What Are Snowball Cookies?

Snowball cookies are buttery, shortbread-like cookies that are rolled in powdered sugar (twice) for added sweetness and a snowy, fluffy finish. These cookies are made without eggs or leavening agents, which helps give them their famous crumbly but smooth texture.

Coating the cookies in the powdered sugar twice is key here—when you coat them warm, the steam of the cookies melts the powdered sugar so that it turns into a nice glaze-like consistency. And then when you dip them again cooled, the powdered sugar sticks to the "glaze" and gives you full, even coverage.

Snowball cookies go by several other names: Russian tea cookies, Mexican wedding cookies, snowshoes, butterballs, snow drops. Honestly, we'd eat these no matter the name, but if you see them called something else, you know you can always come back to snowball cookies for your recipe.

Ingredients for Snowball Cookies

Snowball cookies are made with five ingredients—and a sixth one (nuts) is optional. That's just one reason these cookies are so beloved during the busy holiday season. (Another reason? They don't require a lot of steps or fussy rolling and cutting.)

Unsalted butter: Butter is creamed for the base of this shortbread cookie, so it's an important component. If you use salted butter, scale back on the added salt so these cookies don't get too salty.
Powdered sugar: Instead of granulated sugar, powdered sugar is used to add sweetness to the dough. The cookies are also rolled in powdered sugar twice for that snow-like finish.
Vanilla extract: Show off with homemade vanilla extract.
Kosher salt: This balances the cookies' sweetness, but again, leave it out if you use salted butter so the cookies don't border on being too salty.
All-purpose flour: This type of flour provides the perfect balances of dense and tender texture.
Nuts (optional): If you want, you can include finely chopped nuts for extra flavor, color, and texture. Pecans are great, as are almond snowballs. But pick any nut you like and give it a try.

Southern Living Snowball Cookies ingredients — Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox

How To Make Snowball Cookies

This simple recipe requires no special tools or skills, and it doesn't include any rolling or cut-outs. In short, it's the prefect holiday cookie. Here's a brief outline of the process. The full recipe is further below:

Cream the butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract. Add the flour, and mix until well combined.
Chill the dough for about 30 minutes.
Scoop the dough onto parchment paper-lined pans.
Bake until the cookies are very light golden brown, rotating the pans half way through the baking process.
Let cool slightly. Sift powdered sugar into a bowl, and roll each cookie in the powdered sugar while still warm. Sit cookies on a wire rack, and let cool completely.
Once they are cooled, roll the cookies in the remaining powdered sugar. (Sift again if you need to make it more fluffy.)

Tips for the Best Snowball Cookies

Snowball cookies are incredibly, perfect for once-a-year bakers. But even easy recipes can be made better with a few well-timed tips:

Use softened butter: To get the perfect creamy consistency, it will help to make sure the butter is softened. Too soft, and the dough won't have the right texture.
Don't substitute granulated sugar: These cookies are designed to be made with powdered sugar in both the dough and the coating. Granulated sugar will not work.
Wait to roll: Unlike crinkle cookies, or these Chocolate Cool Whip Cookies, the powdered sugar coating goes on after these cookies are baked.
Roll twice: Don't skip out on the two different rolling stages. The first stage is important to create a slightly sticky glaze finish that will easily adhere to the powdered sugar on the second roll. And without the second roll, you don't have the beautiful snowball appearance.
Chill out: The 30-minute chill is necessary to prevent the cookies from spreading too much in the oven. It also gives time for the flour to be hydrated, resulting in a more tender cookie.

Variations for Snowball Cookies

Snowball cookies go by a lot of different names and have a good number of variations. Here are just a few of our favorites:

Add cinnamon to the dough and the powdered sugar coating to make a "snickerdoodle" version of the cookie.
Add extracts like anise or orange for subtle flavor changes.
Use citrus zest for floral notes with a hint of fruit flavor. Orange is particularly delicious.
Stir in some mini candies, like M&Ms, chocolate chips, or sprinkles for added color and variety.
Finely chop up dried fruit for a fruit-and-nut version of snowballs.

How To Store Snowball Cookies

Store snowball cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. In the fridge, they may last longer, but humidity and moisture could ruin the powdered sugar coating.

Can You Freeze Snowball Cookies?

You can freeze snowball cookies, baked or unbaked, but we prefer the unbaked method. Frozen baked cookies may crumble very easily.

Once you've scooped the cookies onto the baking sheet, move the sheet to the freezer, and freeze until the dough is hard. Then transfer the frozen dough to a ziplock bag, and keep up to 2 months. Bake from frozen, adding a few extra minutes to cook all the way through.

More Classic Cookie Recipes

Finish out your cookie tin with these classic holiday treats:

Ingredients

1 cup (8 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups (6 oz.) powdered sugar, unsifted, divided
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
2 1/4 cups (about 9 5/8 oz.) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (2 oz.) finely chopped toasted nuts (such as almonds, pecans, walnuts, or macadamia nuts), optional

Directions

Prepare oven and baking sheets:

Preheat oven to 350°F with racks in center and top third positions. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside.

Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
Cream butter and sugar:

Combine butter and 1/2 cup of the sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla and salt, and beat on medium speed until just combined, about 20 seconds.

Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
Add flour (and optional nuts):

Reduce mixer speed to low; gradually add flour, beating on low speed and stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed, until dough comes together, about 45 seconds total.

Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox

(If using nuts, fold in nuts until evenly dispersed).

Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
Chill dough:

Cover bowl, and chill until dough is slightly firmed and cold to the touch, about 30 minutes.

Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
Scoop dough:

Portion dough using a 1-inch (2-teaspoon, #60) cookie scoop, and roll into balls. Arrange dough balls at least 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets.

Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
Bake cookies:

Bake in preheated oven until dry and set to the touch and bottoms are very lightly golden, 12 to 14 minutes, rotating baking sheets between top and center racks after 7 minutes of bake time. Remove from oven. Let cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes.

Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
Roll cookies in sugar once:

Sift remaining 1 cup sugar into a medium-size shallow bowl. Roll warm cookies in sugar until lightly coated. Transfer cookies to a wire rack, and let cool completely, about 30 minutes. Do not discard sugar.

Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
Roll cookies in sugar again:

Roll cooled cookies in sugar again until fully coated.

Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox