Chocolate Chip Snowball Cookies are a tasty Christmas favorite! These delicate cookies are perfect for your cookie plates and winter parties!
Christmas is my favorite holiday because it means so many Christmas cookies! I love them all – Chocolate Frosted Christmas Cookies, wreath cookies, and more! This Chocolate Chip Snowball Cookies recipe is a super sweet addition to your holiday dessert spread. With chocolate chip and walnut cookies coated with powdered sugar, everyone will want the recipe!
CHOCOLATE CHIP SNOWBALL COOKIES
Like this recipe? Pin it to your DESSERT board!
Follow Real Housemoms on Pinterest
Every Christmas Eve, my family does a massive cookie swap with dozens of different Christmas cookies. These are still my favorite cookie recipe! They scream winter to me because of their adorable name and my family memories.
I love family traditions. That’s why I love Christmas so much. There are so many different family traditions happening, and every year a new one is born! These cookies are delicious, so easy to make, and a favorite Christmas cookie at our house.
Snowball Cookie Ingredients
COOKIES This super simple cookie dough is made from just the basics: flour, salt, butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and an egg.
MIX-INS AND COATING I LOVE chocolate chips in my snowball cookies, and I also add walnuts for a little extra crunch. You can swap these for pecans or ditch the nuts entirely! Mini chips are totally fine to use if you realize you grabbed the wrong bag after you get home from the store. (Been there.)
What makes this a classic snowball and not a regular cookie, is the powdered sugar coating. Just a quick dip in this sweet white dust takes these snowball cookies from ordinary to extraordinary!
How to Make Chocolate Chip Snowball Cookies
- Start by preheating the oven and lining a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. (Ungreased baking sheets work too, I just prefer a liner.)
- Then, sift the flour and salt into a medium bowl. You set this aside for now.
- After that, beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla together in a large bowl. Add the eggs and vanilla to the butter mixture and beat to combine. I use a hand mixer here, but a stand mixer also works great!
- Next, mix your dry ingredients, chocolate chips, and nuts into the wet ingredients. I use regular chocolate chips, but mini chocolate chips will get more chocolate into each bite!
- Now, scoop the cookie dough with a tablespoon or cookie scoop. Roll the dough into 1-inch dough balls and pop them on your baking sheet.
- Let’s bake! These cookies need to cook for 15 to 20 minutes. They’re done when the cookie looks set and the bottom edge is just starting to lightly brown.
- When you’re cookies are done, take them out of the oven and transfers them to a wire rack to cool completely. If they’re a tiny bit warm still, that’s okay.
- Once the cookies are cooled, roll them in powdered sugar. If you roll your cookies when they’re warm, the powdered sugar will melt into a glaze, so be patient!
When storing in large containers, I like to layer these melt in your mouth snowball cookies with parchment paper or foil in between the layers. This helps keep the powdered sugar on the cookies from rubbing off with any jostling.
Why are My Snowball Cookies Falling Apart?
Snowball cookies are known for their round shape, similar to truffles. But sometimes, if the mixture is too dry, the dough won’t hold together to make that perfect shape!
If your Chocolate Chip Snowball Cookies are falling apart before baking, add a little more moisture with some milk. These cookies should be tender and a bit crumbly but should also hold their shape when handled.
If the dough is the right consistency before baking, you should be all set once the cookies are done.
LOOKING FOR MORE HOLIDAY DESSERT IDEAS?
- Snickerdoodle Cookie Bars
- White Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake Dip
- Apple Cranberry Pie
- Christmas Crack
- Peppermint Sugar Cookies
- More DESSERT recipes…
Tools used to make this Chocolate Chip Snowball Cookies recipe
Hand mixer: I love a stand mixer, but sometimes it’s too much work. For this simple snowball cookie recipe, I like to use my hand mixer because I have more control over what gets mixed.
Sifter: I used to not sift my flour and dry ingredients, but after I got this, I realized what a difference it makes. No more raw flour clumps in my cakes and cookies!

Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup walnuts chopped (or pecans)
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Powdered sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Sift flour and salt together into a medium bowl.
- Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl (or stand mixer) until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add egg and vanilla and mix to combine. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
- Mix dry ingredients, nuts, and chocolate chips into the wet ingredients until combined.
- Use a tablespoon or cookie scoop to portion cookie dough. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake 15-20 minutes until the bottoms edges are just starting to turn golden. Remove cookies from oven and let them cool a bit on a wire rack.
- Put powdered sugar in a medium bowl and roll the cookies in sugar. Store in an airtight container.