Grain Free Snowball Cookies

I hope you’re ready for something fun, easy, and melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

These wonderful gluten and grain free snowball cookies are made with just 6 core ingredients and might just be my new favorite treat to pair with a cup of coffee. They remind me of a delicious powdered donut hole but with buttery soft middles that you won’t be able to get enough of.

Kiddos will love making (and eating) these ones, and they’re super easy to make vegan and dairy free if you’d like! Truly the perfect little cookie to have on hand for dessert or to share at your next holiday party.

FREE Ultimate Guide to Cookie Baking

What are snowball cookies?

Snowball cookies are also known as “Russian tea cakes,” “Mexican wedding cakes,” and “Mexican wedding cookies.” They’re a buttery, shortbread-like cookie made from flour, butter and ground nuts — often hazelnuts, almonds or walnuts. Mexican wedding cookies often use pecans as well! They have a distinct look and taste because the cookies are rolled in powdered sugar before serving. Hence, the “snowball” look.

These gluten free snowball cookies are made a bit healthier by using nutrient-dense almond flour and coconut flour, and less butter than the traditional version. They’re also easily vegan! See below for tips on this.

Ingredients in these grain free snowball cookies

The best part about these healthy snowball cookies is how easy they are to make! They have 6 core ingredients, plus a few flavor add-ins to make them extra special:

Butter: to get that melt-in-your-mouth buttery flavor you’ll need some salted butter.
Powdered sugar: unlike many cookie recipes, these snowball cookies are only sweetened with powdered sugar. You’ll add powdered sugar to the dough and you’ll roll the cooled cookies in it!
Vanilla: for a little extra boost of sweetness.
Walnuts: for that traditional nutty crunch.
Salt: adding a pinch of salt helps bring all of the flavors together.
Flour: we’re using fine, blanched almond flour and a tiny bit of coconut flour to keep these snowball cookies gluten free and grain free.
Optional flavors: I like to add orange zest, cardamom, and cinnamon to the dough for a super unique, cozy flavor!

Customize your cookies

These gluten free snowball cookies are easy to customize with your fav mix-ins! Here are some ideas:

Try a different nut like chopped pecans, almonds or hazelnuts. You could even toast them before chopping them up for extra toasty flavor.
Adding a tiny bit of almond extract will enhance the nutty flavor of the cookies.
Mix in some mini chocolate chips for an extra special treat!

How to make vegan snowball cookies

Because these grain free snowball cookies don’t have any eggs in them, you can easily make them vegan by just using vegan butter! I like Earth Balance or Miyoko’s.

Healthy snowball cookies in 4 simple steps

Mix the wet ingredients. Start by beating together the butter and powdered sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Then add the vanilla, plus the orange zest, cinnamon & cardamom if you’re using them.
Add the dry. Mix in the flours and chopped walnuts until they’re well combined. Let the dough sit for about 5-10 minutes so that it comes together and thickens up before rolling.
Shape dough & bake. Next, use a cookie scoop to grab the dough and shape it into a ball. Place the dough balls on your prepared baking sheet and bake until just barely golden brown.
Cool, roll & serve. Let the gluten free snowball cookies cool completely, then roll them in a bowl filled with powdered sugar and serve!

Storing & freezing tips

To store: simply store baked snowball cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days at room temp.
To freeze: you can either freeze the dough or freeze the baked snowball cookies for up to 3 months! Check out all of my tips & tricks for freezing cookies here. For snowball cookies, I’d recommend re-rolling them in powdered sugar after thawing the baked cookies so that they’re nice and pretty.

More delicious cookie recipes

White Chocolate Macadamia Snickerdoodles
Grain Free Cinnamon Roll Cookies
Peanut Butter Cup S’mores Chocolate Cookies
Grain Free Snickerdoodles
Soft Cut Out Sugar Cookies (gluten free, grain free, paleo friendly)

Get all of our amazing cookie recipes here!

I hope you love these fun grain free snowball cookies! If you make them be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked them. Enjoy, xo!

Grain Free Snowball Cookies | Ambitious Kitchen (8)

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Ingredients

½ cup salted butter, softened
½ cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional: zest from 1 medium orange
Optional: Pinch of cardamom & cinnamon
1 ½ cups packed fine blanched almond flour
½ cup finely chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon coconut flour
Pinch of salt
For rolling:
½ cup powdered sugar, for rolling the cookies

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and powdered sugar for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Next add in the vanilla extract, orange zest, cardamom, cinnamon and mix again until well combined, about 30 seconds.
Finally add in the dry ingredients: almond flour, walnuts, coconut flour and salt; mix on medium speed until well combined. Let the dough sit for 5-10 minutes while you clean up a bit. This is an important step as it allows the dough to thicken up so that you can roll it easily into dough balls.
Use a small cookie scoop to grab 1 tablespoon of dough and then use your hands to roll the dough into a ball. Place on the prepared cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 9-12 minutes until the edges just start to turn golden brown. Cool cookies for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet then transfer to a wire rack. Repeat with remaining dough.
Once cookies have cooled completely, add ½ cup powdered sugar to a medium bowl. Roll each cookie ball in the powdered sugar, then place back on a wire rack. Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Makes about 24 (2 dozen) cookies.

Recipe Notes

To make vegan: simply use vegan butter in the recipe.

To freeze: you can either freeze the dough or freeze the baked snowball cookies for up to 3 months! Check out all of my tips & tricks for freezing cookies here. For snowball cookies, I'd recommend re-rolling them in powdered sugar after thawing the baked cookies so that they're nice and pretty.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookieCalories: 155calCarbohydrates: 6.5gProtein: 3.8gFat: 13.6gSaturated Fat: 3.3gFiber: 2.2gSugar: 3.4g

Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by:Eat Love Eats