In our kitchen, it’s just not Christmas without snowball cookies. Though variations abound, these chocolate-covered snowball peppermint cookies, inspired by All She Cooks, are one of our favorite Christmas snowball cookie recipes.
Lush with butter, vanilla, pecans, and crushed peppermint candy canes, these lovely Christmas cookies come to the holiday dessert table with a festive dusting of powdered sugar, a yummy drizzle of melted chocolate, and a bright scattering of red, white, and green candy dots.
ALSO TRY: Gluten-free and vegan chai-spiced snowball cookies are the perfect Christmas treat
The iconic snowball cookie is a must-bake treat around the holidays. We’ve turned the plain powdered sugar orb of yum into an eye-catching cookie with an added bonus of melted chocolate and a sprinkling of colorful Christmas cookie decor.
Christmas snowball cookies are one of those irresistible holiday treats that everyone devours. The iconic melt-in-your-mouth cookie is so cute and the perfect size for tiny nibbles or at least two bites. Drizzling them with chocolate makes them all the more nosh-worthy.
Did you know that snowball cookies are a global tradition? In the United States, we know them as powdered sugar coated snowball cookies around the holidays, but the root recipe is also known as Mexican wedding cakes or Russian tea cakes. The Austrians even have a crescent-shaped variation on the same Christmas cookie recipe, which they call a Viennese Crescent Cookie.
The basic snowball cookie recipe — no matter what you call it — is a combination of butter, flour, sugar, nuts, and vanilla. Variations on the basic recipe, like our chocolate-covered snowball peppermint cookies, include different flavorings. We embellish our snowball cookie dough with peppermint extract and crushed candy canes to emphasize the refreshingly cool mint flavor associated with Christmas and as a yummy complement to the chocolate.
Make the cookie dough
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter and sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and peppermint extracts. Add flour in three equal additions, beating well after each addition. Mix in the ground pecans and candy canes.
Form the dough into snowballs
Scoop out cookie dough and roll into 1-inch balls. Set the balls on parchment-lined baking sheets.
Bake the snowballs
Bake the snowball cookies at 325F for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove cookies from the oven and, while they are still warm, coat them in powdered sugar. After they cool slightly, coat the snowballs with a second coat of powdered sugar.
Make the chocolate drizzle
Place chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Melt in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring well after each interval, until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Do not overheat the chocolate or it will seize and become gritty and grainy. Transfer chocolate to a small plastic squeeze bottle.
Decorate the snowballs
Drizzle the snowballs with the melted chocolate, decorating each snowball with a zigzag pattern. Sprinkle cookies with decorating dots while the chocolate is still warm to help the decorating dots stick to the cookie.
Refrigerate the snowballs to set the chocolate. Serve.
The epitome of Christmas cookies!
A festive twist on a classic cookie
Brighten up any Christmas party with these delicious cookies!
A perfect pick for your holiday cookie exchange
Take a bite out of Christmas
Scrumptious!
Chocolate-covered snowball peppermint cookies
Yield 34 cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups pecans, ground up in a food processor or blender
- 2 to 3 regular-size candy canes, crushed in pieces or ground in a food processor
- 1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- Red, white, and green decorating dots
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter and sugar. Beat until mixture is light and fluffy.
- Add vanilla extract and peppermint extract, and continue beating until incorporated.
- Slowly add flour in 3 equal batches, mixing well after each addition.
- Mix in ground pecans and ground candy canes.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Form cookie mixture into 1-inch balls and set on prepared baking sheets.
- Bake 25 to 30 minutes.
- Remove cookies from oven and while still slightly warm, coat each cookie in powdered sugar. Allow cookies to cool slightly and then coat a second time with powdered sugar.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate chips in microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring well after each 30 seconds, until chocolate is melted and smooth.
- Using a funnel, place melted chocolate in a small plastic bottle with a small tip (or use a plastic bag snipped at the end.)
- Drizzle chocolate in a zigzag pattern over cookies and immediately sprinkle with decorating dots.
- Place cookies in refrigerator for 10 minutes to harden chocolate.
- Serve.
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