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    Home » Chocolate Snowball Cookies

    Chocolate Snowball Cookies

    Published: Dec 17, 2021 by Laura · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe

    Chocolate snowball cookies are easy to make with 8 ingredients. Chocolate snowballs a fun and festive holiday treat for chocolate lovers.

    Chocolate Snowball Cookies in a serving dish, one has a bite taken out of it so you can see the inside

    Snowball cookies are one of the most nostalgic Christmas cookies for me personally. My mom made them every year and I always have to eat at least one during the holiday season.

    Well, I took a good thing and made it even better by creating these Chocolate Snowball Cookies! Sure, pecan snowballs are good - but rich chocolatey snowballs are even better.

    This chocolate snowball cookie recipe is easy to make with 8 ingredients. They're a fun and festive holiday treat for chocolate lovers.

    9 Chocolate Snowball Cookies on a serving plate

    Chocolate Snowballs: Ingredients & Substituitons

    • Salted Butter. Unsalted butter or vegan butter are good substitutes for salted butter.
    • Powdered Sugar. If you'd like to make your own powdered sugar with coconut sugar, try this paleo powdered sugar.
    • Cocoa Powder. For a darker variety use dark cocoa powder.
    • All-purpose flour. I recommend using an unbleached, all-purpose flour to make these chocolate snowball cookies! You can use a 1:1 all-purpose gluten-free baking flour for a gluten-free version.
    • Mini chocolate chips. I prefer mini chips because then you get bursts of chocolate in every bite, however you can use regular chocolate chips or chopped chocolate.
    overhead view of the ingredients in this Chocolate Snowball Cookies recipe

    How to make Chocolate Snowball Cookies

    This snowball cookies comes together in a snap with minimal ingredients. Let's walk through how to make chocolate snowballs, and don't forget to watch the video.

    Make the dough

    Begin by combining the dry ingredients in a small bowl.

    two photos showing How to Make Chocolate Snowball Cookies - combining dry ingredients

    Then, in the bowl of a standing mixer (or in a large bowl with a handheld mixer), beat butter, ½ cup powdered sugar and vanilla until fluffy (about 1 minute).

    two photos showing How to Make Chocolate Snowball Cookies - beating butter, vanilla and powdered sugar

    Next, add the dry ingredient mixture and beat on low speed, slowly increasing to medium-high speed and beat until the mixture forms large crumbs and easily sticks together when pinched (about 1 minute).

    two photos showing How to Make Chocolate Snowball Cookies - combining dry and wet ingredients

    Then, add the chocolate chips and stir until evenly distributed.

    Chill the dough

    Transfer the finished dough to an airtight container and chill for at least 1 hour, or overnight. This ensures the chocolate snowball cookies will stay round and not spread.

    two photos showing How to Make Chocolate Snowball Cookies - adding mini chocolate chips to the dough

    Bake

    Towards the end of the chilling time, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

    Remove the dough from the refrigerator, measure 1 TBS portions and roll each one into a ball.

    Place the dough balls evenly spaced on the prepared baking sheets about 1” apart and bake in the preheated oven for 8-9 minutes, or until the bottoms are lightly browned and tops are set. The dough should not spread, it should remain a ball shape.

    Remove the chocolate snowball cookies from the oven and let cool on the baking pan for 5 minutes.

    two photos showing How to Make Chocolate Snowball Cookies - dough balls on a baking sheet before and after baking

    Roll in powdered sugar

    Transfer the chocolate snowballs to a wire cooling rack to cool for 10 additional minutes.

    After 10 minutes, place powdered sugar in a shallow bowl and coat each cookie in powdered sugar while they are slightly warm, then return them to the cooling rack to cool completely, then enjoy.

    two photos showing How to Make Chocolate Snowball Cookies - rolling baked cookies in powdered sugar

    Store/freeze baked cookies

    Store any baked chocolate snowball cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

    9 Chocolate Snowball Cookies on a serving dish

    How to freeze chocolate snowball dough

    1. Portion out the dough and roll it into balls.
    2. Then place the rolled dough balls on a baking sheet and flash-freeze them until hardened.
    3. Once hardened, transfer the dough balls to an airtight container until you're ready to bake.
    4. To bake: remove the dough from the freezer and let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for 2 hours before baking according to the recipe instructions. 
    overhead photo of Chocolate Snowball Cookies, one has a bite taken out of it so you can see the inside of the cookie

    Recipe FAQs

    Can I double this recipe?

    Absolutely, this recipe doubles very well. You can click on the "2X" button in the recipe card for ingredient measurements of a double recipe.

    Why do my snowball cookies go flat?

    These chocolate snowball cookies should not flatten. If they do it's likely the dough wasn't chilled long enough and the ingredients were too warm to begin with so they spread. It's also possible you accidentally measured the ingredients incorrectly!

    How long do chocolate snowball cookies last?

    They last for up to 5 days when stored in an airtight container at room temperature.

    How do you get powdered sugar to stick to cookies?

    Make sure to roll the chocolate snowball cookies in powdered sugar after they have cooled slightly but are still warm. The warmth from the cookie helps bind the powder sugar to the outside.

    Is icing sugar same as powdered sugar?

    Yes, it is called confectioner's sugar, powdered sugar and icing sugar and it's all the same product.

    Chocolate Snowball Cookies in a serving dish, one has a bite taken out of it so you can see the inside

    If you make and love our recipes, it would mean so much to me if you would leave a comment and rating! And don't forget to follow along with us on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Youtube - be sure to tag @joyfoodsunshine and use the hashtag #joyfoodsunshine so we can your creations!

    Chocolate Snowball Cookies

    Chocolate Snowball Cookies

    Laura
    Chocolate snowball cookies are easy to make with 8 ingredients. Chocolate snowballs a fun and festive holiday treat for chocolate lovers.
    5 from 3 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Recipe Saved!
    Prep Time 10 mins
    Cook Time 10 mins
    Chilling 1 hr
    Total Time 1 hr 20 mins
    Course cookies, Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Servings 16 cookies
    Calories 133 kcal

    Equipment

    • measuring spoons
    • measuring cups
    • spatula
    • glass batter bowl
    • baking sheet
    • KitchenAid Mixer
    • Parchment Paper
    • hand mixer

    Ingredients
     
     

    • ½ cup salted butter
    • ½ cup powdered sugar
    • 1 tsp vanilla extract
    • 4 TBS cocoa powder
    • ¾ cup all-purpose flour
    • ¼ tsp sea salt
    • ½ cup mini chocolate chips
    • ½ cup powdered sugar (for coating)

    Instructions
     

    Make the dough

    • In a small bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder and sea salt, set aside.
    • In the bowl of a standing mixer, (or in a large bowl with a handheld mixer) beat butter, ½ cup powdered sugar and vanilla until fluffy (about 1 minute).
    • Add dry ingredient mixture and beat on low speed. Slowly increase to medium-high speed and beat until the mixture forms large crumbs and easily sticks together when pinched (about 1 minute).
    • Add chocolate chips and stir until evenly distributed.
    • Transfer dough to an airtight container and chill for at least 1 hour, or overnight.

    Bake

    • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
    • Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
    • Remove dough from the refrigerator, measure 1 TBS portions of dough and roll each one into a ball. Should make 15 cookies.
    • Place the dough balls evenly spaced on the prepared baking sheets about 1” apart.
    • Bake in the preheated oven for 8-9 minutes, or until the bottoms are lightly browned and tops are set. The dough should not spread, it should remain a ball shape.
    • Remove cookies from the oven and let cool on the baking pan for 5 minutes.

    Roll in powdered sugar

    • Transfer cookies to a wire cooling rack to cool for 10 additional minutes.
    • After 10 minutes, place powdered sugar in a shallow bowl and coat each cookie in powdered sugar while they are slightly warm, then return them to the cooling rack to cool completely.
    • Enjoy!

    Video

    Notes

    Ingredient Substitutions
    • Salted Butter. Unsalted butter or vegan butter are good substitutes for salted butter.
    • Powdered Sugar. If you'd like to make your own powdered sugar with coconut sugar, try this paleo powdered sugar.
    • Cocoa Powder. For a darker variety use dark cocoa powder.
    • All-purpose flour. I recommend using an unbleached, all-purpose flour to make these chocolate snowball cookies! You can use a 1:1 all-purpose gluten-free baking flour for a gluten-free version.
    • Mini chocolate chips. I prefer mini chips because then you get bursts of chocolate in every bite, however you can use regular chocolate chips or chopped chocolate.

    Store/freeze baked cookies

    Store any baked chocolate snowball cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

    How to freeze chocolate snowball dough

    1. Portion out the dough and roll it into balls.
    2. Then place the rolled dough balls on a baking sheet and flash-freeze them until hardened.
    3. Once hardened, transfer the dough balls to an airtight container until you're ready to bake.
    4. To bake: remove the dough from the freezer and let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for 2 hours before baking according to the recipe instructions. 
     

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1CookieCalories: 133kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 1gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 16mgSodium: 91mgPotassium: 28mgFiber: 1gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 190IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 11mgIron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

    The photos in this post were taken by Ginny from In Bloom Bakery!

    This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase a product through a link you clicked on here, I receive a portion of the sale. Thank you for supporting JoyFoodSunshine! 

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Claudia

      December 21, 2021 at 1:24 pm

      5 stars
      These are delicious! I was a bit concerned that I had undercooked them as they came out looking very “doughy”, but I trusted they’d set up as they cooled and they did just that. I used unsweetened chopped chocolate instead of chocolate chips as it was what I had on hand, and I thought they were wonderfully rich without being too sweet. Thanks for the recipe!

      Reply

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    About Laura

    I’m Laura, a former chemistry teacher turned homeschooling mom of six beautiful babies! I create simple and delicious recipes that are tested and perfected to make cooking and baking joyful and fun!

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