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Your holiday cookie table is just not complete without these buttery walnut snowball cookies.
Cookies don’t need to be fancy to be a holiday standout, like these classic buttery walnut snowball cookies. I’ve been making a variation of these since I was a kid and they’ve been a fixture on my holiday cookie table ever since.
We made all the classics as when I was young. I remember pressing my thumb into cookies for jam, drizzling glaze over Italian cookies and rolling these warm nut cookies into powdered sugar.
This recipe (with some minor tweaking) is the recipe I baked with my mom every Christmas. It’s not fussy and it’s not fancy, but it’s tasty and it’s buttery and it’s sweet.
It’s the ideal cookie for the holidays because the dough can be made well in advance, wrapped tightly and frozen. Alternatively, you can even take it one more step and form the dough into balls and freeze those.
Simply pop the formed balls onto a sheet tray and into the oven and voila! Dessert!
It’s always great to have these stored in the freezer around the holidays when surprise guests appear your doorstep or it you’re invited to a holiday potluck or cookie exchange.
School bake sale? Check!
Teacher appreciation gift? Check!
An easy dessert that travels well? Check and check!
Let’s make walnut snowball cookies!
- Cream together the butter and the sugar.
- Mix in the flour, salt, ground walnuts and vanilla and blend until just incorporated.
- Form the dough into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour or overnight.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- Portion the dough into 30 level tablespoons and then roll each into a ball.
- Place the balls on a parchment lined sheet pan, about an inch apart. Chill in the refrigerator for 15 mins before baking.
- Bake until golden, about 20 mins, rotating the pan once.
- Remove the pan from the oven and let the cookies cool on the pan for about 5 mins.
- Place the confectioners sugar in a bowl and toss the warm cookies into the sugar a few at a time until coated.
- After all the cookies are sugared, toss them a second time in the confectioners sugar.
- Enjoy immediately or store in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
Tips for success
- Use very finely chopped or ground walnuts so the dough blends well.
- Be sure the dough is well chilled before rolling into balls to prevent sticking.
- Two dips into the confectioners sugar is ideal for the perfect snowy coating.
- These cookies keep well stored at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze the dough for several weeks and bake later.
More Holiday Favorites
- Nutty Thumbprint Cookies
- Soft Molasses Cookies
- Snowflake Cookies
- Italian Cookies
- Classic Shortbread Cookies
Your holiday cookie table is just not complete without these buttery walnut snowball cookies.
- 4 oz unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)
- 1/4 cup confectioners sugar
- 1 cup AP flour
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup ground walnuts (or very finely chopped)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup confectioners sugar for topping
-
Cream together the butter and the sugar.
-
Mix in the flour, salt, ground walnuts and vanilla and blend until just incorporated.
-
Form the dough into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour or overnight.
-
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
-
Portion the dough into 30 level tablespoons and then roll each into a ball.
-
Place the balls on a parchment lined sheet pan, about an inch apart. Chill in the refrigerator for 15 mins before baking.
-
Bake until golden, about 20 mins, rotating the pan once.
-
Remove the pan from the oven and let the cookies cool on the pan for about 5 mins.
-
Place the confectioners sugar in a bowl and toss the warm cookies into the sugar a few at a time until coated.
-
After all the cookies are sugared, toss them a second time in the confectioners sugar.
-
Enjoy immediately or store in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
- Use very finely chopped or ground walnuts so the dough blends well.
- Be sure the dough is well chilled before rolling into balls to prevent sticking.
- Two dips into the confectioners sugar is ideal for the perfect snowy coating.
- These cookies keep well stored at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze the dough for several weeks and bake later.
annie@ciaochowbambina says
Clear eyes, full hearts can’t lose. Thank you for sharing this beautiful post. What is it about twinkle lights, a glass of wine and freshly baked cookies? Pass the nostalgia with a side of tissues, please….
Cathy says
Ha, thanks Annie! I tell ya, the combo was lethal!
Karen @ Seasonal Cravings says
Aw, so sweet! I love that you are helping us to focus on what’s most important this time of year! xo
Cathy says
Thanks so much Karen!
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says
Such a sweet post Cathy! Your boys will have such wonderful memories of a great mom who always made the holidays extra special!! LOVE these cookies! Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without them!
Cathy says
Thanks Mary Ann. Funny how those classic recipes bring the memories flooding in!
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers says
Lovely post and beautiful cookies! Aren’t the holidays magical?!
Cathy says
Thanks Jennifer! Indeed they are!
Cindy says
What a sweet evening… love that you are getting sentimental around the Holidays! Those cookies look delicious. YUM!
Cathy says
I’m a pile of mush Cindy!
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary says
Hahahaha!!! I’m soooo stubborn too, Cathy! I didn’t watch Game of Thrones until this year… so I was YEARS late to that party too. All because people insisted I’d love it and I’m just super stubborn. Well, they were right. I love it. 😉 And welcome to the FNL party! That show is SO good!! You picked the perfect time to binge watch it. I mean, that show, a glass or three of wine, and a dozen or zillion of these walnut snowball cookies sounds just PERFECT!! These are fabulous, but of course they are, YOU made them! And you are the holiday baking queen! Looks like I have yet another goodie to add to my never-ending list of things to bake! Pinned! Cheers!
Cathy says
We’re so like minded! I spent an entire summer watching game of thrones for the same reason! The moral to the story is never tell us that we will like something (including okra)!
Annemarie @ justalittlebitofbacon says
My favorite part of the holidays is making all those wonderful memories with my daughter like you are with your sons. And snowball cookies are part of our holiday traditions too. I remember making them with my mom and now I make them with my daughter.
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
This post was such a joy to read, Cathy. I was envisioning everything as I was reading it and it gave me all sorts of happy feelings. You are certainly right. Christmas is about so much more than presents under the tree. As the years pass, it’s definitely the memories that stick and what makes us smile as we reminisce. So sweet!!
Cathy says
Thanks Dawn. I’m such a sap around the holidays!!
Cathy says
Love that we can pass down the traditions Annemarie. Something so special about kitchen time together.
Lisa Baldini says
These cookies are amazing!!! I chilled them overnight in parchment paper so the next morning scooping tablespoonfuls was a little challenging because I didn’t let it sit out to soften. I thought they were pretty chilled so I did not put them in the refrigerator for an additional 15 minutes, should I have? They were not golden on top but underneath they were, so if you’ve never made them do not cook them any longer than 20 minutes
waiting for them to brown. I have never made this before and I never realized they would be so easy! This is the perfect blend of everything. Thank you so much for sharing a perfect recipe. Merry Christmas
Cathy says
You made the right call not to re-chill them and pull them while they were still soft. So happy you enjoyed them!!