Chocolate Snowball Cookies
Posted Dec 17, 2021, Updated Feb 20, 2024
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Chocolate snowball cookies are easy to make with 8 ingredients. Chocolate snowballs a fun and festive holiday treat for chocolate lovers.
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.
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.
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.
Begin by combining the dry ingredients in a small bowl.
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).
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).
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.
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 Tablespoon portions and roll each one into a ball.
Place the dough balls evenly spaced on the prepared baking sheets about 1” apart
Then, bake the chocolate snowball cookies 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.
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.
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.
Freeze Dough
- Portion out the dough and roll it into balls.
- Then place the rolled dough balls on a baking sheet and flash-freeze them until hardened.
- Once hardened, transfer the dough balls to an airtight container until you’re ready to bake.
- 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.
Chocolate Snowballs Recipe FAQs
Absolutely, this recipe doubles very well. You can click on the “2X” button in the recipe card for ingredient measurements of a double recipe.
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!
They last for up to 5 days when stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
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.
Yes, it is called confectioner’s sugar, powdered sugar and icing sugar and it’s all the same product.
If you make and love my recipes, it would mean so much to me if you would leave a comment and rating! And don’t forget to follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube – be sure to tag @joyfoodsunshine and use the hashtag #joyfoodsunshine so I can see your creations!
Chocolate Snowball Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup salted butter
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 Tablespoons cocoa powder
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon 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
- 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.
- Portion out the dough and roll it into balls.
- Then place the rolled dough balls on a baking sheet and flash-freeze them until hardened.
- Once hardened, transfer the dough balls to an airtight container until you’re ready to bake.
- 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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
The first batch i made tasted to salty so the next batch i used unsalted butter. They were perfect.
Super easy and tasty. Taking these to the annual Xmas cookie donation in our town
Can you frost these chocolate balls and sprinkle them
Absolutely!
Hi ! please, I need a Christmas recipe , Cookies , cake but not butter only oil, I’m allergic to butter and regular milk !
Thank you !!! 🙂
You could use shortening instead of butter.
You can use the mykanos vegan butter. It is a perfect substitution and I use it frequently in my baking for friends who don’t do dairy
You have no idea how much I appreciate your fast video and smile recipe. Thank you so much.
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!