These melt-in-your-mouth snowball cookies are made from buttery shortbread stuffed with walnuts and rolled in powdered sugar for a snowy effect. Also called Mexican wedding cookies or Russian tea cakes, they’re a festive treat that’s hard to resist!

Snowball cookies piled in a small pink dish with gold polka dots.

Do you call these snowball cookies, Russian tea cakes, or Mexican wedding cookies? In my house, they’re snowballs or butter balls. Snowball cookies are rich, buttery shortbread cookies rolled in powdered sugar to look like snowballs. These cookies are just sweet enough, with a melt-in-your-mouth texture contrasted by crunchy walnuts. Like almond crescents and pinwheel cookies, these are classic Christmas cookies that I grew up eating and will be making for years to come!

What’s So Great About Snowball Cookies?

Rich, sweet, and buttery. My snowball cookies have an irresistible butteriness and subtle sweetness, with a light powdered sugar coating and crunchy walnuts in each bite. They’re an addictive holiday treat. No one can eat just one!
Perfect for the holidays. I have it on good authority that Santa Claus loves these cookies. They’re perfect for Christmas cookie plates and cookie swaps, and they make a sweet gift for friends and neighbors.
Easy to make. These buttery snowballs couldn’t be simpler to make with butter, flour, confectioner’s sugar, and chopped nuts. This is a classic cookie recipe that you can make with ingredients that are already in the pantry.

A snowball cookie broken in half showing the buttery interior, stacked on top of another cookie.

Ingredient Notes

This is my Grandmother’s snowball cookies recipe, likely from an old cookbook. I’ve transcribed it here with my own ingredient notes. I love the idea of passing on these recipes and keeping the tradition alive! You’ll find a printable recipe card at the end of the post with my recipe details, measurements, and step-by-step instructions.

Butter – Slightly softened butter is easier to mix with the flour.
Flour – Sift first, then measure so you don’t end up with too much flour.
Confectioners’ Sugar – Also called powdered sugar, the fine texture is key to the shortbread’s melting texture. Like the flour, sift the powdered sugar before measuring.
Flavoring – Vanilla extract (or vanilla paste) and salt.
Nuts – Optional, but I love the extra flavor and texture of finely chopped walnuts. You could also use almonds or pecans. Use the food processor to grind the nuts or add the nuts to a zip-top bag and mash them with a rolling pin.

A small pink dish with gold polka dots filled with snowball cookies.

How to Make Snowball Cookies

This is the perfect cookie recipe to make with kids. Yes, snowball cookies are THAT easy! Rolling the cookie dough into balls is such a tactile experience, and kids love rolling the cookies in sugar. Here’s a detailed look at the steps.

Combine butter, sugar, and vanilla. Start by creaming softened butter with sifted confectioners’ sugar and vanilla extract.
Add the dry ingredients. Next, mix in the sifted flour and salt to form the dough. Fold in the chopped nuts.
Shape the cookie dough. Now, roll the cookie dough into balls about 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons in size. Place the cookies at least 1 inch apart on a baking mat lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Bake. Bake the cookie balls at 400ºF for 8-10 minutes, just until the bottoms start to turn golden brown. Make sure they cool completely before you roll the cookies in sugar.
Roll in confectioners’ sugar. Lastly, roll the cooled cookies in powdered sugar so they look like bite-sized snowballs. Enjoy!

Close up of unbaked snowball cookies on a baking sheet. — Roll the dough into balls.

Close up of baked snowball cookies on a baking sheet before being rolled in powdered sugar. — Roll the dough into balls.

Tips for the Best Snowball Cookies

Sift the flour. It is super tempting to skip this step. But sifting your flour before you measure it is pretty key for this recipe. It ensures that you have just the right amount of flour. If you don’t have a sifter, you can use a fine mesh sieve, too.
Level your measuring cup. After you have sifted your flour, spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off with a butter knife. See my tutorial on how to measure flour correctly.
What if you don’t like nuts? If you don’t want to use nuts in your snowball cookies, you can use mini chocolate chips instead.
Let the cookies cool. Be sure to allow the cookies to cool completely before adding the powdered sugar. If the cookies are too warm, the sugar will melt and become sticky instead of “snowy”.

Three snowball cookies coated with powdered sugar stacked on top of one another.

How to Store

Store at room temperature. These are best stored in an airtight container with a layer of parchment paper or wax paper between the layers. These will keep for at least 5 days.
Freeze. This is a great cookie to make ahead of time. To freeze them, store them in an airtight container with a piece of parchment or wax paper between the layers. Once thawed, you can give them a fresh coating of powdered sugar if desired. I recommend thawing them on a cookie sheet to avoid any extra condensation.

More Christmas Cookie Recipes