These tender Snowball Cookies are filled with chocolate chips and coated in pumpkin pie spice. They are perfect on a holiday cookie tray or great served with a cup of tea!
Snowball Cookie Recipe
Snowball cookies are a quintessential part of any holiday cookie tray, but they shouldn’t be relegated just to the month of December. Have you ever had one? They’re a rich and buttery, round shortbread cookie, coated in powdered sugar. Every bite just melts in your mouth.
They’re also referred to as Mexican Wedding Cookies, Russian Tea Cookies, and Snowdrops, but I always call them Snowball cookies because…they look like a snowball!
Ingredients Needed
This snowball cookie recipe is made with just a handful of ingredients.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)
- Unsalted butter – I prefer to use unsalted butter and add in some salt separately to control the amount better. Make sure it’s room temperature so it blends properly.
- Powdered sugar – This is used in the dough and also for the exterior coating. This creates a softer more tender crumb than granulated sugar.
- Vanilla – For added flavor.
- All-purpose flour – Spooned and leveled, not scooped, for accurate measuring.
- Coarse salt – To balance out the sweetness.
- Semisweet chocolate chips – Adds a delicious chocolate taste to the cookies. These can be replaced with nuts, if you’d like.
- Pumpkin pie spice – Mixed with the powdered sugar that coats the cookies. Feel free to swap it out with just cinnamon, if preferred.
How To Make Snowball Cookies
Snowball cookies are made very similar to most drop cookies, except with a few minor differences. Powdered sugar is used in the dough instead of granulated sugar, they’re rolled into balls without flattening, chilled, and coated in powdered sugar once baked. Here’s a quick rundown.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)
- Cream together the butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar.
- Add in the dry ingredients, scraping down the bowl a few times.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Form tablespoon-sized balls of dough.
- Place on parchment lined baking sheets.
- Chill the balls of cookie dough.
- Bake and then coat in a mix of seasoned powdered sugar, twice.
Tips for Success
- Powdered sugar is used in place of granulated sugar. Powdered sugar helps the cookies hold their shape while baking and prevents them from spreading too much.
- Spoon and level when measuring the flour instead of scooping. This will get you a more accurate measurement and prevent a dry, crumbly cookie.
- Use a one-tablespoon cookie scoop. This ensures uniformity so they all bake the same.
- Don’t skip chilling the dough balls. Chilling the formed dough balls helps them maintain their round shape.
Proper Storage
- How long do snowball cookies stay fresh? They will keep up to 4 days at room temperature, stored in an airtight container, and up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
- Can snowball cookies be frozen? Yes! They are a great make-ahead cookie. Wait for them to cool completely, then after the second roll in powdered sugar gently place them in a freezer bag without touching. Remove as much air as possible and freeze up to 4 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then bring to room temperature and gently roll them in powdered sugar again to freshen them up. NOTE: These are delicate cookies, so when transferring them to the freezer, make sure they’ll be placed in an area where there isn’t much movement or anything on top of them, or they can crumble once thawed.
More Holiday Cookies:
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Snowball Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter , room temperature
- 1 & 1/2 cups powdered sugar , divided
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 & 1/4 cups all-purpose flour , spooned and leveled
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or cinnamon)
Instructions
- Line a baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter, a 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar, and vanilla on high with a handheld electric or stand mixer, until light and fluffy. Turn the mixer down to low and add in the the all-purpose flour and salt, scraping down the bowl once or twice. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Using a one tablespoon-sized cookie scoop, measure out the dough and form balls with your hands. Place on baking sheets. (Do not flatten.)
- Chill cookies in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Bake cookies for about 17-18 minutes until set and lightly browned on the bottom (the surface color will stay beige.)
- While cookies are baking, whisk together the remaining 1 cup of powdered sugar and the pumpkin pie spice in a bowl.
- Remove cookies from the oven and allow to sit for 2 minutes, then gently coat them with the pumpkin pie spice mixture.
- Set aside to cool for 20 minutes, then toss them in the spice mixture again.
- Eat and enjoy!
Melt in your mouth delicious!
These were wonderful! Loved the pumpkin spice addition.