeping the others in frig until ready to bake.
Hi Patricia, that could certainly work here.
I desperately miss Keebler’s discontinued wedding cookies. Do you know what all changes I should make to this recipe to get a similar taste to the Keebler cookies? They seemed to include chocolate and coconut, and so far I haven’t found a recipe similar to that.
Hi Sara, we wish we could help, but we haven’t tested any versions of these cookies with chocolate and coconut. Both can be quite drying, so it would take some recipe testing to determine how best to properly add them to the dough. We do, however, have these no-bake chocolate coconut snowballs that you might enjoy instead!
Hi I have made these before and they turned out perfect, but today I did something wrong because they’re spreading
Hi Yyonne, We are glad they turned out well for you before! It’s possible that your butter was too warm this time. Room temperature butter is much cooler than most think. Warmer butter, even though you are chilling the cookie dough, will lead to more spreading. You will find this post on room temperature butter very helpful.
I have tried and love this recipe (Snowball). I wonder about rolling the dough and cutting out cookie shapes – is that a fool’s errand since the dough is crumbly? Do any other shapes work, or is rolling to a sphere best for this recipe? Thank you!
Hi Trina, you’re right – this dough would be too crumbly for cut-out cookies. Best to stick with our favorite sugar cookies or these pecan sugar cookies!
How do I store these snowball cookies in plastic container or tin? I need to transport to an out of town wedding.
Hi Kathy, either sealed container should be fine!