What does your family call these delicious little balls of powdered sugar yumminess? Snowball cookies? Mexican Wedding Cookies? Russian Tea Cakes? Or maybe you were like my family… We called them white mice and rolled them into adorable little mouse shapes. But there is one thing we didn’t do when I was little and that was add chocolate chips to them. And that was a definite miss. So today, I’m sharing these deliciously snowy Chocolate Chip Snowball Cookies.
Chocolate Chip Snowball Cookie Ingredients
You probably have most of the ingredients you need for these cookies in the cabinet. Or maybe it’s just me who stocks chocolate chips, just in case :) You can include the nuts if you want or leave them out and add a few more chocolate chips. It’s also fun to experiment with these… I’m thinking mini M&M’s would be delicious, too.
These cookies are simple, so I always try to use the best and freshest ingredients. Especially the powdered sugar, because it plays a big roll in these cookies. You use it instead of granulated sugar in the cookie and for rolling. Have you ever noticed how powdered aka confectioner’s sugar can get a stale, metallic taste if it’s been stored a little too long? Give your sugar a taste and if it tastes stale, definitely open up a fresh bag for these cookies.
Mixing and Baking the Snowball Cookies
The recipe is a simple cream your butter and sugar and then add in your dry ingredients type recipe. It’s perfect for baking with kids!! My daughter can whip up a batch of these all on her own these days…
I scoop the cookie dough onto the pan with my little scooper to make the size uniform. But then I give them a little roll with my hands to make sure they’re round. They make way cuter snowballs this way.
Then line them up on the pan… They don’t spread much so you get lots on the pan. Perfect for when you’re baking for a crowd or gifts.
After you bake them, you roll the cookie balls in the powdered sugar. And you think, wow, those don’t look very snowy! Don’t worry, do one more roll in the powdered sugar after they cool, and…
You get these gorgeous snowballs.
Here’s a quick video to show you how I make these cookies.
I literally can’t stop eating them. It’s kind of like donut holes. They’re little, round, covered in powdered sugar, and about 10 are worth one donut, right? These cookies melt in your mouth!
More Cookies from Around the World
We baked these cookies as part of our global baking journey for the STEAM Explorers Travel Issue. First stop was Sweden for Pepparkakor, then Italy for Chocolate Chip Biscotti, and finally to Argentina for Alfajores. Stay tuned for all our cookie recipes from around the world, or check out some of our other recipes from Cookie Brain.
Need a foolproof frosted cookie recipe for baking with kids? Here’s my favorite: Sugar Shortbread Cookies with Royal Icing. They’re sturdy for little hands and so unbelievably delicious.
How about a unique take on crinkle cookies with these Snowy Orange Creamsicle Crinkle Cookies? They’re super pretty in a holiday cookie basket and fun for summer days, too.
These Gummy Bear Heart Cookies make a great combo with pepparkakor hearts! Perfect for Christmas or Valentine’s Day, too.
Chocolate Chip Snowball Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup mini milk chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter, vanilla, and ½ cup of powdered sugar. Mix with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, chopped pecans, and mini chocolate chips until the chips are well coated.
- Add flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix with an electric mixer until well combined.
- Scoop 1 tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball. Place on parchment covered cookie sheets, at least 1 inch apart.
- Bake for 7-10 minutes until the bottoms are lightly golden brown. The tops will not look brown.
- Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes. They should still be warm, but cool enough to handle.
- Place ¾ cup of powdered sugar in a small bowl. Roll cookies in powdered sugar and place on a wire rack to finish cooling. If they need to be a little whiter to look like spider sacs, give them a second roll in powdered sugar once they are cool.
- Store in an air-tight container for up to one week.
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