Vegan Snowball Cookies
A classic holiday treat, these Vegan Snowball Cookies are light and buttery, with a delicate nutty flavor.
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Servings: 30 cookies
Equipment
- silpat or parchment
- cookie sheet
- mixing bowls
- Hand mixer
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegan butter (2 sticks) softened at room temperature
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar (65g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour (270g) spooned and leveled
- 1 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts (150g)
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1-2 teaspoons plant milk ONLY as needed
For Rolling
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
Toast the nuts (optional)
- Oven: Spread the nuts out in an even layer on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 5 minutes. Give the nuts a stir, spread them back out, and keep baking. Give them a stir about every 2 minutes, until they develop a golden brown color and toasted aroma. From start to finish they usually take 8-12 minutes to toast, but keep an eye on them as they can quickly go from perfectly toasted to burnt. Transfer to a plate or bowl right away so they don't keep browning.1 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts
- Stovetop: Add the nuts to a cold pan and place over medium heat. As the skillet heats up, stir or toss the nuts often to keep them cooking evenly. Toast for about 3-7 minutes, until they develop a golden brown color and toasted aroma. Transfer to a plate or bowl right away so they don't keep browning.
Make the cookies
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a large cookie sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
- Cream butter. In a mixing bowl, cream together softened vegan butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and optional almond extract until smooth.1 cup vegan butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add flour, nuts, and salt, and stir to combine. If the dough seems a little too dry/crumbly to easily form into a ball, stir in 1-2 teaspoons of plant milk. (This isn't always necessary, depending on which brand of butter you are using and how you measure your flour.)2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts, 1/4 teaspoon fine salt, 1-2 teaspoons plant milk
- Shape the cookies. Snowball cookies are slightly crumbly, so they're easier to eat when they're small. I like to use exactly one level tablespoon of dough per each cookie. Roll the dough in your palms to form smooth balls, then arrange on your cookie sheet. These cookies don't spread at all, so there is no need to leave a lot of space between them.
- Bake. Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, or until they look set (dry on the surface). They can be very lightly browned on the bottoms but they shouldn't take on much color otherwise.
- Roll in powdered sugar. Allow the cookies to cool for about 5 minutes till you're able to handle them. Add powdered sugar into a small bowl and roll each cookie in the sugar to coat. Place the cookies on a wire cooling rack. Roll them in powdered sugar one more time after they are fully cooled.1/2 cup powdered sugar
Storage
- Store Snowball Cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. If you stack the cookies, I recommend placing a piece of parchment between each layer to keep them from sticking together.
Notes
- Vegan Butter: Country Crock Plant Butter sticks are my favorite to use in this recipe! (Both the avocado oil and olive oil sticks work great. Make sure to use the sticks and not the tub.)
- Gluten Free: I've personally tested this recipe with the Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour and it works great! The texture is sightly dryer than cookies made with all-purpose flour, so you may need to add one or two extra teaspoons of milk.
- Almond flour: If you like, you can substitute in 3/4 cup almond flour for the chopped nuts. You can lightly toast the almond flour in the oven or in a skillet to bring out the flavor.
- Measuring flour: Make sure not to pack the flour into your measuring cups or it will result in dry and dense cookies. Instead, fluff the flour up, spoon it into your measuring cup, and level it with the back of a butter knife.
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