These almond snowball cookies just melt in your mouth. They are perfect Christmas cookies and look like darling little snowballs. They remind me of these Russian Tea Cakes but these snowball cookies have more of a melting consistency. Get it? Melting? Hee hee.
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The almond paired with orange zest is a delicious and highly irresistible combination. Here’s the story behind these: I bought tons of almond meal/flour for the endless macaron testing that I did and had some leftover so I decided to try it in these snowball cookies. And WOW!!!
These are melt-in-your-mouth good and the best snowball cookies I’ve ever had!
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Can Snowball Cookies be Frozen?
This snowball cookie recipe freezes really well so they are a make-ahead cookie #SCORE!! Make them fully including powdered sugar and just dust with fresh powdered sugar once they are thawed and sitting on your cookie platter. They’ll taste just as good as the day you made them!
Ingredients for Snowball Cookies:
- We used store-bought almond meal/flour. The package should say either “Extra Fine Almond Meal” Or “Almond Flour”. You can make your own almond flour using blanched almonds.
- Use unsalted butter for this recipe.
- Do not skip the oranze zest. A little goes a long way in both flavor and aroma.
- For the cookies to form correctly, dry ingredients must be measured correctly.
How to make Snowball Cookies:
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line 1 extra large (I LOVE that I can fit them all on this 3/4 size cookie sheet) or use 2 regular cookie sheets with parchment paper.
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer (highly recommend this mixer) fitted with the whisk attachment, cream together 2 sticks butter, 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla, until smooth.
2. Switch to the paddle attachment and gradually mix in 2 cups all purpose flour and 1/2 tsp salt. Once well incorporated, add 1 cup almond meal and 1/2 Tbsp orange zest and mix until well incorporated.
The dough stuck slightly to the spatula but not at all to my hands. If very sticky, add 1-2 Tbsp more flour (I didn’t need to).
3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls (this small ice cream scoop made it so easy and exact!) and place them on prepared baking sheet 1 inch apart. You should get 38-40 cookies.
Don’t make them too large or they won’t bake through properly. Bake 11-13 min, or until bottoms are golden and edges are barely golden (I bake 11 min for softer cookies). Remove from baking sheet and let cool 5 minutes.
4. Fill a bowl with powdered sugar and roll the cookies in it while they are still warm (not hot, or they make the powdered sugar gummy). Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
It’s best on a wire rack so the powder sugar doesn’t become moist but they will still be ok if they cool on the parchment paper.
5. Once cookies are at room temperature, roll in powdered sugar again or dust the tops with a mini sieve (here’s the one in my picture) to give them that snowy look.
Watch How to Make Snowball Cookies:
We love these tea cookies year round (not just for the holidays), but they sure are a treat and look beautiful on a Christmas cookie platter!
More Christmas Cookie Recipes:
- Russian Tea Cakes – crumbly, buttery perfection
- Shell Cookies – laced with meringue and walnuts
- Baklava – the ultimate holiday treat!
- Jeweled Biscotti – perfect for holiday gifting
Almond Snowball Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb unsalted butter, (16 Tbsp) softened at room temperature
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar , plus 1 1/2 cups more for rolling cookies
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, *measured correctly
- 1/2 tsp fine salt, I used fine sea salt
- 1 cup almond flour, or fine almond meal
- 1/2 Tbsp orange zest, from 1 medium orange
Instructions
Prep:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a 3/4 size cookie sheet or 2 regular cookie sheets with parchment paper.
How to Make Snowball Cookies:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, cream together 1/2 lb butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 1 tsp vanilla, until smooth.
- Switch to paddle attachment and gradually mix in 2 cups all purpose flour and 1/2 tsp salt. Once incorporated, add 1 cup almond meal and 1/2 Tbsp orange zest and mix until well blended. The dough will stick slightly to the spatula but not to finger tips. If very sticky, add 1-2 Tbsp more flour.
- Shape dough into 1-inch balls (a small ice cream scoop makes it easy and exact). Place them on prepared baking sheet 1 inch apart. You should get 38-40 cookies. Don't make them too large or they won't bake through properly. Bake 11-13 min, or until bottoms are golden and edges are barely golden (I bake 11 min for softer cookies). Remove from baking sheet and cool 5 min.
- Fill a bowl with powdered sugar and roll the cookies in it while they are still warm (not hot). Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely.
- Once cookies are at room temp, roll in powdered sugar again or dust the tops with a mini sieve for a snowy look.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
I hope you are having a Merry Christmas season. Is your tree up? Are you done shopping? Did you order Christmas cards? So many questions!! 🙂
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Can I use shredded dried coconut instead of almond flour because it is really hard to find almond flour in Tesco I think it is because I live in hungar
Hi Halah! I’ve never tested that, so I can’t say. I’m sorry I can’t be more help.
Have you tried this recipe with almond extract instead of the vanilla extract?
Hi Philena! I have not, but I’m sure they would be just as tasty!
I cut the amount of orange zest by half, and they were still too orange flavored. The orange totally overpowered the butter and the almond.
Hi Mary, the orange zest should be very subtle and pleasant. Did you possibly add the white pith under the zest? That would make it very strong and bitter tasting. Make sure you’re only getting the orange zest portion.
Great Cookie and the best it is
GLUTEN FREE !!!!!!!
It is very hard to find a good recipe for Gluten Free Cookies.
You should state that ir is GLUTEN FREE……
Hi Bridget! i’m so glad you loved it. This recipe also uses 2 cups all-purpose flour, and I haven’t tested that so I can’t say for sure but I think it should work to substitute some gluten free flour. I don’t have much experience with gluten-free flours but I would suggest using a gluten-free flour that is intended for baking.
These are delicious and perfect for any ocassion! Easy to make with my three kids! Love them!
I just baked these but my usual snowball cookies bake at 325 for 20 min. These I baked as you directed and they burned on the bottom at 9 min. I’m so disappointed. I wish I had followed my usual temp of 325 for a longer baking time. I think 400 is way too hot and my oven temp is correct.
Hi Jody, that is unusual to have burned cookies after baking for 9 minutes unless maybe you were using a convection oven setting in which case, that would need an adjustment since convection bakes faster.
Easy to make and absolutely delicious!!! Thank you, Natasha!
So glad to hear that! Thank you.
Omg I just made them with 1/2 almond 1/2 vanilla and they are melt in your mouth delicate and delicious. I always put my butter cookies on the balcony to get real cold then just pop them in the oven. These I did for 14 minutes. That’s Natasha
That’s wonderful, Kathy! I’m so glad you loved them. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Natasha. I like to try new recipes from your website and these cookies didn’t disappoint me. So delicious and easy to make. The only thing I changed is that I baked it at 375F because with 400F the bottom of the cookies burned severely. But I suspect that there is something wrong with my oven. Thank you. And happy holidays!!!
Yea I just made them at 400 F for 11 minutes and the bottoms were black! I did the next tray for 7 minutes and the bottoms were still black!
HI Angela, that is definitely unusual and either your oven runs REALLY HOT or you are working with a convection oven which would need an adjustment. These definitely should not get black on the bottom for the stated time and temperature. I would highly suggest an in-oven thermometer to double-check what your oven is doing
It happened to me last week as well when i made these. Reduced oven to 375 for up to 13 minutes. First batch’s bottoms were quite dark
I made these today. I followed the recipe I used almond flour, but when they came out of the oven, they were flat. I did roll them into a ball but they did come out flat. They still tasted good and I did put them in powdered sugar, but what did I do wrong that they came out flat
Hi Denise, I haven’t had that experience but I am always happy to help troubleshoot. Some things to consider: did you measure the flour the same way or possibly not use enough flour? Did they keep their form when you put them on the baking sheet. They could end up too soft also if the butter was over softened or partially melted. I hope that is helpful to you.
These are my kind of cookies. Simple, tender and delicious. I found the adults chose them as a favorite and asked for the recipe. The kids liked the crinkle cookies better but they ate these as well. Perfect as is was my opinon.
So glad to hear that! Thank you for sharing.
These turned out really to ma and were very easy to make. One thing I did was after trying rolling them in powdered sugar I thought they might be good in cinnamon sugar too – very good – try it – very yummy!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Charlene!
Hello there, just wondering if these almond snowballs are gluten free.
Hi Irene! No, the recipe also uses all-purpose flour.
I made them using gluten-free flour and they taste even better vs using regular flour!
I doubled this recipe for a large cookie exchange. The dough did come out quite dry–nearly too crumbly(even with the correct measuring technique)–but I improvised and added the juice of the orange I jested which brought the dough to the desired consistency.
I must say that an 1″ scoop is more than a recommendation for these cookies–its a worthwhile investment!
Delicious cookies all around!
I made this recipe this morning for a cookie exchange tonight! They came out DELICIOUS! I triple coated the balls in powdered sugar and then sifted over for the final time. I also used the zest of two full oranges – so tasty!! I wish I could upload the picture…they are beauties! Thanks for sharing your recipe!
That’s wonderful! I’m so glad to her that. Thank you for sharing, Lisa!
I don’t have a standing mixer although I would love one. Will a regular mixer work?
Hi Charlene! Yes, that would be fine.