Easy Snowball Cookie Recipe (No Nuts)

Easy Snowball Cookie Recipe (No Nuts)

Today we are making an Easy Snowball Cookie Recipe (no nuts required)! So if you have (or know someone who has) a nut allergy and were looking for classic snowball cookies that suit your needs, this is it! Ever imagine what a snowball would taste like in cookie form? Me neither. But today’s recipe calls for just that. Traditional snowball cookies are soft, pillowy cookies with an icing sugar coating and a melt in your mouth texture!

These buttery cookies have many different names, some of which you may have heard. They are also known as Mexican Wedding Cakes, Kourambiedes, Polish Snowballs, Mexican Wedding Cookies, Russian Tea Cakes and more. Many countries claim to have started the original snowball cookie in some form or another. No matter where they came from though, I haven’t had anything quite like them!

Just a Few Steps

This sweet treat is quite easy to make, as are most butter cookies, shortbread or other cookies made with varying ratios and types of butter, sugar and flour. Basically, you would cream the wet ingredients, such as the butter and vanilla, with the sugar. Then add the dry ingredients and cream it a bit more.

Once a dough comes together, shape it into cookies, place it on a cookie sheet and bake for 12-13 minutes at 350 degrees F. The cookies will then cool down for a half hour and bake some more as they sit outside of the oven at room temperature.

Initially, they’ll be very soft straight out of the oven. They harden more once they cool down so you’re able to pick them up. They’ll crumble if you try to pick them up right out of the oven while hot!

Full instructions are written out in the recipe card below. Overall, these buttery bites are quite easy to make and a great dessert to make as a snack with afternoon tea. Or, use them in cookie exchanges during the holiday season or for bringing to holiday parties!

Why You’ll Love This Easy Snowball Cookie Recipe with No Nuts

Nut-Free: The traditional recipe for snowball cookies contains crushed pecans. This adds a nutty taste and added richness from the fats. This recipe doesn’t contain any nuts, so you can make this for those with nut allergies without worrying!

No Animal Products: There’s no dairy in this recipe either. Instead, vegan butter is the substitute, in a 1:1 ratio. This makes it a great recipe for those who are lactose intolerant, for vegans or for anyone avoiding animal products like eggs and dairy.

The Ultimate Tea Cookie: Cookies made with butter, sugar and flour (any form of shortbread cookies, sugar cookies or these vegan snowball cookies) are the best type of cookie to eat with a cup of coffee or tea. They don’t have a strong flavor of their own, like a peanut butter or chocolate cookie. Plus, their neutral but buttery flavor makes them perfect for eating one bite of cookie, one sip of hot beverage!

Substitutions

All Purpose Flour: Do not substitute with another flour, or any gluten-free all-purpose flour blends.

Vegan Butter: Melt Organics is a great brand for salted vegan butter sticks. They work in a 1:1 ratio for regular butter in all the recipes I’ve tried!

Vanilla Extract: Use pure vanilla extract for best results, without added caramel color or dyes. I like to use alcohol-free vanilla flavor from Simply Organics, or a pure version of vanilla extract which contains alcohol.

Powdered Sugar: This is also known as confectioners’ sugar, and is a mix of powdered white sugar with cornstarch. You can add sugar with cornstarch to a spice grinder to make it into a homemade powdered xylitol or powdered sugar. Use 1 cup of xylitol, which is more natural alternative to white sugar, to 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Put it in the spice grinder until it becomes a fine powder. Then use this in replacement of store-bought powdered sugar.

White sugar usually comes from sugarcane or sugar beets. But during the refining process, some manufacturers may use bone char. This is derived from animal bones, as a filter to achieve a pure white color. However, not all white sugar is processed using bone char. Some companies label packages of white sugar as “vegan” or “bone char free.” You can also reach out to the manufacturer directly if you’re looking for bone char free white sugar.

Easy Snowball Cookies Recipe Notes

• I prefer to use powdered xylitol for this recipe for a more natural version. Some white sugars (and therefore powdered sugar based on white sugar) is processed with bone char and not vegan.
• Mix some vegan, semisweet mini chocolate chips (or even vegan mini white chocolate chips) into the dough before baking to make chocolate chip snowball cookies!

More Festive Treats You’ll Love

Pecan Pie Recipe: Tae a bite of this vegan pecan pie to get a gooey filling, soft raisins, crunchy pecans, and a flaky pie crust in each bite, perfect for the holidays!

Easy Sugar Cookies: This easy vegan sugar cookie recipe took inspiration from Betty Crocker’s Sugar Cookie Mix, and tastes just like the store-bought version!

Peppermint Matcha Nanaimo Bars: This is a Peppermint Matcha Nanaimo Bars Recipe without custard powder! It has layers of a chocolate base and topping, with a mint matcha buttercream filling!

Golden Oreo Funfetti Cheesecake Balls: 4-ingredient, funfetti no bake cake balls bursting with birthday cake flavors in this quick dessert recipe!

If you make these Easy Snowball Cookies then leave a comment and star rating! Don’t forget to tag your photos @peanut_palate on Instagram. Enjoy!