These snowball cookies are light and tender cookies studded with pecans and chocolate chips, then rolled in powdered sugar. A melt in your mouth treat that’s perfect for the holidays!
Snowball cookies are one of my must-make Christmas dessert favorites, along with eggnog cake, cream cheese spritz cookies, M&M cookies and stained glass cookies. I’ve put a spin on the classic snowball recipe with the addition of chocolate chips, because you can never have too much chocolate!
Every year I include some time honored classic recipes in my holiday baking, and these adorable little snowball cookies are always on the list. These cookies look like a snowball, hence the name. I added the chocolate because I think it really amps up the flavor of these Christmas cookies, and it’s fun to bite into a pure white cookie and see little flecks of chocolate goodness inside!
When you are in the mood for a Christmas recipe, try some of my favorite holiday dishes dishes like Christmas cookie dough dip, Christmas crack and slow cooker apple cider.
Table of Contents
Snowball Cookie Ingredients
To make these delicious snowball cookies you will need butter, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, flour, pecans, miniature chocolate chips and powdered sugar. See the recipe card below for amounts and details.
- Pecans: You can use pecan halves or chopped pecans. If you use pecan halves, make sure to chop your pecan halves into small pieces that are all about the same size.
- Powdered Sugar: Powdered sugar is finely ground sugar with cornstarch to keep it from clumping. For this recipe you can use powdered sugar or confectioners’ sugar.
- Miniature Chocolate Chips: Look for bags of mini chocolate chips. In a pinch you can chop up regular sized chocolate chips or chocolate chunks.
How Do You Make Snowball Cookies?
To make this snowball cookie recipe start by preheating your oven. Next beat butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract, flour, pecans and mini chocolate chips. Mix everything together until they form a crumbly shortbread style dough. Form the dough into little balls. Place them on a baking sheet and bake them in the oven until they are light brown. Finish the cookies with two coats of powdered sugar for an irresistible treat!
Tips For The Perfect Snowball Cookies
- Keep these cookies on the smaller side so that they hold their round shape when they bake.
- You can use a measuring spoon or cookie scoop to make sure the cookies come out similar in size.
- Finely chop the pecans so that they can be evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- You can use a food processor to chop your pecans. Simply pulse the food processor until you get small pieces.
- Use a stand mixer or electric mixer to make the dough.
- Feel free to let your cookies cool on a wire rack. If you use a wire rack, place paper towels under the rack to catch powdered sugar.
- You can freeze the cookie dough for up to one month, then thaw it and bake it at a later date.
- You can store snowball cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Quick Tip
Dip the cookies in powdered sugar two times – once when they’re hot, and a second time after they’ve cooled off.
Recipe FAQs
These cookies bake for 16-18 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are light golden brown. You don’t want to over bake your cookies as they’ll lose that melt-in-your-mouth texture and become tough if they spend too long in the oven.
I find that these cookies are best when eaten within 1-2 days. You can technically store them for longer than that, but the powdered sugar coating will start to dissolve over time. You can re-roll your cookies in powdered sugar right before serving if you’re planning to store your cookies for a while.
You can freeze snowball cookies for up to 2 months. When you want to eat them, thaw the cookies in your refrigerator and re-roll them in powdered sugar.
Follow Me
Flavor Variations
These classic Christmas cookies are fantastic treats as written; however, you can change the flavors to suit your own taste.
- No chocolate: Traditionally, snowball cookies are made with pecans, not chocolate. If you prefer to stick with pecans, you can add more nuts in place of the chocolate.
- Nuts: If you don’t want to use pecans, you can substitute walnuts, pistachios or almonds instead. You could also add 1/4 teaspoon almond extract.
- Orange: Make an orange version of the cookie by omitting the chocolate chips, adding more chopped pecans, 1 tablespoon of orange zest and one tablespoon of orange juice.
- Maple: Try a maple flavored cookie by removing chocolate chips, adding more chopped pecans and two tablespoons of maple syrup.
These little snowballs are a welcome addition to any holiday party, and I find that they’re often the first treat to be eaten! I love that this recipe makes enough to feed a crowd, so it’s perfect for entertaining. All of your guests will be asking for the recipe!
More Holiday Desserts
Peppermint Brownies
1 hr 10 mins
Red Velvet Cookies
35 mins
Reindeer Chow
11 mins
Candy Cane Hearts
16 mins
Buckeye Balls (Peanut Butter Balls)
1 hr 2 mins
Snowball Cookies Video
Love This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Snowball Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup finely chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.
- Place the butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of a mixer and beat until light and fluffy.
- Add the vanilla extract and beat for 30 seconds.
- Add the flour, pecans and chocolate chips. Mix on low speed until a crumbly dough forms.
- Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and place 1 1/2 inches apart on the prepared pans.
- Bake for 16-18 minutes until light brown. Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes, then roll them in the powdered sugar.
- Let the cookies cool completely then roll again in powdered sugar. Serve.
Notes
- Keep these cookies on the smaller side so that they hold their round shape when they bake.
- You can use a measuring spoon or cookie scoop to make sure the cookies come out similar in size.
- Dip the cookies in powdered sugar two times – once when they’re hot, and a second time after they’ve cooled off.
- Finely chop the pecans so that they can be evenly distributed throughout the dough.
Can I leave the sugar that is added to the butter because is already coated with sugar powder and I think that’s sweet enough.
Unfortunately it would not work to leave the sugar out of the dough!