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 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, flour, pecans, miniature chocolate chips and powdered sugar.
How Do You Make Snowball Cookies?
To make this snowball cookie recipe start by beating butter and sugar 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 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.
- Use a stand mixer or electric mixer to make the dough.
- You can freeze the cookie dough for up to one month, then thawed 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.
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Flavor Variations
These 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 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.
Snowball cookies 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.
For some reason I couldn’t locate the recipe I usually make so I made this one. This recipe is so much better than my family favorite recipe! I’m so happy to find your site and this amazing recipe!
Can I leave out nuts and add extra choc chips?
Yes that’s fine!
This recipe is a classic. I love the addition of chocolate chips. I can’t wait to share this with everyone.
My kids loved these! They kept on asking for more!
We made these over the weekend for a holiday party and everyone loved them! I gave three people the recipe!
I really love these for the holidays! My mom always had them around. The chocolate chips are a great addition!
Made this for the family and it was a hit!
Can you leave out the chocolate chips?
Yes, just add 1/2 cup of pecans instead!
can these be frozen
I would freeze them before you add the powdered sugar, then roll them in powdered sugar after they’ve thawed!
My family loved these and they will be on our holiday table again!
This will be a perfect addition to our Holiday cookie swap. Minus the almonds and add double chocolate chips! Thanks!
There are just certain cookies that are tied emotionally to a specific time or holiday. These are my go-to Christmas cookies. I love them for gifts and for all my Christmas entertaining.
These are my absolute favorite cookies of all time. I have never tried them with chocolate chips.That sounds like a heavenly addition.
Oh these look delicious! They’d be perfect to take to our family get together this Christmas. The little nephews and nieces would love this. Thanks for the recipe!
Is it wrong if I make a batch of these but I don’t share?! I feel like I’d devour them before anyone got a chance to try them haha
These are perfect holiday treats!!
I love that this recipe doesn’t need a laundry list of ingredients. Short and simple and by golly… they look absolutely scrumptious!! I need to make these soon!
These are some delicious-looking cookies! I’m sure I’d have to hide them from my family, or, make some for them, and some for me!
Those won’t last long in our house! May have to double or triple the recipe! They look amazingly delicious!
Those look so good! I have to make these for the holiday. I also have to make sure that I don’t eat them all!